# Moles in the garden **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056 "2005-07-11T20:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/1 "2005-07-11T20:28:07Z")
I spotted a mole burrowing under the fence surrounding my tomato plants. Will they destroy them? If so, what can I do to get the mole to find another place of residence? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/2 "2005-07-11T21:09:04Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > I spotted a mole burrowing under the fence surrounding my tomato plants. Will they destroy them? If so, what can I do to get the mole to find another place of residence? Moles in my experience don’t outright destroy plants. They are looking for tasty grubs and such, and while tunneling can damage roots and cause plants to dry out more quickly. You can place traps in the burrows, put poison pellets down there (not advisable if pets or kids can get at them) or do what I did this year, which is spray a castor oil product on the affected area using a hose-end sprayer. Apparently this makes their food smell and/or taste bad, so they go elsewhere. Dunno yet if it’s working, but it was satisfying to think of them spitting out their grubs in disgust, packing their tiny valises and blowing town. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/3 "2005-07-11T21:18:02Z")
I hope it doens’t get so bad you need [The Rodenator](http://www.rodenator.com/). Even though it kinda of looks fun. The videos are a sight to behold. From a news article: > [@](#): > > It is probably the most humane way to kill an animal, causing a haemorrhage at the base of the spine and exploding the animal’s lungs with the oxygen, he said. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/4 "2005-07-12T05:27:49Z")
As **Jackmanii** said, moles eat insect larvae. If your irises have iris borers, though, they will destroy your irises to get to the borers. The insects that attack tomatoes are above ground, so moles won’t find them interesting. They will make a mess of your lawn, though. There are 2 ways to make them go away. You can kill all the bugs with insecticides, and they won’t have anything to eat, or you can frustrate their ability to find their food. Moles live underground, where it’s dark, so they find larvae by sound. You only have to drown out the sound of the bugs. You can buy solar- or battery-powered noise generators, or you can go with the wind-powered alternative. The solar/battery method costs about $30-40 per unit. The wind powered gear is much cheaper. A silly-looking whirling plastic flower on a metal stake costs about $4, and it protects a 40’x40’ area. The moles can’t hear the larvae, so they go feed on your neighbor’s lawn. There are also a couple of plants that claim to shoo the moles, but I have no feedback on them. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/5 "2005-07-12T15:30:21Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > A silly-looking whirling plastic flower on a metal stake costs about $4, and it protects a 40’x40’ area. You mean like a pinwheel? ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/6 "2005-07-12T15:42:04Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > As **Jackmanii** said, moles eat insect larvae. If your irises have iris borers, though, they will destroy your irises to get to the borers. The insects that attack tomatoes are above ground, so moles won’t find them interesting. > > They will make a mess of your lawn, though. There are 2 ways to make them go away. You can kill all the bugs with insecticides, and they won’t have anything to eat, or you can frustrate their ability to find their food. Moles live underground, where it’s dark, so they find larvae by sound. You only have to drown out the sound of the bugs. You can buy solar- or battery-powered noise generators, or you can go with the wind-powered alternative. The solar/battery method costs about $30-40 per unit. The wind powered gear is much cheaper. A silly-looking whirling plastic flower on a metal stake costs about $4, and it protects a 40’x40’ area. The moles can’t hear the larvae, so they go feed on your neighbor’s lawn. > > There are also a couple of plants that claim to shoo the moles, but I have no feedback on them. **AskNott** beat me to it! Yeah, the “Sunflower” looking thing that spins in the yard with the wind. I’ve been fighting with these guys for years and have tried the poisions and such but the spinners work really well. I understand they don’t like vibrations (could be the interference with hearing as stated) and these work better than anything else I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/7 "2005-07-12T15:47:51Z")
OK. For $4 it’s worth a shot. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/8 "2005-07-12T17:58:00Z")
Go get Milky Spore [Link](http://www.milkyspore.com/milkyspore.htm) . It kills the grubs, and waits in stealth for more grubs to show up, which it then kills, and makes more Milky Spore. I put this stuff on my lawn 3 years ago, and have yet to have another mole problem. The Agway guys (I love the Agway guys & gals) say it’s good for at least 20 years. $40 buck to treat my entire lawn (10,000 ft^2), no moles? Priceless. Safe for people and pets. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moles-in-the-garden/312056/9 "2005-07-14T14:29:40Z")
I have two Jack Russell terriers, and once in a while I find a dead mole, slightly mangled, on my back porch.