I have a terrible mole problem. At least 8-10 different active tunneling areas in 0.5 acre. The climate is mild here in Richmond Virginia.
I have been trying to use the mole repellant castrol oil base. I spray it about every 4 weeks, and this worked for about 2-3 months, but not any more. Both my neighbors do not treat their yard and it seems like they move over there for a bit and come right on back… with a vengence.
I have bought 2 mole traps and I am hit or miss on them tripping the traps. 4 killed to date since 2 months of use. I have also used Mole Bait, but it is over a year old, so I don’t know if it is effective or not. Is it?
I want to spray my yard with Bifenthrin to cut down the insect larvae. This is my last resort in that I didn’t want to do this because the I enjoy the birds coming in my yard to feed. Will this stuff poison the birds? Should I also use Cyfluthrin or is this too similar to the BiFenthrin… it seems like it may be in the same class. I am willing to try Merit, but want to get a fast acting insecticide first.
Again, my goal is to significantly reduce the mole population… and to not poison the birds that feed in the yard… and to keep the mole population in check.
I am proposing…
1. BiFenthrin — fast acting insecticide.
2. Cyfluthrin — ??? — is this too similar to #1?
3. Mole Bait — Mole Patrol.
4. Continue to use my traps.
5. Treat with Merit — since this is a twice a year application, when is it best to apply?
Please advise and thank you for your help!
First, the products we have listed will not be a problem for birds or other animals when used properly. This means if you use them as labeled, you should be able to keep the moles under wraps and not present a problem to any wildlife. As our PRODUCT SAFETY VIDEOS explain, when applied at the right rate, the granules and spray will be so weak and dispersed over such a large area there is little to no hazard present.
Second, I think it would wise to first get rid of the current mole activity before you start to use any granules or liquid spray. Since these mole treatments will contaminate the bait, wait to employ these using them only after you’re sure most if not all of the moles are gone.
A good plan would be the approach I used a few years ago when I too seemed to have a never ending infestation. I had trapped a few and was using the MOLE PATROL but they just seemed to keep coming. At that point we had just started selling the MOLE WORMS and when I set some out, I saw immediate acceptance. I baited with the mole worms as explained in our MOLE CONTROL ARTICLE and over the next 3 weeks I was able to get 6 worms consumed. Within one month I felt the problem was eradicated as I did not have any new activity for more than 2 years following that effort.
And around the 5th week from when I first started with the worms, I felt it was time to apply the MERIT GRANULES and since they I’ve been using it twice a year with good results. It seems to stop most all pests and my yard has been almost insect free. The only pest I seem to find occasionally are CARPENTER ANTS but that’s mostly because we reside along the Chattahoochee River and they’re abundant all around us. Merit won’t stop them but fortunately I have ways to deal with them so it’s no problem I can’t handle…
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