If you've always taken pride in a well-manicured lawn, you may be increasingly frustrated by the unsightly dirt burrows that pop up on a seemingly daily basis. Yard moles can ruin the flat surface of your lawn and even cause brown or dead spots as their burrowing damages the roots of your grass. However, you may be reluctant to employ traps (if these traps are even legal in your state) or set out poison that could potentially harm other wildlife. Fortunately, there are a number of options that can help you make your lawn less appetizing for moles without causing them any physical harm. Read on to learn more about some humane ways to rid your lawn of moles once and for all.

What can you do to discourage moles from tunneling through your yard?

Moles primarily subsist on a diet of grub worms and earthworms. Although earthworms serve a useful purpose in processing your yard's topsoil, grubs are less friendly, with many evolving into insects that eat plants and vegetables. Therefore, ridding your lawn of grub worms should eliminate the moles' primary food source and quickly send them elsewhere for sustenance while reducing the number of insects in your airspace. Most hardware and home supply stores sell a variety of grub-killing powders, sprays, and other formulas designed to interrupt the grub life cycle without harming beneficial insects and annelids. You may need to treat your lawn several times before all the grubs have been killed. 

What should you do once you've rid your lawn of grubs?

After your grubs are gone, many of your moles will start traveling to your neighbors' lawns or nearby fields in search of food. However, a few stubborn moles may remain to feast on earthworms or other annelids that haven't been impacted by your grub-killing regimen. If you're still noticing mounds periodically, you may want to border your lawn with a homemade mix of castor oil and dish soap or even pour this mixture down any surface holes you see. This mixture acts as a natural mole repellent but won't cause them physical harm or leach any harmful chemicals into the soil. Hot sauce, cayenne pepper, or other spicy powders can also send moles running for the hills, but you'll need to be careful if you have outdoor pets to ensure they don't get this mixture on their paws and later lick it off. If you have a difficult time controlling grubs on your own, contact a business such as IPM - Intelligent Pest Management.   

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