How to Get Rid of Burrowing Animals
Burrowing animals like moles, groundhogs, voles, and gophers can destroy your lawn and garden within weeks if they choose to take over your garden or lawn. Getting rid of them by using an exterminator can get really pricy, so here are the best homemade methods to get rid of burrowing animals for good. I will also include some amazing traps that can work as well.
Getting rid of the Burrowing AnimalÂ
Identifying The PestÂ
Identifying what type of burrowing animal you have is the most important. Not every trap or bait works on moles, groundhogs, or valves. Some of them stay in the hole all the time while the next likes to come to the entrance a lot. The ones that come to the entrances a lot are the voles, groundhogs, and gophers.
It is easy to know if you have a burrowing animal problem. Here are some of the signs that you might have that problem.
> Holes in your garden or lawn.
> You feel the ground caving in below you.
> You see the animals more than once.
> You constantly twist your foot in small holes.
Making Homemade Burrowing Animal RepellentÂ
Making your own repellent for burrowing animals is really easy. All you will need is some dawn dish soap, castor oil, and water to mix. This method does not harm the animal in any way or form, it simply just makes it hard for them to live in the hole that they dig. The majority of the time when you use this method, they will be gone in 1 or 2 weeks tops. Using a toxic chemical that can kill the animals in their hole will only make it worse for you because you will start to smell a nasty odor in your garden or lawn pretty soon.
Making the repellent:
1) Mix 1 cup of dawn dish soap and 1 cup of castor oil in a large container that can hold enough water to pour in each and every one of the holes you find.
2) Pour the mixture in the holes and leave it overnight. Repeat this process 3 times for the week and eventually, the burrowing animals will find somewhere else to live.
Related Article: How to get rid of ground moles with dawn soap
Setting Traps And Bait
Setting traps is totally different from using poisonous chemicals. These traps will catch the animal or draw them to a certain area where you can catch them. Some of these traps are used by pest control companies and have different purposes for different animals. Moles tend to stay in the holes all the time while voles and gophers come to the entrance a lot. If you have to use toxic bait on the voles and gophers, make sure to do it with extreme caution and be prepared to swell a bad odor if they die in their holes. Here is a link to a wide variety of different traps and baits you can buy.
Modifying Their Habitat And Natural Predators
Modifying their habitat is one of the sure ways to get them out real fast. You can pour concrete in the holes to block them up permanently, water the lawn more often, flooding their holes with water so they will come out. Luring them out of their holes will get the attention of their predator like dogs, cats, owls, and snakes that eat them. Dogs tend to play with them but they see this as a treat and move away.