Mole/vole help

I've noticed some suspicious piles of loose dirt in my backyard over the past few days. I first noticed the piles in my front yard but suspected it was just from the yard settling after a hard rain after the Public Works Department dug it up to work on a sewer line. Since no one has done any digging in the backyard I suspect I've got some sort of little tunneler back there.
Can anyone tell me if this is a mole or a vole, and what is the best way to go about getting rid of one.
Apologies for the blurry picture. I took it early this morning without a flash.

Tags: Garden, Mole, Varmint, Vermin, Vole, Yard

Attachments:

Mole 1.JPG, 111 KB
Moles 2.JPG, 170 KB

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Permalink Reply by Polly McDaniel on October 7, 2008 at 6:32am

You have had a mole move in, Andre. Or maybe a family of them, not sure. I did look at your pictures and yep, that's mole activity.
Various methods of removing them include: trapping, poison or getting a cat. Some believe the moles come because they are eating grubs in your dirt and one way to get rid of them is to poison the grubs. Unfortunately, this can also poison beneficial insects, such as the worms. You don't want that. Many methods of mole removal are available, including using mothballs, or another repellent. Check with your cooperative extension for their recommendation and/or talk it through with someone at a local hardware/home improvement store.

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Permalink Reply by Andre Rodriguez on October 7, 2008 at 8:58am

Thanks, Polly. That's what I feared. I've got a cat, and he's a great mouser. I guess I'm going to have to point him toward being a "moler."
Good to know what we've got. Now we can take care of it.

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Permalink Reply by Doug on October 7, 2008 at 9:17am

I have a spring loaded trap. Well, they call it a trap, bit it doesn't trap em, it spikes them. Good riddance. Got one earlier this summer, but there is at least one more. Never saw a mole so up close before; ugly paddle footed suckers.

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Permalink Reply by Chinquapin on October 7, 2008 at 10:45am

I have a family of the little buggers in my yard and I've learned to coexist with them. They're quite entertaining. One used to take short strolls above ground. Other than some squishy tunnels in the lawn, they haven't done nearly as much damage as the squirrels and drought have. I assume they find loads of creepy crawlies in my yard's red clay and that's why they stick around.

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Permalink Reply by Polly McDaniel on October 8, 2008 at 12:04am

I agree that unless they are eating your landscape, a lasse fare attitude is a good one. I've had them move in, then move on the next season.

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Permalink Reply by Andre Rodriguez on October 8, 2008 at 12:03pm

So do you think I can just spread out the little dirt piles and ignore them? I wonder if they came this year because we decided to plant a garden.

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Permalink Reply by Chinquapin on October 8, 2008 at 5:03pm

That's what I do. If I wanted a lawn worthy of a golf course, I'd fuss about them, but I'd rather spend my time weeding. The previous owner of my house said he had a 10 year war going against the moles. I figured if they survived him, nothing I'm going to do will drive them away. As far as I know they're meat eaters. They're not interested in plants. The only way they've hurt my garden is when they dig a tunnel under a plant and it's roots dry out.

That reminds me. My rain barrels are full again!!!

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Permalink Reply by Doug on October 9, 2008 at 9:00am

See, I had one go right under one of my perennials. You could see the path, clearly. The plant died in about five days. I love the idea of coexisting with them, and that they (supposedly) eat the Jap beetle larvae, but when my plants die because of them; I set out the trap.

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Permalink Reply by Marion Buehler on October 9, 2008 at 6:21am

I saw something like this in a yard in Brevard, too. Globs of nice looking, rich soil scattered on the grass, but there was no hole or tunnel underneath. It was just as though compost had rained out of the sky. I sure hope somebody knows what's going on.

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Permalink Reply by Katherine on October 12, 2008 at 8:27pm

I remember reading that skunks (I think it was skunks) dig for grubs in the soil too. They don't make tunnels, just leave a little pile of dirt and small area dug out. Perhaps that's what yours is.

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Permalink Reply by Marion Buehler on October 13, 2008 at 5:31am

I don't think so. I've seen skunk damage - little cone shaped depressions - and this is quite different. These are large piles, maybe two cups in volume sitting on the surface with no hole or tunnel, just grass underneath. It's not bear turds either. It's clearly soil or compost, not partially digested sunflower seeds. I'm beginning to think it might be a neighbor playing games.