Moles live underground and rarely come to the surface. With their streamlined, elongated body shape and strong front claws, they are excellent diggers. Everything would be fine, but with their activities, animals cause a lot of trouble to gardeners who are forced to look for effective means to combat moles. Since moles in the country with their underground communications harm the roots of cultivated plants, resulting in their death. Where do pests live, how to protect the site from them, what folk methods of struggle and repellents are effective against animals?

Before choosing a remedy for moles to give, you should find out where pests prefer to settle. These uninvited guests are predators with a body size of no more than 15 cm, which weigh about 120 grams. They also bring benefits, because as a result of loosening, oxygen enters the soil, which is necessary for the roots of plants. But at the same time, damage or destruction of the roots occurs, and the entire future crop is at risk.

Moles live in the garden where there is moist and comfortable soil for digging. The structure of the hole is as follows - in the center is the base, it is also a bedroom, often under the roots of trees or shrubs, at a depth of about 1 meter. Around the nest there are 2 passages in the form of rings. Here the animals rest and raise their offspring. There are also main passages, which are located at a depth of 10 - 30 cm from the surface. They allow pests to throw earth out of the hole. Stern horizontal passages are located at a depth of no more than 5 cm. There are quite a lot of them. They spoil the appearance of the garden or lawn. These animals do not tend to hibernate in winter. If, after the snow melts in the spring, you see traces of their work on the ground, then the time has come to mercilessly get rid of moles in the garden.

Video "Where the moles live"

From the video you will find out where these animals live.

How to start protection in time and make it effective

There is no need to postpone the start of work to protect your territory from moles. The more time you lose, the harder it will be to do it later. Since the garden will be pitted with numerous tunnels and holes.

Even when new passages cease to appear in the process of pest control, the animal is able to temporarily hunt nearby. Moles always come to an equipped comfortable place.

Animals live in families, which include males, females and offspring. The wider and deeper their underground communications are, the longer you will have to use mole control means. For many years, mankind has invented and tried many ways to expel pests from the site. Some of them scare away the animals, some are physically destroyed. The choice of method depends on the decision of the gardener.

Folk methods of dealing with moles

If once cats were used to protect the site, today almost all pets have lost the most ancient natural skills of catching pests. Therefore, we will dwell in more detail on effective folk remedies.

You can take stalks of reeds, having a length of no more than 2 meters, clean them, and stick each one into a molehill. Since the animals have acute hearing, the howling of the wind irritates them and forces them to leave their habitat.

A similar principle of operation for turntables and rattles. They often serve as tin cans tied to rods. With the help of such simple devices against moles, it is possible to drive them out of the site.

Animals have naturally acquired a very sensitive sense of smell. Gardeners who begin to expel pests from their territory use this with might and main. Popular among the people is the use of natural repellents, which, with their smells, interfere with the animals to exist normally on the site. These include ornamental onions, daffodils, Siberian blueberry, imperial hazel grouse.

An effective remedy is to prevent moles from neighboring areas from approaching you - this is to dig tin, linoleum or slate around the perimeter of your fate.

Sometimes carry out flooding of underground communications of pests. But this requires having a lot of free water in the country, which is sure to attract earthworms. They are often eaten by shrews. In addition, when choosing this method, they are able to temporarily leave your garden, so that later they can return and continue their vigorous activity.

And this is not all known folk remedies. You can dig an old pot or jar into the ground below the level of the found molehill. Also, the passage should be covered from above with paper or dense material so that light does not penetrate there. The animal will fall into the bowl. If there is water, the pest will drown.

Some gardeners use zinc phosphide baits. But not everyone believes in their effectiveness, since a predatory animal still prefers worms, beetles, larvae, and not grass.

Sometimes mechanical mole traps such as traps, crossbows or strangleholds are used. They are effective if there are still few animals on the site. Tunnel mole catchers are pieces of plastic pipe, at the ends of which rigid valves are fixed. To install such a trap, you need to open the current molehill. The entrance is covered with a dense material that blocks the access of light. Periodically it is recommended to check the trap and remove the captives. To detect an active molehill, you should find a tubercle on the ground and press down with your foot. If the animal uses this move, after a couple of days it will “repair” the molehill.

Experienced mole catchers sometimes catch animals in the old fashioned way, digging them up with a shovel. But this method requires a lot of time and effort, so today it is considered ineffective. You will have to monitor the activities of the underground inhabitant, quickly stick the bayonet of the shovel after its movement and abruptly throw the earth along with the pest to the surface. Next, the animal can be grabbed with your hands. Even if you have gloves on your hands, take the shrew by the hair at the withers, between the head and back. Because for the purpose of self-defense, the animal can dodge and even bite painfully.

Do-it-yourself scare devices

Craftsmen do not want to spend money on the purchase of electronic scarers. And it’s just pleasant and interesting for them to make a device for catching moles with their own hands. That being said, the best device can be created from a piece of water pipe, a plastic bottle, and a metal rod. Making it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

To do this, it is necessary to hammer a pipe into the ground so that its edge is located below the level at which the animals made their moves. The pin should be installed on that part of the pipe that is driven into the ground, and do it from above. A cork will help to securely fix the metal rod. To do this, a small hole is first made in its bottom. You will need a hot nail. On top of the cork, you need to make cuts in the shape of the letter P and bend the edges of the plastic. The structure is then put on a rod fixed in a part of the pipe. Such a homemade device works well.

Many novice gardeners are not very clear on how to get rid of moles using such a simple device. It is powered by the wind, which spins the bottle in a circle like a weather vane. In this case, the emptiness of the pipe creates a resonance and transfers it to the ground. Such noises cause a lot of trouble for underground residents who tend to leave the inhabited areas. For a garden of 6 acres, several similar repellers are enough. And for a large plot of land, the size of which is up to 30 acres, it will be necessary to place about a dozen home-made devices. They are easy to manufacture, do not require special skills and high costs.

Video "Folk remedies against moles"

From the video you will learn which means are the most effective.