Homeowners often seek quick solutions to deter moles when their lawns or gardens are disrupted by raised tunnels. These burrowing mammals are known for their tireless tunneling, which damages plant roots and creates an unsightly landscape. The desire for non-lethal, natural methods has popularized home remedies, including using common kitchen items like garlic. Managing these underground pests requires understanding their biology and separating myth from proven control strategies.
The Truth About Mole Diets
Moles are insectivores, meaning their diet consists almost entirely of meat, not plant bulbs or roots. Their primary food source is the earthworm, which can constitute up to 90% of their daily intake. Moles have a high metabolism and must consume 70% to 80% of their body weight every day to sustain their constant tunneling. They also consume other small soil-dwelling invertebrates, including beetle larvae, centipedes, and slugs. The belief that moles are attracted to lawns solely by white grubs is inaccurate, as earthworms are their preferred and more abundant prey. Applying grub control products is largely ineffective for mole management because it fails to address the dominant component of their diet.
Garlic and the Repellent Claim
Moles do not eat garlic bulbs because they do not consume plant matter, making the idea of them being killed or repelled by ingesting it unfounded. The claim that garlic acts as a repellent stems from its strong odor, created by sulfur compounds like allicin. The theory suggests that placing crushed garlic directly into the tunnels will irritate the mole’s highly sensitive olfactory system, forcing the animal to relocate. While using a strong odor has anecdotal appeal, scientific research does not consistently support garlic’s efficacy as a long-term repellent. University extension studies generally classify garlic and similar home remedies as having unproven or inconsistent results. The volatility of the sulfur compounds means the deterrent effect is short-lived, often dissipating quickly in the soil, allowing moles to tunnel around the treated area.
Proven Methods for Mole Control
Since repellents like garlic are unreliable, the most consistently effective approach for managing mole populations is physical removal. Trapping is the most reliable and scientifically validated method for eliminating a mole from a specific area. Successful trapping requires locating an active runway, which is a straight tunnel the mole uses daily, rather than the meandering surface runs used for feeding. Commonly used lethal traps include the harpoon, scissor-jaw, and choker-loop styles, which are placed directly over or into the active tunnel. Proper trap setting is paramount, as an improperly set trap will be avoided or sprung without capture.
Physical Barriers
Another effective, long-term strategy for protecting high-value areas like small gardens is the use of physical barriers. This involves installing galvanized hardware cloth or aluminum sheeting vertically into the ground to a depth of 24 to 30 inches. A small portion must extend above the soil to exclude moles from the protected space.