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David in Normandy[_6_] · 09-01-2008, 06:41 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article 1591aa31-342f-4ba0-81bd-
, says...
David, I wondered if you knew that n France they often plant the
Invarvillee Rose, Incarvillea delavayi to get rid of moles, the non
violent way. Apparently the moles don't like the smells of the roots.
Now I'm not too sure how many acres you've got a problem with, but I
thought I'll drop the idea.

I'm open to ideas for getting rid of moles. They have gone
beyond mere cosmetic nuisance. The lawns are now unsafe to
walk on due to the uneven surface. The Mrs badly sprained
her ankle when the ground collapsed below her foot - she
ended up in a heap on the ground. It took weeks for the
pain and swelling to go down. We've got around a hundred
mole hills in our lawns.

I will make a note of the plants you mention and keep an
eye out for them at the garden centre.

Our French neighbour uses the poison approach which
involves catching earth worms, killing them and rolling
them in poison then dropping them down the mole runs. I
tried this myself once with no success - it is also very
time consuming and messy as you can imagine.

I've bought some mole repellent pellets. Apparently they
contain some natural oils which moles find so horrible they
chose to move home and go and pester someone else. I hope
they work but I have doubts. They are plan "B" if today's
efforts haven't worked.

Some French people must get very desperate to rid
themselves of moles - one of the products for sale here is
effectively mini mole landmines!!! The kit consists of a
power supply rigged to small explosive charges placed in
the mole runs. This solution is quite expensive to buy
though. Our west highland terrier likes to dig for the
moles (with little success) - and I don't think the Mrs
would be best pleased if he blew his nose off.

Today I've tried a brainwave of my own to try to get rid of
the moles. I'm not going to say anything about it yet - I
won't know if it has worked or not for a day or two.
--
David in Normandy