In article , says...

"Kathy" wrote
I've been lurking for a bit, but now I've got a question to ask please.

My friend and I took on an allotment in November. We have started
clearing it, but have been invaded by moles! Any ideas on non-harmful
ways of discouraging them? We've asked them nicely to go and burrow
through the bits we haven't dug yet but they wont play.
TIA

A friend of mine used to import a produce called "Mole Away" from the USA
which people said worked well, unfortunately DEFRA found out and told him it
needed testing at enormous cost in order to be sold here. Uneconomic to
continue so he stopped importing it.
Thing is, it was basically Caster Oil, which you poured into the run and the
smell drove the animals away.


Not having moles here, but is it possible to put barriers around? or do
they have to go too deep?
I had thought that there was too much fuss made about moles on this
newsgroup until I visited my cousin up near Cambridge, they can not
safely walk across their garden its so undermined!
I understand its a bit of a compliment to have moles as it means lots of
worms and good healthy soil :~)
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

"Charlie Pridham" wrote after...
Bob Replied to
"Kathy" wrote
I've been lurking for a bit, but now I've got a question to ask please.

My friend and I took on an allotment in November. We have started
clearing it, but have been invaded by moles! Any ideas on non-harmful
ways of discouraging them? We've asked them nicely to go and burrow
through the bits we haven't dug yet but they wont play.
TIA

A friend of mine used to import a produce called "Mole Away" from the USA
which people said worked well, unfortunately DEFRA found out and told him
it
needed testing at enormous cost in order to be sold here. Uneconomic to
continue so he stopped importing it.
Thing is, it was basically Caster Oil, which you poured into the run and
the
smell drove the animals away.


Not having moles here, but is it possible to put barriers around? or do
they have to go too deep?
I had thought that there was too much fuss made about moles on this
newsgroup until I visited my cousin up near Cambridge, they can not
safely walk across their garden its so undermined!
I understand its a bit of a compliment to have moles as it means lots of
worms and good healthy soil :~)

We had them turn up right at the end of our tenure of our old allotment and
the little furry things dug right along a row of plants and undermined them.
The plants suffered badly.
We now have them on our "new" allotment, presumably because there are now
worms there, we having manured the ground well, and we now have a couple of
children's windmills stuck in the ground to try to discourage them. It's an
on old trick which has appeared to stop them coming onto the plot where the
windmills are. Will have to purchase some more to keep the whole plot mole
free and they need turning into the wind as it changes so they keep spinning
and vibrating.
I can only imagine what some of our "new" allotment gardeners think. :-)

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

We had them turn up right at the end of our tenure of our old allotment and
the little furry things dug right along a row of plants and undermined
them.
The plants suffered badly.
We now have them on our "new" allotment, presumably because there are now
worms there, we having manured the ground well, and we now have a couple of
children's windmills stuck in the ground to try to discourage them. It's an
on old trick which has appeared to stop them coming onto the plot where the
windmills are. Will have to purchase some more to keep the whole plot mole
free and they need turning into the wind as it changes so they keep
spinning
and vibrating.
I can only imagine what some of our "new" allotment gardeners think. :-)

I've never found them to work - nor bottles buried with just a couple of
inches of open neck above ground.

A field full of (frisky) horses is best - but the vegetables tend to
suffer a bit.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

A new product is on the market this year that we have just introduced http://gardens.taylorschoice.co.uk/p...llent_2kgs.php

You could try this and it is not harmful to the moles.

Bob Hobden wrote:

We now have them on our "new" allotment, presumably because there are now
worms there, we having manured the ground well, and we now have a couple of
children's windmills stuck in the ground to try to discourage them. It's an
on old trick which has appeared to stop them coming onto the plot where the
windmills are. Will have to purchase some more to keep the whole plot mole
free and they need turning into the wind as it changes so they keep spinning
and vibrating.
I can only imagine what some of our "new" allotment gardeners think. :-)


The wife tried that, not only did it not work but they moles built a
hill directly at the side of the windmill knocking it over!
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"David in Normandy" wrote
Bob Hobden wrote:

We now have them on our "new" allotment, presumably because there are now
worms there, we having manured the ground well, and we now have a couple
of children's windmills stuck in the ground to try to discourage them.
It's an on old trick which has appeared to stop them coming onto the plot
where the windmills are. Will have to purchase some more to keep the
whole plot mole free and they need turning into the wind as it changes so
they keep spinning and vibrating.
I can only imagine what some of our "new" allotment gardeners think. :-)


The wife tried that, not only did it not work but they moles built a hill
directly at the side of the windmill knocking it over!

Perhaps it was a deaf French mole. :-)

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:27:09 +0100, David in Normandy
wrote:

Bob Hobden wrote:

We now have them on our "new" allotment, presumably because there are now
worms there, we having manured the ground well, and we now have a couple of
children's windmills stuck in the ground to try to discourage them. It's an
on old trick which has appeared to stop them coming onto the plot where the
windmills are. Will have to purchase some more to keep the whole plot mole
free and they need turning into the wind as it changes so they keep spinning
and vibrating.
I can only imagine what some of our "new" allotment gardeners think. :-)


The wife tried that, not only did it not work but they moles built a
hill directly at the side of the windmill knocking it over!

There is a wild plant known as "caper spurge" also called the "TheMole
plant". When I had a mole on my allotment I was told to encourage the
plant. It seemed to have no effect.
I later heard Bob Flowerdew say on GQT that it was known as "The mole
plant" not because it kept black burrowing creatures away but because
the sap was used to treat moles on the skin. I've never had the
opportunity to try it. The sap is certainly not nice on the skin, as
with other euphorbias.

Pam in Bristol

The message
from Charlie Pridham contains these words:

Not having moles here, but is it possible to put barriers around? or do
they have to go too deep?

I buried corrugated iron and wire netting round a greenhouse, to a depth
of two feet. Within a couple of months they'd undermined all my tomatoes
and cucumbers.

Got a pair with moletraps, and another couple later with a 12-bore, as
they were making molehills.

I had thought that there was too much fuss made about moles on this
newsgroup until I visited my cousin up near Cambridge, they can not
safely walk across their garden its so undermined!

Yup. I had to keep my land clear of them for fear of the bullock
breaking a leg. The goats - er - took them in their stride...

I understand its a bit of a compliment to have moles as it means lots of
worms and good healthy soil :~)

Likewise nettles.

Aren't compliments fun?

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig