How to Get Rid of Moles in Your Lawn
Moles can turn an otherwise healthy lawn into a network of raised tunnels and soil mounds. After more than two decades working on Seattle-area lawns, I am asked about mole problems regularly.
The most important lesson is simple: do not treat every tunnel you see. First determine which tunnels are actually active, then concentrate your control efforts there.
What Should You Do About Moles?
Raised tunnels and fresh soil mounds usually point toward mole activity, while direct chewing damage to plants is more likely to involve another animal such as a vole.
Open or lightly disturb several tunnels, mark them, and check them again. Tunnels that are repaired or reopened are the ones worth targeting.
If you choose bait, place it only where current mole activity has been confirmed and follow the product label exactly.
New activity may appear later, including from another mole moving into an existing tunnel system. Continue checking rather than assuming one application solved everything.
A Longtime Favorite From This Mole Guide
A longtime LawnTuneUps.com mole-control graphic — still one of our favorites.
Mole or Vole?
Moles and voles are often blamed for the same lawn and landscape damage, but they are very different animals. Correct identification matters because the control strategy is different.
Signs of Moles
- Raised ridges running across the lawn
- Fresh piles or volcano-shaped mounds of soil
- Underground tunnels pushed up close to the surface
- Grass or small plants disturbed because soil has been displaced beneath them
Moles primarily feed on underground invertebrates. They are usually causing damage through tunneling and soil displacement rather than deliberately eating your grass.
Signs of Voles
- Chewed grass, roots, bulbs or other vegetation
- Small surface runways through grass or vegetation
- Damage around plants, shrubs or young trees
- Use of existing mole tunnels to travel underground
If plants are being eaten rather than merely pushed up or disturbed, do not automatically assume the mole is responsible.
How to Find an Active Mole Tunnel
A lawn can contain a large network of old and new tunnels. Treating every visible tunnel wastes time and product. The goal is to identify the runways the mole is actively maintaining.
Look for raised surface runs and areas connecting fresh molehills. More permanent travel tunnels may also run along edges, fences or landscape boundaries.
Use a finger, narrow dowel or similar probe to make a small opening into the top of the tunnel. Avoid completely crushing the runway.
Use a small landscape flag or another marker so you can easily find each test location again.
Return over the next couple of days. If the opening has been repaired or resealed, you have found a tunnel that is still being used.
Talpirid Mole Bait Is My Preferred Mole Bait
If you are going to use a mole bait, Talpirid is the product I recommend first. It is a worm-shaped mole bait designed to imitate one of the foods a mole naturally encounters underground.
The biggest mistake homeowners make with mole bait is treating random tunnels. The bait needs to be placed in a confirmed active runway. Finding that active tunnel before applying the product is every bit as important as the product itself.
Use Talpirid only according to the current package label. Do not place bait loosely on the lawn surface or anywhere children, pets or non-target animals could access it.
Affiliate link. If you purchase through qualifying product links, Aerating Thatching Co. may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
Why I Recommend It
- Designed specifically as a mole bait
- Worm-shaped presentation matches how moles encounter food underground
- Easy to place directly into confirmed active tunnels
- Allows treatment to stay focused underground rather than being broadcast over the lawn
How to Approach Mole Baiting
Moles often maintain both shallow feeding tunnels and deeper travel tunnels. Deeper tunnel systems may be associated with a series of soil mounds where excavated soil has been pushed to the surface.
Probe or open candidate tunnels and return later to determine which runs have been repaired.
Apply the selected product exactly as directed. More bait is not automatically better.
Place bait with as little disturbance as possible so the mole can continue traveling through the runway normally.
After treatment, repeat the same active-tunnel test. Fresh repairs or new tunnels mean activity is continuing.
Other Products Homeowners Ask About
Tomcat Mole Killer Worm Bait
This is another worm-shaped mole bait. Talpirid remains my first choice, but if you are comparing bait products, always read and follow the current label before use.
Scotts GrubEx
Grub control may be useful when grubs themselves are damaging the lawn, but I do not recommend treating grubs solely as a way to make moles leave. Moles eat a variety of soil-dwelling organisms.
The links above are affiliate links. Product selection should be based on the actual lawn problem and current product-label directions.
Be Careful With Mole Traps in Washington
Do not assume a mole trap sold online or in a store is legal to use in Washington.
Washington prohibits the general use of body-gripping and body-piercing traps for capturing animals. WSU Extension specifically notes that the common body-gripping or piercing styles traditionally used for mole control are not legal for general mole trapping in Washington.
Live traps are available, but WSU reports that they are seldom effective for moles.
Before purchasing or using any trapping device, verify current requirements with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Mole Control Methods That Usually Don't Work
Mole problems attract an enormous number of homemade remedies and gadgets. Some may appear to work temporarily simply because a mole changes tunnels, but disappearance of a fresh mound does not necessarily mean the mole has left the property.
Ultrasonic or Vibrating Stakes
WSU Extension describes sonic and vibrating mole devices as generally ineffective. A lack of new mounds by itself is not proof that the mole is gone.
Predator Urine
Fox or coyote urine is commonly suggested as a deterrent, but it should not be relied upon as a dependable mole-control strategy.
Cat Waste or Human Hair
These are popular home remedies, but there is not good evidence that placing them in tunnels provides reliable mole control.
Homemade Castor-Oil Mixtures
Castor-oil repellents have shown some effectiveness on eastern moles, but WSU reports that repellents have not proven effective on western mole species.
Eliminating Every Grub
Moles do not live on grubs alone. Removing one food source does not mean a mole will abandon an otherwise favorable lawn.
Treating Every Old Tunnel
This wastes product because many visible runs may no longer be active. Confirm current activity before deciding where to treat.
How Do You Know Whether the Mole Is Still Active?
Do not judge success only by whether yesterday's molehill disappeared. Return to the same active-tunnel test you used before treatment.
- Choose several suspect runways.
- Make a small opening or lightly disturb each one.
- Mark the locations.
- Return later and look for repaired tunnels or fresh nearby activity.
- If activity continues, reassess where the main active runways are rather than automatically repeating treatment everywhere.
Even after a mole is removed, an established tunnel network may eventually be occupied by another mole. Continued observation is normal.
Repairing Your Lawn After Mole Damage
Once active mole damage has slowed or stopped, you can begin putting the lawn back together. In many cases, the turf itself is still alive and the biggest problem is displaced soil and uneven surfaces.
Gently rake excess soil from molehills back into low or disturbed areas. Avoid leaving large piles sitting on top of healthy grass.
Once the soil conditions allow it, lightly settle raised areas back toward grade rather than aggressively tearing the lawn apart.
If grass has been uprooted, buried or damaged, overseeding may be appropriate after the area has been leveled and the active mole problem has been addressed.
If the lawn was already thin, compacted or heavily thatched before the mole activity, repairing the underlying turf problem may require more than simply leveling tunnels.
If the Lawn Needs Repair Afterwards
Mole Control FAQ
What is the best first step for getting rid of a mole?
Find out which tunnels are currently active. Make a small opening in several likely runways, mark the locations and return later. Tunnels that have been repaired or resealed are the ones the mole is still using.
What mole bait does Stewart recommend?
Talpirid Mole Bait is Stewart's preferred mole bait. It is a worm-shaped bait intended for placement inside active mole tunnels. Correct tunnel selection and following the product label are essential.
Will Talpirid work every time?
No mole-control method should be described as guaranteed. Results can vary depending on tunnel selection, placement, mole activity and other site conditions. Continue monitoring the lawn after treatment.
Do ultrasonic mole repellents work?
WSU Extension describes sonic and vibrating devices as generally ineffective. For that reason, I no longer recommend ultrasonic stakes as a primary mole-control method.
Does castor oil get rid of moles?
Castor-oil repellents have shown effectiveness against some eastern moles, but WSU reports that repellents have not proven effective on western mole species. I would not make homemade castor-oil treatments the main strategy for a Seattle-area mole problem.
Should I kill lawn grubs to get rid of moles?
Not solely for mole control. Moles eat a range of underground invertebrates, not just grubs. Treat a grub problem when grubs themselves are damaging the lawn rather than assuming grub treatment will force a mole to leave.
Are mole traps legal in Washington?
Many traditional mole traps use body-gripping or body-piercing mechanisms, and those devices are not legal for general animal trapping in Washington. Check current Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife requirements before purchasing or using a trap.
Do moles eat grass roots?
Moles primarily feed on underground invertebrates. Their tunneling can disturb roots, lift turf and displace soil, but direct chewing damage to plants is more commonly associated with animals such as voles.
Why do moles keep coming back?
An established tunnel network can remain useful habitat even after one mole is gone. Another mole may eventually occupy portions of the same system, so renewed activity does not necessarily mean the original treatment did nothing.
Should I repair the lawn before getting rid of the mole?
Usually it makes more sense to address active mole activity first. Otherwise newly leveled or seeded areas can simply be disturbed again. Once activity has stopped or substantially slowed, level displaced soil and repair damaged turf as needed.
Does Aerating Thatching Co. remove moles?
No. Aerating Thatching Co. specializes in lawn restoration rather than pest removal. We can help with lawn repair, aeration, overseeding and related restoration work after the mole problem itself has been addressed.
Washington Mole Information
For Washington-specific pest-management information and current legal guidance, these are useful references:
