Eliminating Termites from Your Home

Moles can wreak havoc on your yard by tunneling under the surface. As they search for grubs and worms to eat, they ruin plant roots, leaving a path of dead grass or garden plants behind them. Their mounds are also a tripping hazard. If you've grown tired of finding moles in your property, then your best bet is to trap them. Here are some tips to help you do so effectively.

1. Look for an active tunnel.

If you set traps up at the opening to a tunnel that the moles don't really use, you won't catch anything. Try watching your yard at night to see if you spot any moles coming up. If they do, note which tunnel opening they used, and set a trap at that one. You can also look to see which tunnel opening seems the clearest and most open; this usually indicates it has been used the most.

2. Use a Scissor Trap

There are various types of mole traps. The spear trap is a common option that impales a mole when the mole walks through a tunnel, but it sometimes misses and just scrapes the side of the mole. Paper clip traps are effective when they work, but they're tough to set up since you actually need to set them up down in the tunnel. Scissor traps, therefore, tend to be your best option. You set this type of trap up at the entry to a tunnel, which is pretty simple, and since there are two blades that close around the mole and kill it, the trap is unlikely to miss.

3. Make sure there is no clear space around the trap.

After you have set up the trap, make sure you bury both sides of it in a little dirt. This will help keep the trap stable in the soil, and it will also make sure the mole can't squeeze by the trap on one side.

4. Check the trap daily.

Make sure you check the trap each morning, and empty it if there is a mole inside. If you do not check the trap often and a dead mole ends up sitting in a tunnel for too long, the other moles will stop using that tunnel and you will need to find a new one to set the trap in.

If you continue to have trouble trapping moles, talk to a pest control company about their services, as many do trap moles.