IF YOU talk to gardeners from any part of the world, you will realize they hate to see moles on their lawns. When these nefarious rodents invade, they dig holes in your lawn and eat away anything they find including grass. Nevertheless, following simple steps, you can now get rid of ground moles with vinegar.
We are talking about vinegar, a common household product that has been with us for almost an eternity. This small, cheap, easy-to-use product has been a household name in culinary, medical, and cleaning fraternities for decades.
Vinegar’s versatility doesn’t stop at those three niches. The product has been used to eliminate different types of pests as well. That is why we want to see how to get rid of ground moles using vinegar.
So, actually, how do farmers kill moles? Here’s how:
Mix two parts vinegar and four parts water inside a spray bottle to get rid of ground moles with vinegar. Spray the exterior of the molehills. Repeat this process every day for a few more days, and the moles will disappear.
But you might be wondering …
What Attracts Ground Moles to Your Lawn?
Moles are attracted to food. That sounds weird, but it is the truth. So, if you see ground moles in your garden, that means your soil is healthy, to the point of attracting ground moles. If you do not take precautionary measures, the underground nutrients in your garden’s soil will endeavor to attract ground moles.
In sharp contrast, moles also love unhealthy soils. How so? An example of unhealthy soil is dehydrated soil. Such soil is often a conducive place for insects. In their quest for food, ground moles will make dehydrated soil their home to prey on insects. Whichever the case, moles are attracted to food—lots of it.
Moles also love overirrigated soils. These areas are home to earthworms. As you may guess, earthworms are one of the nutritious foods moles feed on.
Therefore, whether your garden is rich or poor in nutrition, ground moles will always be attracted to it anyway. But there is nothing to worry about because you can now easily get rid of ground moles from your garden using vinegar.
Follow this 5-step process to get rid of ground moles with vinegar from your lawn:
Why Vinegar is the Best Product for Getting Rid of Moles
Vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar (ACV), is a strong product for eliminating pests such as rodents from your home and garden. ACV is derived from raw apples specially pressed for the juice.
The juice is then taken through a double or even triple fermentation process, producing a strong and smelly acid called acetic acid, with vinegar as the final product.
If a small amount of ACV touches the mole’s skin, the part of the skin that came into contact with the chemical will start to itch and eventually burn. Because catching a mole requires skill, the strong smell from the vinegar sprayed at the hole’s exterior scares the moles away.
By repeating the spraying process at the exterior of the mole’s burrow for a few more days, you are simply increasing the level of acetic acid in the home of the pest. Once the hole is filled with an acetic acid smell, the moles will find your garden unconducive to live in.Â
Why Should You Use Vinegar to Get Rid of Ground Moles?
Vinegar is one of the easiest and most natural ways to get rid of ground moles in your garden. When compared with other common methods, vinegar stands out for the following reasons:
Inexpensive Solution
Vinegar is one of the more affordable pest control products on the market. You can get it for as little as $20 at most online stores. The effectiveness of each product is dependent on its acidity level.
The more acidic the vinegar, the more effective it will be in removing ground moles from your garden. Online stores such as Amazon have a wide range of vinegar products. While you are at liberty to go for a cheaper product, what should drive you is how effective the product is.
Over the years, the high concentration of 30% Concentrated Vinegar (pictured below) has effectively driven away ground moles from the garden. That brings us to the second reason you should use vinegar to remove ground moles.
Readily Available
There are as many vinegar products on the market as there are people. You might not get vinegar in the shop next door, but you will find it in your neighborhood’s retail shop or market.
Online shops stock hundreds, even thousands, of different types of vinegar products. You can try these products to see which ones work best for you.
Environmentally Friendly
Vinegar does not affect the soil. This eco-friendly product is designed to get rid of ground moles and other pests without causing damage to the surroundings. It doesn’t pollute the environment.
Safe to Use
Vinegar is safe to use. Note that most people use vinegar in their day-to-day cleaning. As long as you wear hand gloves when handling it so that it doesn’t touch the skin, there will be no harm in using vinegar.
The product is non-toxic. Thus, you can use it around children. Even when ingested (in small amounts), vinegar does not cause much worry. That does not mean you should be careless when using it around children.
It is a Gentle Way to Get Rid of Ground Moles
You’d have difficulty convincing animal rights activists that you meant to chase moles out of your garden if your method killed them and other animals. Thankfully, by using vinegar, you are simply giving ground moles a second chance to live.
You are only chasing them out of your garden – not killing them. These unwanted visitors can find a conducive place elsewhere to live with their families.
Does Vinegar Kill Ground Moles?
Vinegar can kill insects but cannot kill ground moles because, like other mammals, they have a thick protection layer on their skin. Vinegar kills insects quickly because most lack a thick layer of protection.
The strong and choking vinegar smell scares the rodents away. If you happen to spray the ground mole directly with vinegar, the part that came into contact with the acid will start to burn.
With such a high level of threat to their lives, the ground moles will leave your garden in a much safer place.
How to Prevent Ground Moles from Your Lawn
Prevention is better than cure, so they say. You must start early if you do not want to use vinegar to remove ground moles from your lawn. One of the best preventive methods is to use rodent-repellent sprays such as Rodent Sheriff Pest Control (pictured below).
For this method to work for you, maintain a spraying routine on your lawn. It can be every five days or every week. Of course, you can also include other preventive methods, such as introducing predators to your lawn. Your dog can defend the lawn against ground moles by keeping them from digging tunnels.
In Summary
You can get rid of ground moles with vinegar easily and quickly by mixing it with water and then spraying it on the exterior of the mole holes. Repeat this easy process a few times in a couple of days, and within a short time, you’d say goodbye to the unwanted visitors—ground moles.