Using Dawn soap to get rid of moles

If you spend a few minutes on the internet looking for ways to get rid of moles, one of the things you're bound to read, at least once, is the idea of using detergent, like Dawn soap. Most commonly used in conjunction with castor oil, the combination is meant to deter earthworms and other insects from the ground on which it has been sprayed, thus eradicating the mole's primary source of food. If there is no food there, the mole has no reason to stick around and should, in theory, abandon that particular tunnel and move elsewhere.

Dawn soap, aside from being one of the most popular dish soaps in the entire US, is also said to repel moles, although we have not seen evidence to support the theory that it actually does. It is also marketed as a ‘natural' mole repellent in many places online, but natural isn't exactly what you could call it.

There are three main ingredients in Dawn soap, one of which is sodium lauryl sulfate. This is found in a number of products, mostly cosmetics, designed to add some foam or lather to a cleaning product.

In small doses, used to wash hair, dishes, etc., Dawn soap won't do anyone any harm. The soap is NOT designed to be used in your backyard, however. SLS, or sodium lauryl sulphate, hasn't been linked to cancer, but there are carcinogens found in some SLS products, and SLS has been shown to cause poor eye development in youngsters, as well as causing irritation to the eyes also. It is not smart to let children, animals, and particularly pets come into contact with dish soap or any other type of cleaning product. They are designed for cleaning and fighting crime and grease after all.

We would not recommend using any household cleaning item to try and repel wildlife, particularly those that you wouldn't want to ingest yourself. Dawn soap can do damage to a person when it is left on the hands for too long, ingested, or if it gets into the nose or eyes, so it's definitely not the kind of thing you would want to leave out for animals.



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