Moles

[mikkel]

Despite many attempts to rid our garden of them, we have several molehills appearing almost daily in our tiny garden and wish to stop them without being cruel and killing them. Sadly, our dog got one and ate it last week and we want to prevent him doing it by getting them to go elsewhere.

Has anybody a good cure for getting them to leave, or do we have to use this method?

Thank you.

[Admin]

Havnt got a clue when i used to live at Raf shawbury a man used to come round and insert something in the mole hill..Bet its a right pain mole hills appearing as much as we like animals .it can be a nuisance will have to see what you can do ..unless someone else knows ?

[Admin]

Found this at the rhs dont know if it will be of use or not..

RHS Help & Advice
Moles (Talpa europaea)
Symptoms
Heaps of excavated soil are thrown up on the surface of lawns and flower beds; moles tunnelling through the soil disturb the roots of seedlings and other small plants in flower beds and vegetable plots.

Cause
Moles are rarely seen as these blackish-brown mammals live mostly underground. They dig out a system of tunnels and chambers, and dispose of the excavated soil by throwing up molehills. Apart from the spring breeding season, moles lead largely solitary lives, so all the activity in a small garden could be due to a single animal.

Moles feed on earthworms and other soil-dwelling creatures, not on plant roots. The damage they cause is incidental to their lifestyle. Molehills on lawns must be removed before mowing and collapsed surface tunnels need filling in to maintain a level lawn surface.

Control
Several steps can be taken to control moles or encourage them to move elsewhere:

Mole traps are inexpensive and available from garden centres and hardware stores. They are humane but need careful placement in a tunnel, but not directly under a molehill. The secret is to open up a tunnel with the minimum of disturbance and align the trap with the direction and depth of the tunnel. No bait is required. Handle the trap with gloves as moles are sensitive to human scent. Once the trap is set, gently cover it with an upturned bucket to exclude light and draughts. Check the trap daily. With a bit of luck, the mole will be caught but sometimes the mole pushes soil into the trap. If this happens, clear the tunnel of soil and reset the trap. If this continues to occur, reset the trap in a different part of the tunnel system. Vacant tunnel systems may be taken over by another mole from nearby areas so further trapping may be needed to keep a garden mole free.

Electronic devices are more costly and available from garden centres and mail order firms. Their buzzing noise is said to drive the mole away; however it may only be to another part of the garden.

Caper spurge, the biennial Euphorbia lathyris, has its adherents who claim the root exudates repel moles. It is worth a try, but remove most of the flower heads before seeding occurs or a weed problem may result.

Mole smokes are no longer on sale to home gardeners. Professional contractors can be employed to use pellets that emit toxic gases into the tunnel system, but these cannot be used within 3m (10ft) of occupied buildings. These pellets can be effective but freedom from moles may not last long if there are other infested areas nearby from which moles can soon recolonise the garden.

[char]

I hope you get it sorted , keep us updated and let us know what works??

[mikkel]

I will try the Caper spurge idea, thank you. I had been told there is one plant they hate, so the sooner I can get one, the better. It has raised the earth about six times today alone.

[windy]

I'm sure I read somewhere that vibration puts 'em off....so I suppose the answer would be to somehow vibrate the garden A whacker plate?? generator??loud music directed down the holes??(although this may just result in thousands of moles, in convoys, turning up for a rave )

[mikkel]

My whaker plate is my garden spade and boy do I whack it? I tried to buy a Caper Spurge plant yesterday, but the market stall doesn't have them, so referred us to a Nursery and advised us to get one asap.

[kedigato]

Without fail, every year the moles appear in the kids garden in December and throw hills up all over the lawn. These pics were taken this afternoon and d-i-l said that she counted 20 today. Since they all appeared to be fresh, I guess there will be more by tomorrow.

[DAG]

I thought the foxes and the badgers were bad enough but seeing that damage I wouldn't swap! ;D

[kedigato]

;D ;D

I wonder which group these moles fall into? "Company, labour, citadel (of mole burrows)" I quite like the citadel - which the company of moles made after labouring.

( I just posted the group names up here -
naturalworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=miscanimal&action=display&thread=3488&page=1 )