i’m seeing some kind of rodent tunnels in my yard that are popping up in a few areas. they aren’t all over, just 3-4 places in the mulch. are they moles? what should I do?
So tunnels in the yard are typically formed by foraging MOLES but if they’re tunneling looking for food, they’ll keep creating new tunnels. Moles forage for food like GRUBS 20+ hours a day and abandon 99% of the tunnels they dig. And if the tunnels you’re seeing aren’t active, well, you will need to treat them but more for prevention. Inactive tunnels won’t help solve an active nesting population.
On the other hand, VOLES, SHREWS, CHIPMUNKS and even SNAKES will readily move into abandoned mole tunnels and use them for homes and having litters. So if these tunnels are being salvaged by any of these animals, you could develop an ongoing issue.
So what should you do? This depends on whether or not the tunnels are still active.
So to start, stamp down all tunnels you can find using a sledge hammer or some other flat, heavy object. The goal here is to press the tunnel down making sure the tunnel is collapsed and even with the ground around it. This way if its being used, the nesting animal will be forced to press it back up. Let it sit for 1-2 days and if it gets pushed back up, you’ll know it’s being used for a main nest den and should treat it directly.
The following video summarizes (in less than 60 seconds) how to stamp it down and what to look for in the next few days. In this case, the tunnel was pushed back up a day later so we were able to bait it.
So in the video above, you can see the tunnel “reappeared” after it was tamped down. This means there is an active animal using it for nest and since it will be sticking around, you can either bait or trap the tunnel.
The best bait for this task is the MOLE AND GOPHER PELLETS. Simply poke a small hole through a side wall of the tunnel and drop in a teaspoonful of the bait pellets once a week. Usually the first placement will kill all active animals but we recommend placing another spoonful a week later. After two weeks (two placements), stamp the tunnel down one more time and see if it pops back up. Typically the bait will kill off what was active so it usually doesn’t pop back up.
If you prefer to trap, this MOLE TRAP is super sleek, easy to deploy and works every time.
So what if the tunnel doesn’t pop back up?
Then its been abandoned. Most likely created by a mole, this tunnel will no doubt be “noticed” by other animals like Voles or Snakes so don’t ignore it. If left untreated, it could very well draw another species looking for shelter.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, first GAS all abandoned tunnels. These are easy to use and this short video shows how to use one.
Use one stick for every 10-15 feet of tunnels. Let it sit for 1 hour after setting off the gasser and then tamp down the tunnel.
A day or two later, install SOLAR POWERED GROUND STAKE REPELLERS every 30 feet.
These units will sound off around the clock making the surrounding turf uninhabitable for small rodents.
The following short video shows how they work.
Lining your property with these will keep ground dwelling animals away including snakes and lizards.
Leave a Reply