What kinds of tools or products do you know of that work well for moles? Not interested in trapping and releasing, or having dead and decaying animals underground. I’ve heard of the sonic spikes which may deter them but with mixed reviews
Moles eat grubs. Get rid of the grubs you get rid of the moles. Safe to use product is Milky Spore. It is pretty pricey but it works extremely well. I was looking for a safe option before making a garden. Had enough to use for the whole lawn and when it was hatching time for Japanese beetles, my yard had only a few and the neighbor had zillions buzzing around.
If you have (or know someone who has) dogs? Get some excrement. Burying it in the mole hills tells them a predator is there and to burrow away. There used to be moles where I live, but bringing in dogs have moved them out of the area. The yard has been mole free for years.
Depending on where you live, another alternative is flushing them out. Use a hose and flood the entrances which also makes them move away. However, with water shortages in a lot of places, I’d recommend the first option.
No dog but free flowing water here! I could try that. You actually reminded me that hardware stores sell some kind of fox urine product that could be used similar to the dog excrement idea
Cats also work wonders. The cat doesn’t even need to hunt them, just being present is enough to drive them off. We had an indoor outdoor cat who didn’t hunt but just wandering around the yard drove away the moles. Now that that cat is gone, they are back.
I use a sonic spike in one of my raised beds and it works well. The raised bed is pretty small though, not sure how big of an area one could really cover.
My FIL had success by treating his lawn with something like grubx.
Grub killer is a must. Moles live off of grubs, kill them and moles leave.
I also use the sonic spikes as well, they help but are by no means a complete fix on their own.
At my previous property I used poison and traps. the poison did nothing and the traps just seemed to kill an endless number of moles, there were always more to take their place.