How to Get Rid of Moles
October 16, 2008

I've been battling moles for nine years. That's right...nine years. If you live in a part of the world that doesn't battle these creatures consider yourself lucky. I looked up the word "mole" in Wikipedia and here's what I found: "Moles...have cylindrical bodies covered in fur, with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrate (read: 'grub worms') living underground." I've attached a picture of the ugly monsters-only those who have never fought the furry critters would call them cute.

I don't have a large yard, I can mow it in fifteen minutes, but it backs up to a tree covered green space that drops steeply down to a drainage creek. This is crucial because I'd suspect several hundred thousand moles live under the surface of that ridge. I have no idea how they got there but for nine years they've mounted a vigorous attack on my beautifully manicured green grass. They've delighted in leaving mounds of dirt and long bulging burrows in my yard.

I determined that no dumb animal would control my territory. And so I started a campaign of mole extermination. I bought traps that killed the critters. But the traps proved a hassle to use--I had to dig a hole and place them in just the right place so that the mole would crawl between the jaws of the trap and trigger it. I then had to remove the mole from the trap and dispose of its hideous body.

After using a trap for several years I read an article in the local newspaper that was written by an "expert" vermin exterminator. He suggested using "The Giant Destroyer." This super gasser looks like a 4th of July smoke bomb, and according to the expert, works better than anything else. And so over the next seven years I spent hundreds of dollars on super gassers. I was determined. I was vigilant. I was aggressive. I dug. I lit fuses. I stuck at least 100 Giant Destroyers in mole tunnels. And by July--I mean every July--my yard looked like it had been plowed. Ever vigilant, I tried poison nuggets that I dropped into their holes. I tried grass sprays (two different brands) that the manufacturer guaranteed would kill the creatures. Nothing eliminated these monsters. Frustrated, I returned to the unproven Giant Destroyer.

It was March of 2008 that my life unexpectedly changed. As I had done for the previous seven years I entered a local feed/hardware store and bought an early supply of super gassers. The sales clerk, a girl with short blond hair, brown eyes, jeans and a cowboy/girl hat smiled and asked me a question, "Why are you buying these?"

"To kill moles?" I said knowingly-after all, why else would a homeowner spend such a ridiculous amount of money on smoke bombs.

"They won't work," this teenage sales clerk said confidently.

"Hmmm," I thought to myself, "how would this girl know these gassers won't kill moles? I've searched the Web. I've called nurseries, I've read the article by the expert. I had done all of that but somehow I sensed that this girl knew more than everyone else in the world about getting rid of miles.

"What will work?" I asked.

"You'll never kill all of the moles. Instead, kill their food and they'll go away."

"What's their food?"

"Grub worms."

"How do I kill them?"

"With grub worm poison."

And so last March I applied a liberal amount of grub worm killer to my lawn. March passed...no moles. April passed...no moles. May passed...no moles. June passed...no moles. July hit and so did a single mole. I put down more grub worm killer and it's now October and my lawn is flawless. Every time a neighbor would drive by I would flag them down and say, "Look no moles! No moles!" Their eyes would bulge like they'd been pumped with air and they would ask "How did you do it?" And I'd tell them. Today, I'm the neighborhood hero.

And on this day, with this email, I'm telling you and you can tell others and yea this message will spread throughout all the world and we will become known as the mighty men who did not retreat in the face of the Philistine moles. No! We stood our ground and the victory is ours!

I thought this would be a shorter article but once I got to writing all of the passion of the last nine years yearned for expression. Now for the spiritual application--you must have seen it coming. If you've got a reoccurring sin stop feeding it. Peter said it this way in 1 Peter 2:11, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." We can try all sorts of solutions but until we stop the behavior that feeds our flesh we won't know the victory that is ours in Christ.