Moles and voles in new sod.
common service request we take at Urban Wildlife Control is mole or vole removal from newly sodded yards. Its not the fresh sod that has attracted the moles or voles (sometimes called field mice or meadow mice) its the irrigation watering schedule and a lot of times the fresh soil the landscapers add to amend your original soil.
A lot of landscapers come up with some interesting ideas that are about as effective as wishing the critters away! There are many “essential oils” and poisons designed to poison moles and voles or get them to leave the area. It has been our experience that moles and voles do not respond to the oils and the poison worms for moles draw no interest to the critters.
Damage to new sod from moles and voles.
The damage, from moles, to a new sod installation in Atlanta occurs when moles tunnel under it, preventing the sod to root properly. This causes the grass to die in a line like pattern. Almost a snake like pattern of dead sod will develop in your freshly sodded lawn.
The damage to sod from voles is a little different. The voles get under the sod and eat the roots of the grass. This typically does not harm established grass but can be devastating to newly installed sod. It can create a domino effect of disease once the grass is weaker by root damage.
Oil may get an animal to move away from it but typically they either move four or five feet or deeper into the soil until the next rainier lawn sprinkler dilutes the obnoxious odor.
Get rid of yard moles and voles.
The most successful way to remove moles is to trap them. Voles respond to certain baits but trapping is an effective control measure as well. Trapping moles consistently requires a set of skills, patience and a keen eye.
First, to adequately treat any wildlife problem, we must identify the culprit. Moles create surface tunnels and mounds while voles create small burrows, typically at the base of pulpy plants. A mole eats insects and earthworms. Their diet consists mainly of earthworms in Atlanta, Georgia. The tunneling is a byproduct of their feeding habits. They are searching for food. Voles eat vegetation, roots that are soft. You typically find small burrow entrances (a hole the diameter of a dime) at the base of softer plants such as hostas and ferns. Voles won’t attack a boxwood, the plant roots are too hard.
Obviously trap selection and placement is very important. Handling these traps can be dangerous if you are not careful. There are many mole traps on the market that are effective. Reading the directions with the trap helps to understand how each trap works. Proper placement on, in, over or around the mole run is important. Leaving a properly set trap alone is just as important as proper setting technique.
Constantly tampering with these traps will almost guarantee no catch. Approaching the trap sends vibrations through the ground the mole may detect. The mole or vole may temporarily leave that specific area around the trap. This doesn’t mean it will leave your yard temporarily. Just the area around the trap.
Professional yard mole removal for Atlanta.
Urban Wildlife Control is one of the few, well established, wildlife control companies in greater Atlanta that can trap and remove moles and voles. We have dozens of customers each week throughout the year that we are actively working with. Our property maintenance division can also assist you with landscape grading and sod installation.
We also have a landscape division that can install new sod for Atlanta area residents. We can monitor the success of the grass and offer free mole and vole trapping services to our sod clients for the first year after sod installation.
