Natural Pest Control: Gophers and Moles

There are a number of household solutions that you can try to chase away gophers and moles before resorting to expensive pest control alternatives.

Bounce Fabric Softener -- the fragrance in fabric softener, oleander, is a natural repellent to gophers and moles. Stuff a few fresh sheets of fabric softener into their tunnel openings, then use dirt to fill in the tunnels.

Coffee Grounds -- moles are repelled by coffee grounds, so try spreading some around your yard. Coffee grounds also act as a fertilizer.

Radio & Sealable Freezer Bag -- put a portable radio inside a freezer bag, turn it on, and seal the bag shut. Put the bag near the gopher/mole tunnels. Much like a scarecrow, the human noise scares away moles and gophers.

Cat Litter -- if you have a cat, try pouring used cat litter into the opening of the mole/gopher tunnels. Cats are natural enemies of moles and gophers and the scent will scare them away.

Additional tidbits about moles and gophers:

Gophers are members of the rodent family. They eat garden vegetables, roots, and buds. Moles are mammals, and they prefer insects and worms; they'll rarely eat plants.

Gopher tunnels can be as long as 800 ft.

Stepping on mole tunnels to flatten them will probably only chase the moles into someone else's yard.

Skunks, hawks, king snakes, and owls prey on gophers.

While we tend to see moles as "pests", and they do eat helpful earthworms, moles also eat some of the other pests that may be plaguing you, such as beetle grubs, cutworms, and wireworms. Aerated soil is a byproduct of their tunnel digging.

Source: Gardening Magic

Natural Pest Control: Gophers and Moles

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