Questions on various methods to kill moles are some of the most frequent lawn issues. For such a small animal, moles sure do present a big problem.

Moles are mammals that feed on live creatures such as insects, earthworms and grubs. In fact, they are considered to be quite beneficial in ridding your lawn of grubs, but that is small compensation for the raised ridges on your lawn that are indicative of their tunnel system. It is this destruction that pushes homeowners to kill moles. Their presence in your lawn is evidenced by a cone shaped mound of dirt which is their point of entry to their burrow.

There are several different methods people use to kill moles. They can be humanely trapped and released, baited and killed, flooding the tunnels, or lethally trapped. It bears mentioning that some homeowners simply take matters into their own hands, literally, with a shovel to get rid of them.

Some people try the humane method of ridding their yard of this creature. This can be achieved through digging out an active mole tunnel at the entry, strategically placing a coffee can into the bottom of the dug hole and then covering the can with a cover of some sort. When the mole ambles through his burrow, plop, he will drop into the can. Check the can a few times each day and simply remove the can and release the mole into the woods far from your home.

The frustration of having numerous mole holes mounding in the lawn or garden can finally lead a homeowner to just wanting to kill moles to end the devastation. Homemade methods are usually tried first. One that is reasonably effective is a mixture of 1 cup of castor oil, one ounce of Murphy's oil soap and 1/4 cup of cayenne pepper. Mixed together with water, the mix is disbursed into the tunnel using a garden sprayer or simply poured in.

Flooding tunnels rarely works. Several poison baits that resemble the earthworms moles eat seem to work, but can be expensive. Care should be taken when using poison, especially if children or pets use the yard.

Use of commercial traps to kill moles will require someone with a rather strong stomach, as some of these are brutal. Traps that can impale and strangle moles can be carefully set near entry points of the holes. While these traps have proven to work, it should be noted that moles seem to realize the introduction of the new device, and have been known to simply avoid them.

The question of how to kill moles is a frequent one. When their burrowing habits cause problems in your yard, you will need to choose which of several methods work best for you.