Moles can really tear up your yard. They are not trying to cause problems. This is just the way they find food, and they don't even realize its a yard. Rather than kill moles, I like to relocate them to remote wooded areas. Luckily, moles move slowly, and almost always follow the same tunnels, even after you stomp them down. You can build a simple tilt sensor that turns a light on inside your house, when the moles comes back through. Then you simply walk outside and dig him out with a shovel. I have caught tons of moles, each usually in a matter of hours, with this method. Click above, to watch the video version, or read on for pictures and text.

Step 1: Build the Sensor

Materials: a block of wood, 3 screws, 1 washer, a cut off cord, and some scrap house wiring

Use one screw and washer to secure the cord. Use other two screws to connect cord to copper wires. Bend wires as shown. One wire goes up and has a tiny hanging loop. The next wire hangs down freely from the first. The last wire is an open loop around, but not touching the hanging wire. When done, set this over the stomped down mole trail, and balance it so the hanging wire is in the center of the loop.

DO NOT TOUCH the sensor after you have plugged it in. This is 110 volts. It won't kill you, but it WILL hurt.

Plug the sensor into an extension cord and run it back to your house and through a window or door.

Step 2: Build a Series Box

A series box is like an extension cord, but BOTH outlets have to have something plugged in, or neither will work. You plug a table lamp into one outlet and the extension cord with the mole sensor in the other, and plug the box into the wall. The lamp won't turn on until the mole sensor is activated.

To build a series box, break off the tabs that connect the screws together, on both sides of the outlet. Connect one wire of your power cord to the top screw on one side of the outlet. Connect the other power cord wire to the bottom screw on the other side of the outlet. Connect the remaining screws together with a single wire.

Step 3: Catch Your Mole!!

Go about your normal routine in the house, but keep an eye on the light. When it goes on, walk gently over to the mole, so he does feel your feet vibrating the ground. Stand for a few minutes, by the sensor, until you see the ground being pushed up. Quickly, push a shovel in under the mole and pop him out. Grab him quickly. They can dive into dirt almost as fast as we dive into water. They don't bite. Take a quick look at him. They have basically no eyes. Feel his fur. It is amazingly soft. Don't spend more than a minute with him, because you are scaring him. Put him with some dirt, in a bucket, and go dump him in a remote area, far away from houses and lawns. Get permission from the land owner, if its not your land.

Mole Gone!