Sacha wrote:
On 26/11/07 11:26, in article , "The
Natural Philosopher" wrote:

CWatters wrote:
"Si" $3o&m wrote in message
...
[note x-post to uk.d-i-y & uk.rec.gardening]

I have a mole at the top of my garden. The first hill appeared about 10
days ago and the second, nearby, a couple of days ago. Both in lawn.

What should I do? Our garden is intended to encourage wildlife but hills
all over the grass doesn't seem to me to be a friendly hello from a
visitor. Do the sonic repellents work or do I have to insert a trap in a
tunnel and take it far away?

If you want to get rid of the mole read this before you do anything...

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-cou...ts/mole-review.
pdf

Good article.

Like I said, given that they eat worms, hope for a hard winter that
kills the worms.

And harms the soil? I don't think, so thanks!
They will come back.

They breed faster than the moles ;-)

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

....

On the plus side, fresh mole hills contain lots of really
fine soil - ideal for mixing with cheap potting compost
from garden centres for potting on garden plants etc.
--
David in Normandy

And they're wonderful at bringing up archaeological debris :-)

Mary

In article 474b0b4f$0$759$4c56ba96
@master.news.zetnet.net, Mary Fisher says...

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

...

On the plus side, fresh mole hills contain lots of really
fine soil - ideal for mixing with cheap potting compost
from garden centres for potting on garden plants etc.
--
David in Normandy

And they're wonderful at bringing up archaeological debris :-)

Mary

At the moment we've got more moles than MI5
--
David in Normandy

On Nov 26, 9:03 am, Si $3o&m wrote:
[note x-post to uk.d-i-y & uk.rec.gardening]

I have a mole at the top of my garden. The first hill appeared about 10
days ago and the second, nearby, a couple of days ago. Both in lawn.

What should I do? Our garden is intended to encourage wildlife but hills
all over the grass doesn't seem to me to be a friendly hello from a
visitor. Do the sonic repellents work or do I have to insert a trap in a
tunnel and take it far away?

--
Si

Si, I have given up on moles, I have had sonic do dahs, windmills,
sticks poked down the run, traps, and finally a man to come in and use
poisoned worms - they are still pushing up the earth - I have learned
to live with them - they can stay, I will just move the piles of
earth, it is much easier than all the attempts I have made so far to
no avail.

On 26 Nov, 11:07, Richard Perkin wrote:
"CWatters" wrote :

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do.

Agreed. Don't muck about with sonic repellents - ours appeared to work
for a week, then ended up in the middle of a faerie ring of new
molehills. I tried a scissor trap that I got from my dad, that he got
from an antique shop (!), and claimed to have caught a couple of moles
with. It got set off twice, but on each occasion was empty. Bought
three traps from this lot:

http://www.theflatpack.co.uk/

(with whom I have no connection, by the way), and within a couple days
we'd got a mole. If it wasn't dark and 'orrible outside I'd be going
to check whether there were any more of the blighters.

You can't pussyfoot about with moles. Either you decide you're going
to put up with them, or you have to get rid with extreme prejudice. I
took the benign attitude for a bit, then decided that if I didn't do
something, next summer they wouldn't be tunnelling so much as riding
about the lawn on little motocross bikes. I'm tripping over the ground
just walking to the shed, so obviously took too long to come to this
decision.

Regards
Richard

In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...
On 26 Nov, 11:07, Richard Perkin wrote:
"CWatters" wrote :

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do.

Agreed. Don't muck about with sonic repellents - ours appeared to work
for a week, then ended up in the middle of a faerie ring of new
molehills. I tried a scissor trap that I got from my dad, that he got
from an antique shop (!), and claimed to have caught a couple of moles
with. It got set off twice, but on each occasion was empty. Bought
three traps from this lot:

http://www.theflatpack.co.uk/

(with whom I have no connection, by the way), and within a couple days
we'd got a mole. If it wasn't dark and 'orrible outside I'd be going
to check whether there were any more of the blighters.

You can't pussyfoot about with moles. Either you decide you're going
to put up with them, or you have to get rid with extreme prejudice. I
took the benign attitude for a bit, then decided that if I didn't do
something, next summer they wouldn't be tunnelling so much as riding
about the lawn on little motocross bikes. I'm tripping over the ground
just walking to the shed, so obviously took too long to come to this
decision.

Regards
Richard


One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.
--
David in Normandy

Mary Fisher wrote:

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

...

On the plus side, fresh mole hills contain lots of really
fine soil - ideal for mixing with cheap potting compost
from garden centres for potting on garden plants etc.
--
David in Normandy


And they're wonderful at bringing up archaeological debris :-)


And disturbing the layers!

On 26 Nov, 19:13, David in Normandy wrote:
In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...

One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.

And the little banjos they play at night. Drive you mad after a
while.

Can't you still get "mole exploders" in France?


Regards
Richard

"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

...

On the plus side, fresh mole hills contain lots of really
fine soil - ideal for mixing with cheap potting compost
from garden centres for potting on garden plants etc.
--
David in Normandy


And they're wonderful at bringing up archaeological debris :-)


And disturbing the layers!

Well, yes, but it gives an idea of where to dig :-)

Mary

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...
On 26 Nov, 11:07, Richard Perkin wrote:
"CWatters" wrote
:

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do.

Agreed. Don't muck about with sonic repellents - ours appeared to work
for a week, then ended up in the middle of a faerie ring of new
molehills. I tried a scissor trap that I got from my dad, that he got
from an antique shop (!), and claimed to have caught a couple of moles
with. It got set off twice, but on each occasion was empty. Bought
three traps from this lot:

http://www.theflatpack.co.uk/

(with whom I have no connection, by the way), and within a couple days
we'd got a mole. If it wasn't dark and 'orrible outside I'd be going
to check whether there were any more of the blighters.

You can't pussyfoot about with moles. Either you decide you're going
to put up with them, or you have to get rid with extreme prejudice. I
took the benign attitude for a bit, then decided that if I didn't do
something, next summer they wouldn't be tunnelling so much as riding
about the lawn on little motocross bikes. I'm tripping over the ground
just walking to the shed, so obviously took too long to come to this
decision.

Regards
Richard


One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.
--
David in Normandy

There's an easy solution - get rid of the lawn.

Mary

In article fdf08d7f-14e0-408d-9fad-e4c1e6005a66
@g30g2000hsb.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...
On 26 Nov, 19:13, David in Normandy wrote:
In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...

One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.

And the little banjos they play at night. Drive you mad after a
while.

Can't you still get "mole exploders" in France?


Regards
Richard

You sure can, though I've not tried them a bit too
expensive. Little sticks of what looks like dynamite and an
electronic detonator. Land mines for moles! Boom!
--
David in Normandy

On 26/11/07 19:13, in article ,
"David in Normandy" wrote:

In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...
On 26 Nov, 11:07, Richard Perkin wrote:
"CWatters" wrote
:

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do.

Agreed. Don't muck about with sonic repellents - ours appeared to work
for a week, then ended up in the middle of a faerie ring of new
molehills. I tried a scissor trap that I got from my dad, that he got
from an antique shop (!), and claimed to have caught a couple of moles
with. It got set off twice, but on each occasion was empty. Bought
three traps from this lot:

http://www.theflatpack.co.uk/

(with whom I have no connection, by the way), and within a couple days
we'd got a mole. If it wasn't dark and 'orrible outside I'd be going
to check whether there were any more of the blighters.

You can't pussyfoot about with moles. Either you decide you're going
to put up with them, or you have to get rid with extreme prejudice. I
took the benign attitude for a bit, then decided that if I didn't do
something, next summer they wouldn't be tunnelling so much as riding
about the lawn on little motocross bikes. I'm tripping over the ground
just walking to the shed, so obviously took too long to come to this
decision.

Regards
Richard


One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.

Might be worth a look:
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techni...trol_owen1.asp

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Richard Perkin wrote in
:

"CWatters" wrote in
:


"Si" $3o&m wrote in message
...
[note x-post to uk.d-i-y & uk.rec.gardening]

I have a mole at the top of my garden. The first hill appeared
about 10 days ago and the second, nearby, a couple of days ago.
Both in lawn.

What should I do? Our garden is intended to encourage wildlife
but hills all over the grass doesn't seem to me to be a friendly
hello from a visitor. Do the sonic repellents work or do I have
to insert a trap in a tunnel and take it far away?


If you want to get rid of the mole read this before you do
anything...

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-cou...ates/reports/m
o le-review.pdf

... The DEFRA report make clear why they don't work.

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do. The tunnels are only a
few inches below the surface and can be readily located. There is
usually a main tunnel with branches; the approx location of the
main tunnel can be seen by the line of molehills and the exact
location found by probing with a pointed stake or similar. Dig out
and clear a very short section [I found a trowel + tablespoon (for
clearing the actual tunnel you have broken into) to be useful].

I used scissor traps very succesfully but YMMV. They were of a
different design to that linked to on eBay and similar to the
'Sure Grip' design shown he
http://www.moletraps.co.uk/mole_trap_supplies.html
I ordered them by phone from a company advertising on-line (but
can't remember who) - they are readily available in hardware
stores, garden centres etc.

Aside: despite the cuddly image, moles are nasty, vicous, solitary
and cannibalistic creatures. They even eat their own young if they
hang around too long. Indeed, one reason that poison is effective
is that an incoming mole entering a vacated tunnel network will
eat the poisoned corpse of the previous occupant. Just thought
you'd like to know...

Followup to my own post with some info on molish habits:
http://www.golf-industry.com/news/yeartodate/news2000/mole.html

I'm sure I've seen the details in that article in some more official
publication, but it does offer some clues as to how to deal with the
beasts...

Kind regards

--
Richard Perkin
To email me, change the AT in the address below
richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com

It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
In article fdf08d7f-14e0-408d-9fad-e4c1e6005a66



Can't you still get "mole exploders" in France?


Regards
Richard

You sure can, though I've not tried them a bit too
expensive. Little sticks of what looks like dynamite and an
electronic detonator. Land mines for moles! Boom!
--
David in Normandy

Bet they do wonders for the lawn :-)

Mary

In message , Mary Fisher
writes
"David in Normandy" wrote in message
.. .
In article 548a4fb1-9149-4742-a144-cc0d92ec7640
@j20g2000hsi.googlegroups.com, geraldthehamster says...
On 26 Nov, 11:07, Richard Perkin wrote:
"CWatters" wrote
:

Indeed. Trapping works, and is easy to do.

Agreed. Don't muck about with sonic repellents - ours appeared to work
for a week, then ended up in the middle of a faerie ring of new
molehills. I tried a scissor trap that I got from my dad, that he got
from an antique shop (!), and claimed to have caught a couple of moles
with. It got set off twice, but on each occasion was empty. Bought
three traps from this lot:

http://www.theflatpack.co.uk/
(with whom I have no connection, by the way),

You can't pussyfoot about with moles. Either you decide you're going
to put up with them, or you have to get rid with extreme prejudice.

One of the worse aspect of moles is the unseen tunnels just
below the surface. I've had one or two jarred ankles while
pushing the mower along and the ground gives way under
foot. They sometimes bring little rocks to the surface too
which hit the mower blades.

There's an easy solution - get rid of the lawn.

Hmmm, that's what one of my neighbours did - covered the whole garden in
concrete.

But seriously, grass (ours is hardly a cultivated lawn) is nice to sit
on and provides space. No?

--
Si