Moles ... and more moles!

[Ricard with an H]

I just been up to that top-corner of our paddock that is favoured by Moles, I went to check the damage and to collect some mole-hill-soil. In the worst affected area the moles have excavated one area almost the area of a dustbin lid and only four to six inches deep.

I'm now wondering if the life-style of the mole needs re-investigating consider Mrs Mole's findings, my thoughts and discovery of what appears to be communal areas.

Maybe a nest-site ?

Thanks to the mole I have a flexi-tub full of nicely graded soil that needs a little burning and the addition of something to loosen it up.

It's not easy cutting grass around the mole-workings though, wheels keep dropping into the workings and my ride-on doesn't have any form of suspension other than seat-springs.

[The Mouse]

Nos. 12 and 13 today

Both from the front garden this time. Another baby from the same place as yesterday. That means that I'm definitely dealing with another family, so there could still be a lot more to catch.
Also still signs of more in the back garden

Richard, I have long suspected that there were large areas in my own garden like the one you've found - several times in the past, I have been known to fall into the border when weeding, when the ground where I was working suddenly dropped several inches!!! Nothing to do with too much of the home-brewed rhubarb or gooseberry wine, I promise.

[The Mouse]

No. 14

From the back garden again, making it the 10th caught there, all from within the same few square metres.

Just for the record, the brand new traps are catching just as many moles as the old ones.

[Ricard with an H]

Like most poor workmen I blamed my tools, first scissor traps got it in the neck, then tunnel traps.

At no point did I consider my lack of skills, typical Eh.

Well-done Mrs Mole, even though you've encouraged me to have another go some of the big mole-action here is amongst my planting and the activity at the top corner of our paddock is producing some nice soil to top up my raised beds so we have an armistice.

[Geoff]

Decided I had better open up a Northern Front in the Mole War.
I have a tunnel trap (somewhere, perhaps I left it buried) that I have been somewhat unsuccessful with so as you seem to have more success with scissor traps I thought I would buy some. Then the confusion set in, what design were your effective traps?
Several designs seem to be called scissor, here is a selection.

[The Mouse]

Mine are similar to the second of those pictures.
Good luck, Geoff.

[Ricard with an H]

Mine also, I also bought tunnel traps. Same problem the mole just filled the trap with soil.

The little B-star-ds are tunneling through my raised beds and along the planting trench for my sea buckthorn, presumably they cause root damage. You can't trap them in a planting trench or a raised bed full of onion and carrot.

I'm angry.

[Geoff]

Thanks for that - traps ordered.

[Ricard with an H]

Oh-bugger, you could have had my collection for half price and already soiled. Sorry, I didn't know you were buying.

Senior moment i'm afraid.

Those electronic gadgets that make a buzzing noise in the ground are naff, I used them years ago up the paddock and they seems to scare the mole away. Well, I had less activity.

I have now placed them all over my plot and in the raised beds, the mole tunnels all around the gadgets. They are having absolutely zero effect, in fact you would be forgiven for thinking they are an attractant.

The only think you get wrong with them is to not place them deep enough and they need contact with the soil. No skill require just practical holes in the ground.



I'm informed by a local retired farmer that some operators are still licences to use strychnine (Spelling) but I can't do it.

I should have protected my beds with a layer of mesh though that wouldn't have helped with the sea buckthorn.

What i'm doing on a daily basis is blasting water down the holes in the hope of filling the tunnels in so my planting roots have something to live on, this is possibly attracting more worms and moles at a time of austerity. When the weather is very dry worms usually go deeper so you get less surface activity from moles. Thats what I read.

[Geoff]

Traps delivered lunchtime today. First mole removed from trap 6 pm!
Didn't modify them as suggested here http://walcotefarm.fernhillsolutions.ne ... tching.htm
Bad news was when I went to another part of the garden to check two other traps I frightened a large rabbit.

[The Mouse]

Traps delivered lunchtime today. First mole removed from trap 6 pm!
Didn't modify them as suggested here http://walcotefarm.fernhillsolutions.ne ... tching.htm
Bad news was when I went to another part of the garden to check two other traps I frightened a large rabbit.

I misread that last bit, Geoff, and thought for a second that you had caught a large rabbit in one of your new traps

I was about to ask you what sort of traps you had bought, because I could do with some that would also catch rabbits - one of the mole runs I've opened up in the front garden is nearly big enough to get my arm in. Either I've got giant moles down there, or the tunnel is being shared with something bigger!

[Geoff]

I had thought of learning about snares but it involves knowing the path the rabbits are using, if I knew the way in they were using I would probably block it rather than snare it.
No more mole bodies but one trap triggered unsuccessfully so moved it further along that run.

[The Mouse]

Number 15
(Number 5 from the front garden.)

Been away for 4 days. First thing I did after walking through the front gate was check the traps, and found a live mole in one of the scissor traps. The books say they can only survive about 3 hours without food, so it must have heard me returning and thrown itself in the trap! Luckily hubby was there to put it out of its misery.

[The Mouse]

Number 16

(Number 6 from front garden)

[The Mouse]

Number 17

(No. 7 from front garden)

They just keep coming!