Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. As an extension agent, I should consider problems associated with turf grass a job security bonanza. Not only do we get calls concerning diseases and weeds, there’re also homeowners who are plagued by moles and voles. Moles are insectivores with earthworms rating high on their list of preferred food but they also dine on grubs and other soil insects. Some homeowner think that applying a grub control product will starve out moles, but actually these underground tunneling animals will find enough subterranean insects to thrive. In the plus column, moles eat many nuisance insect larvae like Japanese beetles and their tunneling aerates the soil. Problems occurs when tunnels cause heaving of the soil and dislodges the roots of grass and interrupts croquet play. Also, those pesky voles cheerfully use mole tunnels as highways to plant roots which they nibble and gnaw and destroy.
Amanda McNulty is a Clemson University Extension Horticulture agent and the host of South Carolina ETV’s Making It Grow! gardening program. She studied horticulture at Clemson University as a non-traditional student. “I’m so fortunate that my early attempts at getting a degree got side tracked as I’m a lot better at getting dirty in the garden than practicing diplomacy!” McNulty also studied at South Carolina State University and earned a graduate degree in teaching there.