Moles and voles might be small, but they can wreak havoc on your lawn and garden. Whether you’re spotting mysterious tunnels in your yard or noticing plant damage, understanding what you’re dealing with is the first step.

Are you battling moles or voles? Do you prefer a humane approach or a more permanent solution? At Handyman Hardware, we help customers find the right mole and vole control products that fit their situation (without going full Bill Murray in Caddyshack on them).

This guide will cover:

• How to identify whether you have moles or voles

• The best strategies to eliminate or repel moles and voles

• Our top-rated products to help protect your yard from voles and moles

Moles vs. Voles – What’s Digging Up Your Yard?

Before choosing a control method, it’s crucial to identify the pest you’re dealing with.

Moles: Leave raised tunnels throughout your lawn and are most active during the spring and summer. They dig underground in search of insects, not plants. Their deep tunnels leave behind volcano-shaped dirt mounds at their entry and exit points. This softens the soil and the ground and can even collapse under heavy pressure

They prefer coarse soil and often burrow through earth clods. At night, they dig shallow tunnels near the surface, creating raised ridges across your lawn by morning. While moles don’t eat plants, their digging can disrupt roots and bulbs, causing plants to shift and potentially die if severely damaged.

Voles: Voles are smaller creatures, making them harder to spot. They create surface runways and chew on roots, bulbs, and grass. Voles often eat plant roots and leave visible damage to flowers and shrubs. They reproduce quickly, making infestations harder to control.

Unlike moles, voles are herbivores, feeding on grasses, roots, and bark, which can weaken your lawn and stunt plant growth. Some species, like pine voles, burrow near foundations, stone walls, and perennials, while others create surface runways around the yard. Their activity is most common in cooler weather and under dense vegetation.

Be aware: If you see dirt mounds, it could be gophers, not moles or voles!

Choose Your Approach – Trap, Repel, or Eliminate?

Once you’ve identified your pest, decide how to deal with it!

Humane & Repellent Options

These are best for keeping pests away without harming them:

Bonide 10LB Molemax Granules(826865): This special formula contains castor oil, a natural irritant to moles, gophers, and other burrowing animals. Castor oil penetrates deep into the soil to deter animals where they burrow.

Fertilome Mole Go RTS: A hose-end repellent that covers up to 10,000 sq. ft. Fertilome repels moles and other small animals from your lawn, garden, and flower beds. For best results, apply immediately after the presence of moles is detected or in early spring, mid-summer, and early fall.

Victor Twin Pack Sonic Spikes (176654): These spikes emit sonic pulses underground to irritate and repel moles and gophers. When placed in the ground and activated, sonic pulses penetrate the soil, emitting a sound that is highly irritating to moles and gophers who are virtually blind and sensitive to sound and vibrations.

Traps & Kill Solutions

Quick and direct removal:

Wire-Tek Mole Eliminator Trap (902111S): A humane, snap-trigger trap for quick elimination.

Victor Poison Peanuts (687865): Baited pellets to attract and eliminate burrowing pests. The handy peanut pellets act as both a bait and a killer to eliminate moles and gophers and stop lawn damage fast. Plus, the cone tip design and precision tube makes it easy to pour pellets into active tunnels.

How to Effectively Get Rid of Voles & Moles

Even with the best products around, you need to consider a little strategy when it comes to vole and mole removal. Put on your detective hat and take a peek at the damage being done to your yard. Where are the tunnels? Can you spot the opening? Have you noticed where the voles are coming from?

Before spreading repellents all over your lawn, consider where you want the pests to go. If you like your neighbors, avoid directing the pests into their yard. If you don’t like your neighbors, well… strategically repel them in that direction (only joking!).

For best results, use traps in high-activity areas while applying repellents around the perimeter to keep pests from returning.

Take Back Your Lawn with Handyman Hardware!

Moles and voles don’t stand a chance when you use the right products the right way. Whether you prefer humane repellents or effective traps, Handyman Hardware has the solutions you need.

Shop online or visit us in-store to talk to our team about the best strategy for your yard.

Our final word of wisdom to everyone in Saint Louis thinking about vole and mole control this year….Don’t wait! Moles and voles reproduce quickly, so take action before they take over!