We’ve had an influx of mole activity in recent days.  Perhaps the dry weather has something to do with it.  I wouldn’t mind if not for the mounds of dirt they make throughout the lawn.

Over the years, I’ve tried various means of “encouraging” them to go elsewhere — such as to my neighbors’ yard.  One such recommendation was to put a mothball in their run.  They would be adverse to the odor and leave.

It sort of worked.  They would definitely leave that run — only to dig a new one nearby.  The “mothball” technique actually resulted in an increase of mole activity, not less.

As I was “planting” the mothballs, I pondered their effect on gophers (or are they chipmunks?).  So I rolled a mothball into the opening to their burrow.

The next day, I noticed  the mothball sitting on my lawn, about a foot from the opening.  So, I rolled it back down — and watched.  About 30 seconds later, the mothball erupted from the ground with a spray of dirt.  Amused, I returned it — and the gopher promptly ejected it.  I did this a couple more times and the last time it didn’t reappear.

The next day, I noticed that they merely dug a new entrance.  Now I had another hole in my yard.

So, moles, as well as gophers/chipmunks, don’t like mothballs, but not enough to leave, only enough to do more digging.