Voles, a close relative, often travel through mole tunnels to devour bulbs and plant roots. Once a mole finds a yard that's well-stocked with grubs, worms and other insects, it's unlikely to leave until the food is gone. If you have a cat, you can use its soiled kitty litter as a humane way to deter moles from your yard.
- Look for symmetrical piles of dirt in the yard to determine whether you actually have moles in your yard. These conical piles are mole mounds, used for entering and exiting tunnels. Look for the tunnels, which look like long, raised ridges across the lawn that resemble the veins on the back of your hand.
- Fill a bag with urine-soiled cat litter. Do not use fresh litter or litter in which cats have defecated.
- Locate the mole mounds and tunnels in the yard. Dig a few inches into a mound. Move to a mound about 3 feet away, then dig again. Repeat the digging every 3 feet to cover your entire yard. This will help the urine odor penetrate the mole tunnels more easily.
- Pour about 1 cup of soiled cat litter into each hole. You can also pour the cat litter directly into the tunnels.
- Sprinkle hot pepper flakes into the holes, if desired, to add another element of repellent power to the cat litter. Moles hate the smell and taste of hot pepper.
- Cover the cat litter with soil from the mole's mound or tunnel. If you've thoroughly covered your entire yard with cat litter, the moles will smell the urine and associate the odor with a hungry predator. This forces them to leave for a safer environment.