Have you noticed holes in your lawn and the golf course lately? These are most likely caused by moles. Here is information from the U of Florida about moles. Please note, it is illegal in Florida to use poison to kill the moles. Trapping is recommended. Click on link at end of message for more information.
The damage caused by moles is almost entirely cosmetic. Although moles are often falsely accused of eating the roots of grass and other plants, they actually feed on the insects causing the damage. The tunneling of moles may cause some physical damage to the root systems of ornamental or garden plants and may kill grass by drying out the roots, but this damage is usually minor.
When mole tunnels become an intolerable nuisance, moles may be captured and removed without a permit by homeowners, renters, or employees of the property owner. If a lawn service or pest control technician is hired to trap nuisance animals, that person must have a Nuisance Wildlife Permit or registrtion issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). No poison (bait or fumigant) may be used on native wildlife without a Poison Permit issued by the executive director of the FWC. Because suitable traps are available for mole control, it is extremely difficult to justify the use of poisons and the Commission has decided not to issue any Poison Permits for moles in Florida. This effectively makes the use of any mole poison illegal in Florida. As of summer 2007, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is considering suspending registration of all mole poisons in Florida to conform with the state's wildlife regulations.
Flooding the tunnels with water may force moles to the surface, but this method rarely works in deep, sandy soils like those common in Florida.
Moles can be live trapped using a simple pitfall (Figure 3). Find an active surface tunnel. Collapse a tunnel with your foot, then come back in an hour or two to see whether the tunnel has been reopened. If the tunnel has been pushed back up, it is an active tunnel. Dig a hole through the tunnel large enough to insert a large coffee can, wide-mouth quart jar, or similar container. Sink the can into the ground so the top of the container lies just below the bottom edge of the tunnel. Cover the area with a piece of cardboard or a board and the soil from the hole to keep light and air currents from alerting the mole to the trap. When the mole falls into the trap, the whole container can be pulled out of the ground and the mole carried to a forested area and released. Check your live trap often (several times a day). If this is not done, trapped moles may die from starvation or thirst.
For more information about moles, click here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW080