How to Get Rid of Moles and Voles in Your Lawn

Moles and voles are frequently confused — and controlling the wrong one wastes time and money. They’re completely different animals with different diets, different damage patterns, and different control strategies. This guide helps you identify which you’re dealing with and eliminate them efficiently.

Moles vs. Voles: Key Differences

Moles

What they are: True insectivores — they eat earthworms, grubs, and insects. They do NOT eat plants or roots.

What they look like: Cylindrical, gray-brown body (5–7 inches), no visible eyes or ears, large paddle-shaped front feet adapted for digging, velvety fur.

Damage pattern:

• Surface tunnels: Raised, winding ridges across the lawn (pushed up from below)
• Deep tunnels: Permanent highways 6–10 inches underground
• Molehills: Volcano-shaped mounds of excavated soil

Key fact: Moles don’t eat your plants. The plant damage often attributed to moles is usually caused by voles using mole tunnels.

Voles (Meadow Mice)

What they are: Small rodents — true mice that live in grass and ground cover. They eat plant roots, bulbs, bark, and tubers.

What they look like: Small, compact rodents (4–7 inches including tail), similar in appearance to house mice but with a shorter tail and blunter snout.

Damage pattern:

• Surface runways: Narrow (1–2 inch wide) pathways worn through grass at ground level — often exposed when snow melts
• Girdling: Gnawing on the bark of young trees and shrubs at ground level
• Root damage: Plants that die or topple over with destroyed root systems
• Entry to mole tunnels: Voles use mole tunnels as highways

Key fact: Voles cause direct plant damage. If your bulbs, perennials, or grass roots are being eaten, voles are the problem.

Getting Rid of Moles

Method 1: Mole Traps (Most Effective)

Lethal mole traps placed in active tunnels are the most reliable control method.

Top mole traps:

• Victor Easy Set Mole Trap — scissor-type trap that straddles active tunnel; triggers when mole pushes against it
• Nash Choker Mole Trap — loop-style trap placed in deep run
• Wire Tek 1001 EasySet Mole Eliminator — one of the most effective designs for non-expert users

How to find active tunnels:

1. Flatten a 12-inch section of surface tunnels by pressing down with your foot
2. Mark the location and check in 24 hours
3. Re-raised sections indicate active tunnels — these are where to place traps

Placement:

• Find a straight run of active tunnel
• Dig down to the tunnel and place the trap according to manufacturer instructions
• Cover the disturbed area loosely to block light (moles avoid light-exposed tunnels)
• Check daily and move traps after 3 days without a catch

Method 2: Repellents

Castor oil-based repellents are the most widely used DIY mole repellent. They create an unpleasant taste and smell in the soil that moles find disagreeable.

Mole Scram Professional and Tomcat Mole Killer Repellent Granules (castor oil formula) applied to the affected area and watered in can temporarily drive moles from treated areas.

Effectiveness: Moderate — moles often relocate to the border of treated areas rather than fully leaving the property. Granular repellents work best as a preventive measure or to push moles toward trap placement areas.

Method 3: Reduce Grub Populations

Moles follow their food supply. A lawn with high grub and earthworm populations attracts more moles. Reducing soil grub populations with GrubEx (chlorantraniliprole) can gradually make your lawn less attractive to moles — but this takes a full season to show results and doesn’t address existing moles.

Method 4: Vibration Stakes

Vibrating stakes inserted into the ground around active areas reportedly annoy moles with noise and vibration, encouraging them to move on. Evidence is anecdotal and results are inconsistent. Potentially useful as a supplement to other methods.

Getting Rid of Voles

Method 1: Snap Traps (Most Effective)

Standard mouse snap traps are highly effective for voles. Place them in active runways and near burrow openings.

Placement:

• Place perpendicular to runways with the trigger end in the runway
• Bait with peanut butter or apple slices
• Position inside a PVC pipe or small box to protect pets and birds
• Set multiple traps (10–20 for a significant infestation)

Victor Original Mouse Traps and Tomcat Snap Traps work well for vole control.

Method 2: Live Cage Traps

Small cage traps (like Havahart Model 0745 for mice/voles) can capture voles for live release. Check twice daily and release far from the property.

Method 3: Habitat Modification

Remove the cover that protects voles:

• Eliminate thick mulch near trees and shrubs in winter (voles shelter under heavy mulch)
• Pull mulch 12 inches away from tree trunks and shrub bases
• Remove tall grass around garden beds and woodpiles
• Mow lawn regularly to eliminate runways

Method 4: Vole Repellents

Granular castor oil repellents work for voles as well as moles. Apply along runways and around plant bases.

Plantskydd Repellent (blood-based animal repellent) applied around tree bases repels voles and rabbits from feeding on bark.

Method 5: Hardware Cloth Tree Guards

To protect young trees from girdling:

• Install hardware cloth cylinders (1/4 inch mesh) around tree trunks and shrub stems
• Bury the cylinder 6 inches into the soil and extend at least 18 inches above ground (or above expected snow depth)
• Keep guards several inches from the trunk

Lawn Repair After Moles and Voles

After controlling the pest, address lawn damage:

After moles:

1. Flatten surface tunnels by pressing them down firmly
2. Roll the lawn with a lawn roller if there’s significant heaving
3. Overseed or patch bare areas where tunnels have killed grass
4. Water new seed regularly until established

After voles:

1. Surface runways typically fill in naturally with regrowth — mow and allow recovery
2. Replace killed grass with new seed
3. Examine tree trunks for girdling damage — complete girdling of the trunk means the tree will likely die; bridge grafting is a possible (though complex) repair for valuable trees

When to Call a Professional

• Mole populations are very high across a large property
• Voles have caused significant damage to landscaping, orchards, or trees
• You’re not making progress after 4 weeks of trapping

Prevention Checklist

Against moles:

• Treat for lawn grubs to reduce food supply
• Set traps in late summer/early fall as new moles establish
• Apply castor oil repellent preventively to new lawn areas

Against voles:

• Remove mulch from tree and shrub bases in fall
• Install hardware cloth tree guards before winter
• Mow and clear tall grass from around garden beds
• Set mouse snap traps in fall before population peaks

Bottom Line

The first step is correct identification: raised ridges and molehills indicate moles; surface runways and plant damage indicate voles. Moles are best controlled with properly placed lethal traps in active tunnels. Voles respond well to mouse snap traps placed in runways. Habitat modification — removing cover and reducing food sources — is the best long-term prevention for both. For lawn repair after an infestation, press down tunnels, patch bare areas, and seed or overseed to restore the turf.