mole or groudhog

[saferacer]

I feel like my back yard is going to cave in at times when I am walking back there. It is either a mole or groundhog that is burrowing through out my back yard. I have found a couple of entry spots and have tried some of the bait that you can buy but, I can't seem to get rid of these dang things. Anyone have a suggestion on a better way of getting rid of them that works?

[Gunguy45]

In my experience groundhogs dig burrows, rarely affect the actual lawn..and are waayy bigger than a mole. Moles will leave humped tunnels on the surface of the lawn. Moles eat worms and grubs just below the grass. Grubs are normally more of a spring/summer thing..kinda late to be applying any control now.

The poison peanuts seem to have worked the best for me in the past..

[Wayne Mitchell]

Your burrower is most likely not a groundhog. They're relatively large and limit their burrowing to their dens.

My guess is that you are dealing with moles that tunnel through your sod feeding on grubs. Getting rid of the moles without getting rid of the grubs is a losing battle.

One of the best ways to get rid of grubs is by introducing milky spore disease to your lawn. It's been around a long tiome and is safe and effective. Once your lawn is infected it will last for years. It's also a bit pricey.

I use a poison called Grub-Ex. It's probably costlier than the milky spore in the long run, but the results are quicker.

[dbrucem2]

For mole control, there is nothing more effective than trapping. Don't get me wrong, using Grub-Ex is a great first step... I do it myself. However, there are still plenty of other food sources underground for them. Moles LOVE worms, and you need worms in your lawn.
I tried every gimmick product on the market for 2 summers only to have runs and hills everywhere in my lawn. The lawn looked like a warzone. I finally wised up and bought a handful of traps. I've used both harpoon style traps and scissor traps. The first summer I set the traps, I caught 7 moles. 6 with the scissors and 1 w/ the harpoon style. Keep in mind this was on a 1/4 acre lot!!!
This spring, I left the harpoon traps in the shed and only used the scissor traps. I had 3 kills in April, and I didn't see another mole ALL summer.
My in-laws called me over this spring to trap their lawn. I set some traps in their lawn in May... killed 2. They didn't see any more mole activity until 2 weeks ago... until I went and trapped and killed that one too.
So to sum up my rant here... A grub control is a good first step, but trapping will cure the problem. If you can get them early enough in the spring before they reproduce, there are far fewer to worry about all summer. However, don't be surprised if one or two migrates over from a neighbors lawn.
For mole control information, go to this site... Moleman This guy knows more about mole trapping than any human should, and its where I went to educate myself to win this "war."

[m159267]

dbrucem2 is absolutely correct. Personally I would never apply anything to the ground that might affect other creatures. I live on 18 acres and see mole sign all the time. I have tried every type of trap (with very limited success) except the scissor trap. I purchased 2 scissor-type traps (with the foot pedal setting mechanism) earlier this summer. I have trapped every mole I set out to trap -- 8 or 9. Moles breed in February so concentrate on their removal in the late summer/fall.