I’ve provided full-time mole trapping in the Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern KY area since 1986. We do the whole job, and we do it right. Systematic trapping requires time (five full-time mole trappers), knowledge (twenty-two years experience), and persistence (long-term contracts and prompt service).
There are lots of ways for you to waste time and money fooling around with moles. There are home remedies, retail gimmicks, concoctions, even inexperienced companies more than happy to help you fool with them.
Homeowners get confused by all of the conflicting “advice” on mole control. It seems like anyone and everyone has their two-bits worth of mole remedies and concoctions. They’d like you to believe that every control method or home remedy is worth trying. Over the years, I made it a point to learn all that I could about mole behavior and control. I’ve even lectured on the subject at Purdue, Ohio State University, Clemson and most recently Penn State University (January 1999). The bottom line is simple. Chemicals and home remedies (including castor oil, grub controls and poisons) don’t work. They’re not only ineffective, but allow the moles time to establish and become major problems. All knowledgeable sources consider trapping the only effective method of mole control!
When moles have been a problem for any length of time or when residential properties are bounded in any way by woodland (a mole’s natural habitat), trapping is most effective when done over long periods of time. If you decide to use a trapper, insist on long term contracts. Get references! If you want to do the trapping, take some time to learn about a moles habits and biology. (Get some hands-on help if available.) The mole’s home range is measured in acres so almost any mole problem is usually a part of a larger mole population. Trapping is a war of attrition. It’s labor intensive, time consuming, and it’s effective.
I have been trying to listĀ mole trappers who provideĀ mole trapping as a service in other cities and states. Although they are paid listings to defray costs associated with maintaining this site, I know some of them personally. Others I have talked with to get a good idea of how they provide their service before listing them. I DO NOT CONTROL HOW THEY CHARGE OR PROVIDE THEIR SERVICE! THEY ARE REFERRALS ONLY! I have never been comfortable with per-mole trapping. Short-term or per-mole trapping might be an option after newborn moles have dispersed (mid to late summer) but expensive and ineffective for early spring work or more established mole populations. I can’t say it enough times, when dealing with moles, recolonization is going to be the problem, not the number of moles presently in your lawn.