What's Burrowing In My Yard And How Can I Kill It?

[Jack Jones]

I've got something creating serious tunnels in my back yard and side of the house. It's to the point where when I mow, I can feel the rise and fall of the mounds. Also, my foot sinks in sometimes when walking. I've seen small starter holes about 2-3 inches wide on top sometimes. It's pretty bad. Before I call out a pest guy, I figured I'd check here first.

So....any ideas? How to kill it? Keep in mind I have three dogs that use the back yard regularly, so I'm very very wary of any poisions.

[lee G.]

Moles?? I have had a resurgence in my yard after the rain we have had.

[Justin Spencer]

They sell gopher traps that go undergound so shouldn't harm the dogs.

[lee G.]

I have a Jack Russell that keeps the numbers down, but she cant get all of them, lol.

[rps]

My mother's setter used to hunt the buggers. When we walked out to feed, she would have the carcasses lined up. Don't know what she did with the heads.

[lee G.]

They hold onto the roots down there, and the dog just pulls out the body, lol

[moguy1973]

If you have moles you most likely have grubs...get rid of the grubs and the moles will go somewhere else. I killed 13 of them last summer with traps, but they came back in larger numbers this year. I dug a few holes looking for grubs and sure enough I had lots of them, hence the moles in the yard...Get some grub-x, that's what I plan on doing next weekend...

[Wayne SW/MO]

Trap them, but use an insecticide to keep the grubs killed off.

[Rolan Duffield]

Want to get rid of them, then try this. find a small gas engine. (An old mower works great for this). Attach a flexible metal hose to the exhaust, replacing the muffler. (Use an old natural gas line for this such as used to hook up a gas drier or range.

Find a recent tunnel where they are working.

Stick the end of the tube into the hole made by those varmits and pack some dirt around the tube at the entrance to blow the gas fumes into the burrow. Start the engine and let it run for about an hour. You may want to try more than one location to insure you get the gas fumes (carbon dioxide) throughout the tunnels.

WARNING: Don't touch that tube when the engine is running and keep kids and pets away. That tube will be very hot and burn you quickly.

[jdmidwest]

Go get 5 gallons of gas and pour it into various areas in the dug out runs. Sit back and let it vaporize for a few minutes and touch it off with a match. Napalm the suckers out.