Drive away moles: help against moles in the garden

Large molehills on the manicured lawn or in the vegetable patch are a disaster for some gardeners. Like you You can find out how to drive away the mole in the advice for Home & Garden.

Of the 35 species distributed worldwide, only the European mole is represented in Germany.

If a mole lives in the garden, then this is a sign of good soil quality, moles prefer loose and living soil. While burrowing through the soil, the mole keeps the soil well aerated and eats a variety of pests.

The typical molehills develop when the small mammal digs tunnels, sleeping, nesting and pantry chambers and pushes the excess earth outside. Moles use their piles to aerate their burrows. A molehill is very pointed, consists only of dirt and has an entry hole in the middle underneath it.

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Crushing the piles will do absolutely no good as the mole will just make more piles on the lawn. It is better to use the nutrient-rich soil from the heap as potting soil or for beds and flower pots.

The most important information for speed readers:

• Because moles harmful insects such as caterpillars, snails and grubs eat and not plants, they are actually useful insects for the garden.
• Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the mole is really a disruptive factor.
• In Germany, moles are under nature protection, which is why the animals may not be hunted, injured or killed, but only driven away with harmless means.
• If moles are to be repelled, one can make use of their sensitive sense of smell and hearing.
• Loud wind chimes, lawnmowers and other disturbing noises drive away moles.
• Effective odors against moles is z. B. the smell of garlic, vinegar, wormwood, sour milk and dog hair.
• Laying grids in the ground helps to protect certain areas from moles.

Moles are strictly carnivores, so they pose no direct threat to the plants in the garden. Since they eat a lot of insects and pests, they should actually be seen as beneficial insects.

A mole’s diet includes:

• worms
• The food
• caterpillars
• snails
• Europeans
• larvae of mosquitoes
• small frogs
• pups of mice
• Beetle

Moles will eat almost any animal food they can find in their underground tunnels.

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Since the mole is one of the specially protected species in Germany, it is forbidden under the Federal Nature Conservation Act to kill the mole. A violation can result in a large fine.

It is also prohibited to hunt, catch, injure or disturb moles, as well as to damage or destroy moles’ breeding sites or resting places. Consequently, the use of live traps is also prohibited.

Cruel methods such as feeding the moles gummy bears to cause them to suffer an agonizing death are thus prohibited. Gassing the animals with carbide, ammonia or the like is also not in the interests of animal welfare and also poses risks to your own health.

It is only permissible to exorcise the mole. It is important that the animals are not seriously harmed.

Although the mole brings many benefits to the ecosystem in your own garden, the many piles of dirt on the manicured lawn or on the green soccer ball can be quite annoying and even pose a risk of injury. In some cases, the plant roots are also damaged by the mole when digging.

If this is the case, the task is to expel the mole. Moles are solitary animals, which is why you usually only have to get rid of one animal. Nevertheless, those affected should always be patient, because the measures often have to be carried out several times to finally get rid of the mole.

Moles can hardly see, but their senses of smell, hearing and touch are particularly well developed. You can use this sensitivity to get rid of the mole.

Moles like it quiet and quickly feel threatened. Because of this, it can help to permanently generate noise and vibration from sound waves in the ground.

Sounds against moles:

• loud and squeaking wind chimes or pinwheels
• mow the lawn weekly
• Allow children and animals to run and play on the lawn more often
• Poke iron bars into the holes and hit them daily
• Put sticks in the ground and put plastic or PET bottles on them

Devices are available from specialist retailers that emit noise and sound waves to the ground. However, it can happen that the mole gets used to ultrasound and other noises.

Moles are very sensitive to smells, which you can use to scare the animals away.

home remedies against moles:

• Garlic
• nettle manure
• Vermouth and other alcohol
• vinegar or vinegar essence
• buttermilk, sour milk, or whey
• butyric acid
• cat or dog hair

Plants such as imperial crown, lilies, thuja, elder, radish and oleander also drive away moles.

A common and simple method is to shove empty bottles of as strong alcohol as possible upside down in the aisles. Stuffing rags soaked in alcohol into the holes also works. When using butyric acid, it is important to use little and wear protective clothing.

The big disadvantage of these home remedies and odorants is that the smells dissipate quickly, which is why they have to be renewed and distributed regularly.

Moles feel through Dogs and cats disturbed. Of course, it can happen that dogs chase the mole and first dig up the meadow completely. But that should keep the animal completely away for the time being. Some animals also react when the clumps of urine from the litter box are buried in the ground.

Anyone who no longer knows a way out and has the opportunity to do so can Mole nets, wire fences or grids lay in the ground. These hinder the mole and other animals when digging, so that they can no longer reach the respective areas.

A mole in the garden is primarily a sign of good soil. The animal also has a generally positive effect on the ecosystem in the area concerned.

Since the mole is under protection in Germany, it may only be driven out with harmless means and not killed.

If you want to drive away a mole, you need a lot of patience, because most measures only work if they are used several times over a longer period of time.

Before you try to actively drive away the mole, consider carefully whether you can endure the beneficial insect and reap the benefits.