Thursday, October 1, 2026
Most pet owners enjoy wildlife in their yards, either front or back.
Whether it is playing with their own domesticated animals or just watching the natural scheme of things play out, we like to plan and take care of our private wilderness with great care so as not to endanger our dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, etc., with pesticides or anything else, while at the same maintaining a healthy balance between humans, flora and fauna.
One of these beautiful sights is watching either your dogs or cats (or in Thom’s case, bunny rabbits), as they play and relax on a warm day on a beautifully manicured lawn that we have painstakingly taken care of when you suddenly notice — moles!
Moles. The bane of many a gardener due to the damage they can rapidly do to a yard if left unchecked, as well as the unseen havoc they can wreak. It’s a shame they get such a bad rap based on the destruction they inflict because they actually do provide some benefits to the soil, it’s just the manner they provide it which we hate.
A mole is a small, subterranean mammal that primarily live underground. The most common over here is the jet black “Townsend’s Mole” coming in at a respectable 8 to 9 inches. They have small, cylindrical bodies, with smooth fur and powerful limbs.
Moles also use oxygen more efficiently by reusing their exhaled air, which enables them to live in their low oxygen burrows. Moles also have an extra digit on their paws in the form of an extra thumb, which makes them extraordinary diggers capable of tunneling underground at a rate of up to 18 feet an hour, creating almost 150 feet of new tunnels in a single day.
Even though we associate moles with their “mounds,” their tunneling is actually divided into three categories. The first is the “feeder” tunnels, which are the shallow ones, 12 inches or less just below the surface.
A mole’s diet primarily consists of insects, earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the upper soil. These feeder tunnels act as traps, so when something falls in the mole races to gobble it up. A standard adult mole must eat up anywhere from 70% to 100% of their body weight a day because of the energy chewed up by constant digging.
The second tunnels are ones we never see. These are the permanent, or what we call the “Transit” tunnels, and the mounds are usually larger as the mole is pushing up dirt from deep down, anywhere from 2 to 6 feet underground and where the mole actually lives. They are accessed by the third tunnel, the “ventilation” tunnels, which are small vertical shafts.
While the “mounds” are the ones we see the most and very unsightly, it is these tunnels that cause the most damage in our experience. You might find this true especially if you put down sod or turf from a grass grower.
Here’s why. The turf is grown on top of a mesh to allow the grower to cut and ship their product. When the mole digs their feeder tunnel just below the surface, this mesh falsely allows the lawn to look level.
Later it will collapse under its own weight causing your lawn to have an uneven look. The only solution is to level the depression with a sand and fine dirt mixture, then reseed. The transit tunnels can also have an equally bad side effect in that some of the deep ones may actually go under your foundation and surface in your crawlspace, which allow rodents, who may use the tunnels, access to your house.
So, what are we to do? Moles are not going away, and if you live near a wooded area, then you will have moles. There are no quick fixes. However, there are some things we have done that may help you a little.
Keep in mind these suggestions are based on our results and yours may differ.
First: let’s tackle the waste of time and money ones.
Don’t bother with the scare tactic ones. You know, the ultra-sonic, the pinwheels, vibrating noise makers. Waste of money. You may think those worked because you don’t see the mole in that exact spot, but it’ll just go around them.
Chewing gum, human hair, dead mole carcass in tunnel: all a waste of time.
Poisoned worms? Not with our pets and wildlife around.
Smoke or gas bombs only work if you can get them into the deep transit tunnels.
Flooding the tunnels? Good luck.
Second: Taking away their food sources.
Some people will put down a carpet of pesticides to kill the grubs, insects and worms, but we never liked that approach because of the environmental side effects.
The one alternative that has worked for us is to use a castor bean oil spray, which hooks up to your hose to cover your lawn. This is a safe alternative that, over a period of time, seems to have deterred the mole to move on from destroying our lawns. We do, however, still get them in our gardens but these seem to be ones that are “passing thru” as opposed to setting up camp.
Now if you notice we have not mentioned any of the lethal traps. That is because of Revide Code of Washington (RCW) 77.15.192 and RCW 77.15.194, which prohibit the use of most of these types of traps so, of course, we would never recommend these. This is from the same website that if we have a mole in our lawn “to simply grow your lawn to a height where you do not see the mole mound.”
Now why didn’t we think of that?
Author’s note: In the time it took to write this article, two new mounds showed up in Trish’s garden and three in Thom’s outer garden. None in the grass.
“It goes on. It goes on, Judah. The race … the race … is not … over!” – Messala to Judah Ben Hur in the 1959 film "Ben-Hur."
Thom Donitz and Trish Lynn are neighbors and close friends, who share their love of animals and wildlife. Trish and Thom are residents of Tumwater. Contact them at pets@theJOLTnews.com.
7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
BobJacobs
Thanks for this fascinating article, Thom and Trish. I now have a much better understanding of these creatures which I call my garden assistants because their mounds are composed of finely sifted soil that I use for garden projects.
Six feet deep? Wow!
Bob Jacobs
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Report this
KatAshe
I for one love moles. Anyone who can humanly trap them is welcome to deposit them in my rear garden.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Report this
mtndancer
But oh, those moles are a nuisance when they heave up the dirt under your veggies in your raised beds that have nice loose soil to encourage veggie root growth! I looked at a product that uses castor oil, which I thought might be effective and non-poisonous, but the package said, “not for use with edibles.” The mole(s) are making a royal mess of my garden.
I lined the bottoms of the beds with various barriers when I built them, but starting last year the mole(s) breached them. (sigh!)
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Report this
kellykelly
When I first moved onto my property, I considered discouraging them, annoying them enough that they would move on. But when my neighbors told me their method for dealing with moles, various killing methods, I decided to let them continue to inhabit my land, with the thought that at least they are aerating my soil.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Report this
Dogmom
Thank you for the excellent info. I had no idea of the structure of moles & their living situation. To mtmdancer, when I built my raised garden, I put small square fencing underneath & I have never had a problem with moles, except in my yard. The squirrels are a different story. They love digging in my potatoes.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Report this
LindaD
The lawnmower repair guy said don't mow over the mounds because as the moles lift up the dirt it includes rocks which can damage/destroy the mower blades. Also, I must have the worlds biggest moles (or gophers) because the holes are big enough to cause trip hazards. Is there another burrowing creature out there? I mean these holes are huge, and sometimes there's no dirt mound around them.
Friday, August 8, 2025 Report this
Terrilovesanimals
I truly love that so many don't want to harm them Poisons and traps are awful and cruel I look at the tunnels and mounds in my yard right now and just think - Good, my lawn needed aeration! Let them have at it.
Monday, August 11, 2025 Report this