A mole might not look like a pest but it certainly is. They are little creatures that go about getting food and building tunnels. You could go to bed with a perfect lawn and wake up to a lawn looking like it got trampled by cows overnight. Molehills are very unsightly to look at on a well-managed lawn as they look like someone left out a spot.

Moles burrow into the soil and make tunnels to connect them from one end of the lawn to the other, ruining hours and hours of dedicated gardening in the process. Their burrowing activities interfere with the root network of grasses and shrubs present in your garden leading to death and drying up of the plants. Therefore, if your grass has been dying recently without evident cause, you may have a mole infestation on your hands. They use their long snouts for burrowing into the soil and looking for small animals like slugs, beetles, and earthworms that move inside the soil.

Apart from this, molehills can be very dangerous to humans as you may accidentally step on one and get your foot trapped or worse, sprained.  They are very hardworking animals and can build their molehills almost overnight destroying everything in the process. They are always on the hunt for food so they stay up all night burrowing into the ground. This alone makes them really dangerous and unwelcome if you want to maintain a beautiful lawn. So the next question should be, how do you remove these stubborn pests?

1. Set traps for them. 
   Moles are definitely smart animals but they cannot outsmart a human. Traps are very effective at removing moles from properties. However, there are certain guidelines to follow in order to be successful.

   Observe their tunneling patterns. Dedicate some time to watch your lawn and note where the moles go in and out. If there are multiple tunnels and you don’t know which is active, try collapsing the tunnels in with a shovel or your foot. Leave overnight and check it out the next day. Tunnels that have been rebuilt are most likely the active ones.

   

   Dig a ridge above the identified tunnel and secure your trap where you want it to be. Set the trap to close automatically the moment a mole comes in contact with it. Another way is to block both ends of the tunnel with a shovel and then trap the mole as it is digging a new hole to escape.  Remember to wear gloves when dealing with moles and also to collapse all tunnels as they may be used by other moles if they are not destroyed.

2. Call in the professionals
   If you cannot trap the moles on your own or you have tried and your efforts proved abortive, then it is time to call in the experts. Getting professional help means not having to worry if you were successful in your attempt and you save time and effort that could be put to good use.