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Question about the vibrating metal mole chaser stake or the Original P3 green PVC mole chaser stakes

Q: "How long do batteries last in the solar and the metal battery powered mole stakes? When should they be changed? Thanks. Peter"

Answer: D cells batteries that power the P3 International Mole Stakes last 4 to 6 months. If you use the Supersonic Mole Stakes, there is a power saver feature once the moles are gone that increases battery life. We recommend only alkaline batteries. For the solar mole stakes, listen for the almost silent vibrating sound. If there is none, the reasons may be either that the unit is not getting enough sunlight or that the solar battery needs replaced. We sell D cells but not the solar batteries.

We recommend you test or listen to your units every spring if you are in the northern part of the USA or at least ever 4 to 6 months in warmer regions. One year I did not. One warm January day, I saw mole runs from the woods behind my 1/3 acre right to the front sidewalk. A rude awakening of "spring." In fact what motivated this article today was that I thought the same thing, It is warm in Iowa even though it is only April 9 and it is time to go and listen.

With the P3 battery units, you just pull out the battery tube, slip in new batteries and then put the cap on. I learned with my solar outdoor lights that local stores, at least in Iowa, don't carry the solar batteries in the winter! So take out a battery if you have the Smart Solar Mole Stakes or the P3 International Solar Mole Stakes and check them out now. The Smart Solar takes a battery pack so match the numbers against internet numbers. The P3 takes a AAA NiMH 600 mAh.

Thanks for the question and the reminder.

Sincerely,

Barbara

Question about how to get rid of yard moles without poison or noise.

Q: "Once more the moles have invaded my yard and garden beds. The burrows are going everywhere. What suggestions do you have to get rid of them without using traps, poison peanuts or noise?" Thanks. Jack.

Answer: Getting rid of yard moles, voles and gophers is faster if you use several methods simultaneously. Gophers are the most difficult to evict if they've established extensive underground tunnels over some years. Moles eat worms and grubs while they tunnel at grass level. Gophers eat the roots of your plants and shrubs. Voles eat vegetation and snails, etc. All burrow.

Treatment options include liquid sprayed castor oil, known as Scoot Mole, granular repellents like Mole Scram and inserting Vibrasonic vibrating metal mole chaser stakes, Supersonic Metal Mole Chaser Stake with Battery Saver Mode or the Original P3 green PVC mole chaser stakes into solid ground, not the tunnels or burrows themselves. (The noisy Weitech tunnel units are no longer available.) There are also Sol-Mate solar powered mole stakes and Smart Solar Mole Gopher Stakes for flower beds in sunny climates since you cannot mow over them. The Smart Solar product has an advantage in that the unit comes in two pieces. Rather than digging out a hole or trying to force this into the ground, the installer waters the area to soften the soil and then takes a wooden block, covers the pointed metal part and uses a mallet to push the bottom into the ground. Connect the two parts and the unit is ready to go.

P3 International mole chaser stakes operate on alkaline batteries (4 D cells), are waterproof (screw on top), are almost silent except for the hum when they cycle on and can be buried deep enough that you can safely mow over them. (To replace batteries, you unscrew the watertight top, remove the battery sleeve and replace the batteries. Batteries last 4 to 6 months on average.) Initially the pests can mistake the currents of vibration/sound as food source so there may be more activity at first..

Using a grub killer on your lawn as a preventative helps get rid of the moles and also save your lawn from destruction if you are not opposed to chemicals on your yard.

Using both the liquid or granular and the stakes at the same time has the best results. Moles eat their body weight every three days or they dehydrate and die. After a few unpleasant meals plus being irritated by the vibrations or ultrasound, the mole pests begin looking for a fresh food supply. In 1 to 2 weeks, they typically are gone.

Scoot Mole comes in a liquid with or without a sprayer. Refills are available. The downside to this liquid is that you need to have a very long water hose or a several long water hoses connected together to be able to reach all of the area to be treated if it is large. Dragging hose around and spraying is not easy if you have a large area. "BANDING" is recommended i.e. treat a small strip (10-20 feet wide) around the perimeter of a mole-free area.

Mole Scram is a granular formula containing Castor Oil: 15% , Citronella Oil: 0.4997%, Garlic Oil: 0.0003% and Peanut Hulls 84.9%. Depending upon your yard size, you can either sprinkle or put into a rotary lawn spreader. The plan here is to first spread the granules on the area closest to your home. For example, treat the half of the yard closest to your house or garden. Water in for 20 minutes or apply before a storm. (Hopefully you have an irrigation system,lawn sprinklers or have occasional heavy downpours). The next day do the second half and again water in thoroughly. This treatment typically lasts 3 months. The manufacturer states, "Mole Scram has higher concentrations of castor oil that its competition. Plus MoleScram adds garlic oil and citronella oil to the mix. Moles cannot tolerate the garlic odor. The citronella oil helps get rid of bugs, an alternative food moles love. The carrier is ground peanut hulls which releases the oils faster than similar granular mole repellers on the market."

Simultaneous to these topical treatments, insert mole chaser stakes in your yard, once more inserting first those closest to your home or the area you wish to protect. Remember that in heavy clay soils, vibrations are intense in a small area. In sandy soils, the vibrations are less intense. Insert mole chasers accordingly. In a laboratory test, moles typically were gone within 1 to 2 weeks.

My personal experience with the P3 units is 100% positive. We've used the same units for the past 5 years, just replacing batteries. One warm January, the moles tunneled from the woods to the front yard: the batteries were dead and who would expect warm weather in January!

I hope I've given you enough information to decide how to fight your battle.

Thanks. Barbara

Question about the Product Code: ES-P3-P7907-4, Four Supersonic Mole Chasers

Q:"Will this product affect dogs or cats in any way?" Bob

Answer: The Supersonic, Vibrasonic and green standard mole chaser stakes that we sell are powered by 4 D cell batteries and vibrate every 15 to 18 seconds. These are mow over units: to install you dig a hole and bury the unit upright so that only the screw on cap is visible above the ground.

Because they are almost entirely buried, the units are barely audible to humans. We've never had any reports of any dogs or cats being affected by them. Perhaps a curious animal might pause near a mole chaser and cock their head when the unit first activates. I have two Boston Terriers who roam the fenced in yard where there are 4 stakes. They have never paid any attention to them, at least never in my presence.

So, the answer is, these devices should not affect a dog or cat.

Thanks for your questions.

Sincerely,
Barbara

Q: "Now in my 3rd summer of using a black polycarbonate battery powered P3 International molechaser stake in my garden. I have been very pleased with the results although now it seems the gophers may be getting used to it and no longer are repelled. I am thinking of buying a second unit. Do you have other suggestions?" Ken

Answer: Multiple units are always good. You may want to get the Supersonic Molechaser to add to the Vibrasonic molechaser as it makes a noise rather than vibrating. It also helps to move the stakes around a bit. Hope this helps.

Comment from Customer: "Thank you for your quick and helpful reply. Based upon the information you sent, I have ordered a "supersonic" from your company. Thanks again, Ken."

Comment from Barbara: We sell several mole chaser products. These are also helpful in getting rid of gophers and voles. Gophers are more difficult to chase away as, once established, they have an elaborate network of tunnels under the ground while moles stay near the top where they can eat grubs.

Some suggestions to get rid of moles:

• Install molechaser stakes. Multiple units work best especially if your soil is mostly clay and rocks or mostly sand. Sound is contained in a smaller area and more intense in heavy soil and is dispersed farther and is less intense in sandy ones. We sell green PVC plastic ones, vibrasonic molechasers, solar mole chaser stakes and supersonic molechasers.
• Spray grass with Scoot Mole.
• Use grub control granules in mid summer.
• July 17, 2009 Note: MoleScram is a granular product we've sold now for almost 2 years with great reports from our customers. This application of mole chaser lasts about 3 months. This is fast to apply: use a lawn fertilizer spreader, rather than dragging hundreds of feet of hose behind you as with Scoot Mole liquid. Treat one half of your yard on Day 1 and half on Day 2. Water in well or apply before a storm. You'll move the moles back out of your yard!
• A new and popular addition to the mole stake line are the Smart Solar Mole Chasers. Customers in sunny regions love these vibrating mole chaser stakes for two reasons. First, installation is easier than with the P3 International solar mole stake. which has to be buried after digging a hole. First, make sure the ground is soft through watering. Next, take the bottom half of the stake and pound it into the ground using a board and mallet (hitting the board). Connect the electric connections to the solar panel, put on the top and the unit begins to charge and operate.Smart Solar also advertises mouse control in your yard as a bonus.
• The Transonic Electronic Mole & Gopher Chaser Solar Stake is a new unit by Bird X that is solar powered, vibrates and buzzes every 20 seconds plus flashes a downward light every five seconds. Coverage is up to 1/6 of an acre.

Good luck with your gardens and grass.

Sincerely, Barbara