I've seen this question which seems to be our canonical mole page but I have additional questions/details I hope you can answer here.
I'm not a native English speaker so forgive my expressions. In particular, it seems that "moles" are ones that make tunnels that are visible on the grass? The moles I have make tunnels 10-20cm under the grass so I can't tell where the tunnels are except when I dig out one of the earth piles.
--> What's this kind of mole called? Just so I can phrase my questions properly.
Also, I'm not in the US so some of the products mentioned don't exist here (Austria) and I can't figure out whether my "local" Amazon.de has anything similar.
--> Knowledge of European alternatives are much appreciated!
My lawn is new: rolls of pre-grown grass rolled out over a thick layer of new soil in the summer of 2013. There are a LOT of earth worms (which is a good sign) but also at least one very annoying mole that perforates my (expensive) lawn.
- I have tried old spring-loaded mole traps borrowed from my neighbor, but they were triggered by soil and not by the mole itself.
- He also gave me a concussion trap (powered by a round of gun powder, no projectile) that got jammed by soil and didn't blow.
- Strongly-scented cotton balls seemed worth a try but also ineffective.
- Burying a deep container in the mole's path in the hope of trapping it (advice from a pest control person) didn't succeed either.
Here's an image of a revealed tunnel going under the boys' sandbox. I've placed a plastic stick in the path for visibility. I know that the mole passes through here and I placed a slab over this hole while I figure out what to do next.
--> What can I do to get rid of this mole? Trap/kill/move/chase away - whatever you can recommend.