One facet of lawn care homeowners often worry about is common lawn pests, such as moles, voles, and gophers, ruining their grass. When the ground softens, moles begin to tunnel through woodlands, often leading into suburban lawns and gardens. These tunnels destroy grass, create an unsightly lawn, and offer easy passageways for other animals to travel across the yard. Critters such as rabbits also use mole tunnels to reach plant roots or plant leaves, destroying your favorite flowers and shrubs. To effectively control moles in your yard, you may opt for chemical prevention, sonic repellents, or more experimental plant deterrents.
Quite often, the most popular chemical repellents for moles contain castor oil, which affects grubs and other soil dwelling insects, the mole's main food source. This type of product comes in granules which can be spread using a commercial spreader, or in a liquid form that must be sprayed onto the grass with a garden sprayer. Concentrated liquid repellents can also be diluted and spread on the lawn with a garden sprayer, or with a garden hose and specially designed bottle. Additional repellents use unpleasant scents, like dried blood, garlic, and putrescent eggs to create an unwelcome environment, teaching them to avoid the area. Sonic repellents use sound waves to permeate the soil, interrupting the animal's communication systems. This drives moles from the area, and can be reused as necessary.
Additional deterrents, for those desiring less chemical usage, may be found at your local nursery. The bulb plant yellow crown imperial, when in bloom, is said to have a scent reminiscent of a fox, indicating danger to many types of small creatures who may avoid the area. Daffodils, Siberian squill, and Allium plants also can help repel moles. The castor bean plant can easily be used as a deterrent, as it grows the bean which creates the oil used in the aforementioned chemical repellents. This plant can grow up to 15' in height, for use as a privacy plant as well as a deterrent. However, this should be planted with caution as it is poisonous, and should not be used in areas with children or pets.
Preventing moles from destroying your lawn is no easy task, but curtailing their activity may be within your grasp. By planting mole-unfriendly flowers and bulbs, and treating the lawn with repellents, you can have a great, mole-free yard. BestNest carries a complete selection of mole repellents.
