How to get rid of a mole in a greenhouse: basic control methods

Harm from moles in a greenhouse

A cute animal - a mole, settling in the greenhouse of garden plots, can bring benefit and harm at the same time. Since it is a carnivore, eating various larvae of plant pests, it brings invaluable benefits to summer residents.

But, while making his underground tunnels, he inadvertently damages the roots of young seedlings. Heaps of earth that appear on the soil surface as a result of the active activity of the mole spoil the appearance. In addition, by feasting on earthworms, the animal reduces their numbers. This leads to a decrease in soil fertility.

Mole nutrition

The mole is a gluttonous pest.

Moles are beneficial to gardeners. They feed on beetle larvae and mole crickets, which damage plants. Animals do not disdain small snakes, mice and insects.

In case of severe hunger, they can feed on seeds and nutritious roots to maintain vitality.

It seems that if moles are so positive, why drive them out of the area? They are gluttonous and need a lot of food, make reserves and make a large number of moves. With their tunnels they spoil roots and root crops.

Expert opinion

Evgeniy Koshalev

I dig in the garden at the dacha until the last rays of sunshine every day. No specialty, just an amateur with experience.

To be honest, I tried a lot of things and caught live moles. I couldn’t lift my hand, or rather a shovel, to kill this defenseless animal.

How to get rid of a mole in a greenhouse

Since moles pose a danger to greenhouse plants, gardeners try to get rid of them in different ways. It would be a pity to destroy it, but driving it away or preventing its appearance on your territory is quite possible. What methods are used for this:

• folk;
• mechanical;
• chemical;
• vegetable;
• ultrasonic.

Plants against moles

The herbal method is very simple and quite affordable. For this purpose, repellent plants are used, which repel moles with their bright aroma. These are:

• onion;
• garlic;
• peas;
• daffodils;
• elder;
• gooseberry;
• tansy and other plants.

Note! It is enough to plant one of them around the entire perimeter of the greenhouse and selectively inside it to avoid their proximity. Fresh bird cherry and elderberry branches are dug into the holes, and chopped gooseberry branches are dug into the animal’s holes for this purpose.

Mechanical method

There are several mechanical ways to get rid of moles:

• Store traps that are installed at the entrances of underground burrows. The animal will not be able to avoid such a device and will definitely fall into it. After which you just need to take the mole to a distant forest and release it.
• A three-liter glass jar can serve as a homemade trap. It is installed in a dug hole in one of the passages made by moles. The top is covered with a light sheet of paper and sprinkled with earth. Once caught in such a trap, the animal will no longer be able to get out of it.
• Mole punches are effective against moles. They can be purchased at a specialty store or made yourself. Moles are very sensitive to odors, so it is necessary to rid the devices of characteristic odors. To do this, it is recommended to boil the prepared devices in water with juniper branches. Having caught an unfamiliar aroma, the animal can bypass the trap by digging a new hole in the ground. After installing the structure in the hole, it must be thoroughly secured using metal rods. The animal is very strong - a solid set of muscles, so such a prudent step is necessary. As a result of the reliable fixation of the trap, the animal will not be able to move it from its place if it falls into it. Then a cardboard or any board is placed on the dug channel and sprinkled with earth on top. This should be done to ensure that sunlight does not fall on the structure, otherwise the mole will not use its move.
• Propellers or turntables are equipped with motors powered by batteries. It is known that moles are frightened by soil vibrations. This is the basis for the use of such devices. Having installed the pole and secured the turntable with the motor on it, turn on the mechanism. The result will not be long in coming - the mole has no choice but to escape from the vibrations in the greenhouse to another, quiet place.
• A regular radio can easily replace propellers. To do this, attach a small battery-powered or mains-powered radio to the installed pole. All that remains is to connect the wire to the radio and turn it on. Vibration signals in the soil will create unbearable conditions for the small animal and it will escape from the greenhouse.

An ultrasonic mole repeller is the most effective method in the fight against animals. The Antidote device will allow you to get rid of them for a long time or forever. A person will not feel ultrasonic vibrations in a greenhouse, but the animal will have to leave this place.

Important! When purchasing such a repeller, a summer resident needs to know exactly the area of ​​the greenhouse or greenhouse, because its vibration signals have a limited range of action on the mole.

Chemicals

Using the chemical method of removing moles from a greenhouse, it will not be possible to destroy the animal, and this is good. Modern means are not aimed at aggressive action on the part of humans on animals, because the mole also brings benefits.

To remove moles from a greenhouse, they use the simplest folk chemical remedy - tar. Moles cannot stand its specific aroma and will try to quickly move away forever from such a “fragrant” area. Small pieces of fabric are soaked in tar, placed in the entrances of the burrows and lightly sprinkled with earth (this preserves the smell longer).

Tar from moles

The store-bought chemical Antikrot allows you to get rid of animals due to its unpleasant odor. This environmentally friendly supplement contains diatomaceous earth and vegetable oils. When the drug permeates the soil in a greenhouse or garden, the resulting aroma repels moles. He won't come to this area again. And Antikrot only benefits greenhouse plants, because it is natural and allows them to develop better.

DIY repellent devices

You can make a structure yourself that will protect your area from moles. To do this you will need:

• plastic bottle;
• metal rod;
• part of a water pipe.

It is easy to make such a device.

1. Hammer the pipe into the ground so that its edge is below the level at which the passages were dug.
2. Place the pin on top of the part of the pipe that is driven into the ground. Secure the pin with a plug.
3. Make a hole in the bottom of the bottle with a hot nail. Its diameter must be larger than the diameter of the pin.
4. On the surface of the bottle, make 4 U-shaped slits on different sides and bend the plastic. Place the structure on a pin secured in a piece of pipe.

Homemade repeller diagram

The wind will spin the bottle in a circle like a weather vane, and the empty pipe will generate resonance and spread it throughout the soil, including dug passages. Moles are afraid of such noises and leave the territory without having time to master it sufficiently so that later there is a desire to return back. On a plot of 6 acres, 2-3 such scarecrows will be enough. Based on this, you can calculate the quantity if your area is larger. For example, 30 acres will require 10 such structures. But their cheapness and ease of manufacture are justified.

Prevention

The most effective way to finally resolve the question of how to get rid of moles in a greenhouse is prevention! But it is also the most labor-intensive. As preventive measures, they use unique physical barriers in the path of moles. For this purpose, an underground fence is created. Along the perimeter of the greenhouse or vegetable garden, dig a ditch 500-700 cm deep and lay old roofing felt or mesh with small cells in it.

On a note! The mesh can be either metal or plastic. After which the groove is covered with earth. It is unlikely that a mole will be able to penetrate such a serious barrier.

It is unpleasant when, as a result of the active activity of moles in the greenhouse, the roots of the cucumbers are damaged and the strawberries are undermined. But it’s not his fault, because he simply feasted on the larvae of the cockchafer in the roots of the strawberries or other worms operating around the cucumbers. If moles are a nuisance, you should use humane methods to repel them.

After many years of war with moles on the site, it became clear that it was impossible to get rid of them. The moles won this war. We have moved on to effective defense.

You can read about our war against moles and its results HERE

The first step was to protect the young seedlings. Make sure that the mole does not throw it away or bury it. To do this, we decided to use plastic boxes in which vegetables are sold in markets. Quite a lot of boxes were collected from nearby garbage dumps, but unfortunately, most of them were very shallow, although they also found use on the farm.

10 boxes did not help the situation; something else was needed that could replace these boxes. Plastic water bottles caught my eye. There were a lot of bottles, among them were bottles of 8-9 liters. But there are no holes in bottles! No? They will!

The “Crazy Hands” circle worked for a week. Armed with a soldering iron, I made holes in 56 bottles. There weren’t so many bottles of our own, so we had to go collect them again.

Cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and pumpkins were planted in bottles and boxes and dug into the beds.

Carrots and beets were left without protection.

During the summer, moles ran around the bottles without injuring the main root.

The result exceeded all expectations. The yield per plant has increased dramatically. This was especially noticeable on cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini and cabbage. The next year we had to change the planting schemes, since not only the yield increased, but the leaves and tops of all the plants became simply huge.

In the fall, it turned out that burying bottles and boxes was much easier than digging them up. Especially the boxes. They have completely grown into the ground. The excavation activity was very labor-intensive. But experience has shown that plant roots easily pass through the holes.

What is the difference between a mole, a mole rat and a water vole?

At the summer cottage, three animals are engaged in underground “dirty tricks”: a mole, a mole rat and a water vole.

The water vole is better known as the water rat, or ground rat. Although in fact it is not a rat at all, but an animal of the Hamster family, because of their external similarity, the water vole is in everyday use called a rat. Often in the fall, during the preparation of supplies for the winter, this animal ends up in our gardens. That's when it starts to engage in sabotage. Root vegetables, tubers or plant bulbs that have been gnawed - the vole has worked with its teeth. If you notice that someone has gnawed the bark of seedlings or damaged the roots of trees, look for an earth rat in your possessions. Here and there mounds of earth appeared from underground passages - and here an earth rat could work.

The common mole rat is an animal from the order of rodents. Like the mole, the mole rat leads an underground lifestyle and, like the mole, has undeveloped eyes (hence the name of the animal). This is where the main similarities between the mole rat and the mole end.

The mole rat is a herbivorous animal. He happily eats plant roots, tubers and bulbs. It also loves above-ground parts: stems and leaves. The feeding passages of the mole rat are deeper than those of the mole - at a depth of 20-25 cm, while for the mole it is only 2-5 cm from the surface of the earth.

The mole, unlike the listed animals, does not feed on vegetation, because he is an insectivorous animal. Its main food is earthworms, so it is wrong to blame the gnawed crop on the mole. He is guilty only of spoiling the appearance of the lawn or area, and of touching the roots of plants while making moves. In other cases, you need to look for other culprits.

Mole protection - plastic mesh

The solution was found by chance. In the store we saw a mesh with a 1.5 cm cell made of thick plastic! In this case, the cell is in the shape of a diamond. The plastic was much thicker than on the mesh that was laid the first time.

A mole will not tear such a net and it will not rot.

Over the course of several years, we gradually put nets under all the beds.

I would like to dwell on one point. The mesh should extend beyond the area of ​​the bed on 4 sides.

The bottles that I once burned through with a soldering iron have found a use. With their help, I get a tomato harvest in mid-June - HERE How to grow 100 kg of potatoes in a mole-proof bed with an area of ​​5 sq.m - HERE

About how to make a box bed and what the materials used for construction turned into - HERE

Moscow © Natalya Smorchkova. (2016) - author's page

The mole is one of the most famous underground inhabitants, whose presence in a suburban area causes a lot of trouble for its owner. By constructing underground passages in the ground next to young seedlings, the animal quite often damages their root system. What causes plants to subsequently die. In addition, when constructing labyrinths, the underground inhabitant leaves behind furrows and large earthen heaps, which spoil the appearance of the site. And the destruction of earthworms, which are the animal’s favorite delicacy, helps reduce soil fertility. Therefore, the question of how to get rid of a mole in a greenhouse remains one of the most pressing today.

Reasons for appearance

Moles prefer to settle in areas actively cultivated by humans. It is easier to make tunnels in soft soil than in unplowed virgin soil. The beast is not found in depleted or poisoned soils. There are a lot of earthworms, larvae and rodents in the garden that the animal feeds on. Insects may be attracted to trash heaps and landfills located nearby.

There are no serious predators near people. The underground dweller will scare away dogs and cats with an unpleasant odor. The mole in the area compensates for the lack of vision with good hearing. The animal will hear approaching steps and will hide in the depths of the shelter. You don't need to go to the surface to survive. Food is within walking distance in one of the tunnels.

Harm caused

Many gardeners, having discovered dug up clods of earth on their plot, indicating the presence of an underground inhabitant, are lost and do not know what to do in such situations. However, in addition to the harm caused to young crops, the animal mole also brings some benefits, using harmful insects such as moths, click beetles and cockchafers as food. But still, if you weigh all the pros and cons, then the mole poses a serious threat in relation to greenhouse crops. You can fight moles in a greenhouse:

• mechanically;
• using chemicals;
• through ultrasound;
• folk remedies.

Methods for scaring away uninvited guests

In addition to traps, there are other, no less effective methods. They help fight not only moles in greenhouses, but also wild mice. Let us now consider several of the best ways to prevent the appearance of these animals on the site or drive them out if they have already settled in the greenhouse.

1. You can buy a special device in the store called “Anti-Crote”. It should be installed in the greenhouse according to the instructions. It will create ultrasonic vibration, invisible to humans, which will gradually drive harmful animals away from the area. Please note that Anti-Crote operates within a certain radius. Therefore, for a large greenhouse, it is more advisable to purchase several of these devices, depending on the area of ​​the territory.
2. As a rule, small animals cannot tolerate soil vibrations. Therefore, experienced gardeners have invented an excellent method. Simply place a radio in the middle of the greenhouse and connect an electrical wire to it. It is necessary to turn on the radio periodically to vibrate the soil. This will create unfavorable conditions for moles and will help drive the animals out of the greenhouse.
3. Vibration can also be created using small propellers. To do this, it is recommended to buy several small propellers in advance from the store and secure them to low posts, which must first be dug into the ground over the entire area of ​​the greenhouse. The wind will cause the propellers to spin, which will create vibration in the soil. It will not be noticeable to humans, but animals sensitive to this phenomenon will immediately sense it and will soon leave the territory.
4. Since moles have a wonderful sense of smell, you should put foods in their holes that they cannot stand the smell of. Great options include herring heads, garlic, or fresh pig manure. It is best to give preference to manure, as it will simultaneously fertilize the soil. Over time, the herring will spoil in the heat and begin to emit a very unpleasant odor throughout the entire greenhouse. Usually moles leave places where there is a constant smell that is unpleasant to them.

So, how to deal with moles in a summer cottage has now become clear. Remember that the main thing in this matter is not to harm the plants and yourself. You don’t need to trust sellers who recommend buying poisonous mole baits from them. As a result, this can not only leave the animals on the site, but also harm their health. After all, the poison will be absorbed into the soil on which garden crops grow

But then you can use them for food! And it is extremely important that they are not contaminated with harmful substances from the soil

Mechanical method

• Spinning propellers. They must be equipped with a battery-powered motor. Such devices are attached to a pole dug into the ground. The vibrations generated as a result of the operation of the propeller will be transmitted along the pole into the soil, which will alert the “uninvited guest” and force him to leave the greenhouse area.
• You can replace the spinning propellers with a regular radio, to which you connect an electrical wire. When the device is turned on, vibration signals are transmitted to the soil, which will force the animals to go in search of a new habitat.
• Ventilation. If there are favorable climatic conditions, it is necessary to regularly open the greenhouse doors.
• Special traps, which can be purchased at gardening stores, will also help to remove moles from the greenhouse. It is enough to install such devices on both sides of the underground entrance of the hole. Thus, no matter what direction the animal moves, it cannot escape the trap.
• An ordinary three-liter glass jar can serve as a homemade trap. It is placed in a hole dug in the ground, covered with paper and sprinkled with earth. An animal that falls into a container will no longer be able to get back out.

Using Traps

Today, the most effective method of combating moles is the use of special traps. They are usually sold in garden centers and even small flower shops. In the greenhouse you need to find the largest hole where the mole is most active. After this, you need to install one trap on each side of the hole. Wherever the animal enters, it will still fall into the trap.

In order for the trap to accurately catch the mole, it should be securely fixed. To do this, it is recommended to tie a trap and tie it to a peg, put a thin board on top and sprinkle the whole thing with earth. The animal will try to dig this place and will certainly fall into a trap.

Under no circumstances should you release the animal immediately outside the fence. There is a high probability that within a few days the mole will return to the same place and will continue to dig holes underground. It is best to take him further into the forest and release him there.

Instead of traps, you can use ordinary glass jars. This is a budget option for gardeners who have little money, and moles constantly attack greenhouses. You need to dig a small hole near the hole and bury the jar there. Cover it all on top with a thin board or piece of paper and lightly sprinkle with earth. The mole will have to fall into the jar, from which he will no longer be able to get out on his own.

Folk remedies

It is easy to get rid of moles in a greenhouse using folk remedies.

Plant repellents

It is enough to plant onions, garlic, daffodils, beans, lentils or peas around the greenhouse, and if possible inside it, and the moles will avoid this area. Bird cherry, tansy and elderberry have similar properties. The animal will leave the greenhouse area if you dig fresh plant branches into a hole. Gooseberries also have similar repellent properties. Shredded branches of the plant are buried in mole holes.

Plant repellents should be used repeatedly, as they lose their properties over time.

Tar

You can drive out the “uninvited guest” from the greenhouse if you insert pieces of fabric soaked in tar into the entrances of the burrow. And in order for the sharp, specific smell of the product to last longer, it is necessary to sprinkle them with earth on top.

Scare tactics

There are many home remedies for repelling moles, based on the keen hearing and keen sense of smell of moles, when using strongly odorous substances or sound signals and vibrations (turntables, reeds, empty bottles, ultrasonic devices, etc.). Rattles and turntables, of course, scare away young moles who choose a place for their settlement. However, sometimes mole holes are located a few meters from city streets. In addition, empty plastic bottles or metal beer cans, placed on metal pins and knocking in the wind, do not decorate the garden at all. A certain effect can be obtained from them if the repellent devices operate year-round, including winter. This also applies to ultrasonic repellers. You should follow the instructions and install them not in a molehill, but in denser soil, where sound travels better and the devices are more efficient.

mole scarer from a plastic bottle

Moles do not hibernate in winter, so repellent devices should work all year round.
However, the results of repellents are not permanent and, in general, all home remedies are ineffective. Products such as kerosene water emulsion (100 ml per 10 liters of water), creosote emulsion, marinade or vinegar, broken glass, red pepper, razor blades, bleach, mothballs, castor oil, rose branches, human hair balls, pinwheels and rattles, vibrators and ultrasonic devices, firecrackers and explosives may soothe your grief, but they all have little effect on mole activity and can be harmful to the environment. In addition, some chemicals and explosives are prohibited.

scare tactics, all home remedies are ineffective

If you sprinkle allspice or a fragrant plant on a mole's move, the mole will not use this move. But he will dig a new hole where you did not expect - it’s like a time bomb. I made the mistake of first trying to peacefully “negotiate” with the moles in my garden. During this time, the moles dug up an extensive system of passages, so that these passages are easily used by other moles every year, no matter how many times they are caught. New moles find passages and feel at home in them. In just two moves I caught 14 moles in a month. For a day or two it became calm, but then a new mole came along the passages and began his tireless activity again.

Chemicals

If the methods described above for controlling moles do not give the desired result, some gardeners rush to resort to the help of pesticides against moles. However, we should not forget that it is important not only to catch the enemy of greenhouse crops, but also not to harm the seedlings. Therefore, before using a toxic composition, you must carefully study the instructions and when using it, be sure to follow the dosage recommended by the manufacturer. Still, it is preferable to use compounds that are safe for plants, and therefore for human health.

Antikrot drug for pest control

An example of an effective and safe mole repellent is the drug Antikrot. It is a natural, environmentally friendly supplement based on vegetable oils mixed with the natural mineral diatomite. When the composition comes into contact with the soil, the earth is saturated with plant aromas that are unattractive to the animal. Why is the animal forced to avoid such areas? In addition, the natural composition of Antikrot promotes the growth and development of plants.

Using Antikrot is quite simple. It is necessary to scatter the powder in places where traces of the vital activity of an underground inhabitant were found, paying special attention to the holes in the hole. The composition is applied at the rate of 1 measuring spoon per 1 square meter. m. area. After which the treated surface is thoroughly watered.

It is important to periodically monitor the situation. When new holes are discovered, their holes must be filled with Antikrot. The control with the drug must be continued until the animals leave the greenhouse area.

Why do you need to fight rodents?

• As a result of their invasion, you end up with a crop that is unfit for consumption. It's a shame that these animals basically just bite vegetables, which is why sometimes at least half of them turn out to be spoiled.
• Field mice often destroy the shoots of seedlings, gnaw the rhizomes of fruit crops, and dig up grain crops.
• As a result of the abundance of rodents, weeds begin to actively reproduce in the area. Having destroyed part of the food plants, mice leave the soil loosened, and so the weeds grow vigorously.
• If there are mice in the countryside, it is impossible to store grain and vegetables. They are able to get into microscopic cracks, and rats gnaw their way into storage facilities or barns, not only through wooden, but also concrete walls.

What should not be done in the fight against a mole

On the Internet you can find a lot of ways to expel and destroy these visually impaired underground animals. However, not all of them are effective.

• According to reviews from experienced gardeners, manual destruction of an animal will not lead to the desired result. Starting with the fact that this method is not entirely humane, and ending with the fact that this type of hunting will require a lot of time.
• It is not the best option to use gasoline or other flammable liquid, the specific smell of which will be present in the greenhouse for a long time. And the animal will not go far, but will only dig a new loophole.
• In a situation where mole holes are found in a greenhouse, it is useless to attract a dog or cat to catch it. It should also be taken into account that the underground inhabitant does not live in single quantities in the soil layers.
• You should also not cause a flood by trying to fill the animal’s holes with water. This procedure will only make the soil too wet.

Ineffective methods

It will not be possible to destroy moles with your hands or with the help of cats and dogs. Animals must be hunters; beloved pets will not dig the ground in search of food. But some say that when the animals appeared, the moles left the area. But maybe it's just a coincidence.

Gasoline and toxic chemicals are also not used. Do not add red pepper or naphthalene. It is worth understanding that everything that is put into the ground will later end up on the table.

Do not fill holes with water. This will help, but not for long. The mole will simply make new moves. But many plants will be harmed by excess moisture, which can ruin all the plantings.

Expert opinion

Evgeniy Koshalev

I dig in the garden at the dacha until the last rays of sunshine every day. No specialty, just an amateur with experience.

I'm not a fan of mole traps. I simply cannot kill an animal that has done nothing to me with my own hands. When I saw what they did to rodents, I felt pity. But not everyone suffers from such humanism, and many, in desperation, want to remove the pest in any way, as long as it is effective. I suggest you read the link and choose the appropriate devices for yourself.

Preventive actions

The use of a special metal mesh or geotextile will help prevent the appearance of a mole in a greenhouse. To lay the protective material, remove a half-meter layer of soil around the entire perimeter of the greenhouse. A layer of sand and crushed stone is laid on the compacted bottom, after which a geogrid is laid out. Another layer of crushed stone and sand is placed on top, after which everything is covered with the removed soil.

To prevent a mole from appearing in a greenhouse, you can follow this advice. It is necessary to dig a ditch around the greenhouse structure, which is then filled with bitumen, crushed stone or broken glass. Such materials will prevent underground inhabitants from entering the greenhouse area.

Reviews

From the piles of earth that formed in the greenhouse, it became clear that there was a mole. A neighbor advised me to use tar. I cut the foam sponge into small pieces, which were moistened with a specific composition. Then I placed 1-2 blanks in each hole. The animals left within a few days. Both safe and very effective. I recommend.

Especially to ensure that moles leave the greenhouse, I purchased an Ecosniper ultrasonic repeller. I was very pleased with the results of the device. The animals disappeared quite quickly.

• Author: Maria Sukhorukikh
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Traps and repellers

Protection against rodents is often carried out using traps and repellers. If everything is more or less clear with traps, which are usually used as mousetraps, then the choice and purchase of repellers can cause a number of difficulties, so you need to take into account some features of such equipment:

• the device must be of high quality and certified, have a design that meets all the parameters of the repeller;
• electronic ultrasonic repellers must be selected based on the area of ​​the room in which they are intended to be used;
• electric ultrasonic devices operating both from mains and batteries are more reliable;
• The device must be turned on for at least three weeks, after which it is necessary to take a break.

It is important to remember that you cannot use repellers and bait together within the same room. According to many summer residents, effective expulsion of rodents is achieved by using repellers from the Typhoon, Grad and Electric Cat series.

Electronic ultrasonic repellers must be selected based on the area of ​​the room in which they are intended to be used