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.

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

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 just googled for your suggested plants.

Is this what I need "Incarvillea delavayi - Garden
Gloxinia"?

Google doesn't come up with any matches for "Invarvillee
Rose"
--
David in Normandy

In article ,
am says...
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 just googled for your suggested plants.

Is this what I need "Incarvillea delavayi - Garden
Gloxinia"?

Google doesn't come up with any matches for "Invarvillee
Rose"

thats because its spelt Incarvillea delavayi with a c but only 1 v,
unfortunately in your climate they are unlikely to be long lived, but you
may get a few years out of indevidual plants, but parkers sell them and
they are not that expensive they set a load of seed so you could raise
the hundreds you would need. I have never heard of them detering moles
but then I have never been french!!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Totally agree with the nice approach of moving the moles people use mole
bombs or Falk the area between the Mole Hills not good

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
T...
In article ,
am says...
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 just googled for your suggested plants.

Is this what I need "Incarvillea delavayi - Garden
Gloxinia"?

Google doesn't come up with any matches for "Invarvillee
Rose"

thats because its spelt Incarvillea delavayi with a c but only 1 v,
unfortunately in your climate they are unlikely to be long lived, but you
may get a few years out of indevidual plants, but parkers sell them and
they are not that expensive they set a load of seed so you could raise
the hundreds you would need. I have never heard of them detering moles
but then I have never been french!!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

On 9 Jan, 20:54, Charlie Pridham wrote:
thats because its spelt Incarvillea delavayi with a c but only 1 v,

Indeed, my second spelling was wrong, put a c instead of a v! Sorry.

unfortunately in your climate they are unlikely to be long lived, but you
may get a few years out of indevidual plants, but parkers sell them and
they are not that expensive they *set a load of seed so you could raise
the hundreds you would need. I have never heard of them detering moles
but then I have never been *french!!

Yes, it's the garden gloxina - just seen a picture and it's the same
plant. Never tried it - my uncle uses those 'landmines', the little
'fusees'. They look like fire crakers indeed. Oh the thought of it!!
It's a perfect time to plant the gloxina too I beleive and as you say
Charlie, it will be easy to raise lots with seeds. Having said that,
the French also plant ricinus communis and there are those who also
try the usual garlic .... )

In article MPG.21ef44d45b8c1beb989760
@News.Individual.NET, Charlie Pridham says...
In article ,
am says...
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 just googled for your suggested plants.

Is this what I need "Incarvillea delavayi - Garden
Gloxinia"?

Google doesn't come up with any matches for "Invarvillee
Rose"

thats because its spelt Incarvillea delavayi with a c but only 1 v,
unfortunately in your climate they are unlikely to be long lived, but you
may get a few years out of indevidual plants, but parkers sell them and
they are not that expensive they set a load of seed so you could raise
the hundreds you would need. I have never heard of them detering moles
but then I have never been french!!

Thanks. I'll google on the revised spelling.

Maybe it only deters French moles?
--
David in Normandy

Anne Jackson says...
The message from David in Normandy contains these words:

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 enquired of a local (to me) Freecycler, who uses 'molecatcher'
as a posting name, and this is his reply:

"I sometimes use humane traps, which are simply a pipe with oneway doors
in either end. These are only humane when checked 3 time a day or more.
The most efficient trap is the scissors or barrel trap. Dig up the
freshest molehill, clear the runs exposed, including carefully spooning
out loose soil well into the run. Cock and set the traps each side of the
hole, then cover the hole with a scrap slate or piece of wood, making sure
the trigger is not going to be impeded.Check daily, without disturbing and
in time the mole will be caught.

You can speed the process by introducing smoke into the run, well away
from the traps."

Hope this helps.


I will get some barrel traps and have a go with those.
Thanks for this reply, very helpful.
--
David in Normandy