The Mole and Residential Pest Control Las Vegas and Pest control Austin

Now is probably as good a time as any to talk about the mole and residential pest control. Their holes are kind of unsightly on our lawns and they can do a bit of damage to the root systems of our grass. They will also do harm to the roots of any of our garden plants. So we really need to find a way to get rid of them.

They live underground all year long and weave many tunnels throughout our yard. If you are a gardener or a homeowner who takes pride in his lawn care, the mole usually makes his presence known after several rainy days during the spring and fall when they surface by pushing mounds of dirt to the surface. If you happen to look at your plants and it looks like something gnawed at it, it probably was not the mole, but a rodent. Moles are not classified as a rodent. The rodent also makes good use of the tunnels of the mole and will attack plants from under the ground.Pest Control Las Vegas

The mole has two types of tunnels; one is like a highway just below the surface and is classified as a feeding tunnel. This tunnel also has small raised hills running across your lawn. The other tunnel is much deeper in the soil and all the feeding tunnels merge into it. What you see on your lawn is usually a small mound of dirt that looks like a volcano; this dirt comes from the deeper tunnel.

Moles are easily confused with two other ground diggers - the pocket gopher and the vole. The easiest way to identify which pest is which is by what they leave behind. The mounds left by the mole are shaped like a volcano, and the pocket gophers mound looks similar to a horseshoe. The vole does not leave a mound; he will build a visible runway close to the surface that is probably about two inches wide. They are built by the vole eating blades of grass and running across the same spot over and over.

Probably the easiest way to remove the mole is by poisons, mole repellents, or by using a trap. The traps are made for killing moles and they have ominous names like "choker mole traps', "harpoon", or "scissors." In order to trap a mole it is better to place the trap in an active feeding tunnel. To check for an active tunnel is by flattening one of the raised hills in the soil, mark it, and check back between 12 and 24 hour to see if the hill has been pushed back up. If it has, you have found the right tunnel. Now you want to remove the grass from over the tunnel and take out the soil just down to his path and place the trap making sure you do not leave any loose soil around it. Moles do not see very well but have a sensitive touch; they will find any loose soil and will move away from the trap.Pest Control Austin

A commercial poison is called Moletox and the formula base for repellents like Mole-Med is castor oil. You usually need to water the area where you are going to use these products first, so the product will soak into the soil. The package instructions will inform you if watering after the application is needed or if you need to re-apply it.

If you have children or pets, you may want to use another method other than poisons or killing traps. The repellent mentioned above is said to be safe but might render itself expensive if you need to re-apply on a continuous basis. You may want to plant a barrier of certain plants that are offensive to the mole instead of using the poisons, traps, or repellents. It may not work as fast but you will enjoy having the plants.

There are several bulbs that are offensive to moles, and one is the daffodil. There are two others that are lesser known: the Siberian squill with pendulous bell like flowers and the yellow crown imperial that has pendulous yellow flowers. Both these bulbs still bloom in the spring and have an odor resembling a fox which is not pleasant according to the mole. There are a few others that are offensive to the mole and they are chives, garlic, onion, leeks, shallots, and the ornamental flowering onion. These are some of the remedies regarding the mole and residential pest control.