Moles again-again.

[Ricard with an H]

Who would have thought that a mole would be interested in what is going on inside my cold frame. There aren't any worms in the compost but the bugger has still turned-over my winter spinach and spring onions, fortunately he left the salad planting alone but then rather than go out the way he came in he dug another hole and made a right mess.

This mole entered under the timber frame of the raised-bed, if you didn't know that moles are often active on the surface then this will be new to you, I have seen them swimming amongst the long grass and running along the surface until they find what they're looking for.

I'm guessing the ground is so saturated that all the moles are up in the banks and my raised bed was worth checking out, what a mess.

Happy new year to you all and of-course I hope it's productive.

Most of my spring bulbs are showing but only the ones that catch the winter sun, i'm hoping the moles wont get amongst the new bulb planting they do seem to like newly dug earth that is well drained. Mostly all my bulbs have gone into the Pembrokeshire-banks where the moles live and are mostly welcome rather than amongst any border planting and my raised beds.

So far, other than this event Mr Mole hasn't caused any problems even though there has been tunnelling in amongst the now-rich and wormy soil. I should have laid wire mesh down before I placed the new soil into the beds though as I've already illustrated the mole does sometimes work on the surface and he would have got in-between the timber and the wire somehow.

They are very powerful digging machines.

[Johnboy]

Hi Richard,
I have been abroad until Christmas Eve and didn't look at my lawn until Christmas Day only to find that Mr Mole has been very busy and I have over 40 quite large mole hills in my back Lawn and over 20 in in my front lawns!
I have used a preparation I bought in France in 2011 and hope that will be the end of it all.
I find it strange that you can buy off the shelf a preparation to combat Moles but in this country there is nothing permitted.
I protect my compost heaps with sheets of expanded metal lath on the ground under the structure. This allows the worms free passage to the compost without providing a sumptuous meal for Mr Mole!
EML is available at most Builders Merchants.
JB.

[Ricard with an H]

I'm surprised you have mole activity in your lawns, presumably they are very well drained. I have a lawn that is mole-proof by accident rather than by design, the piece of land had been cleared to such a depth I was spreading sand/grit and top soil onto hard yellow sub-soil and at only 9" depth at the best. 9" before the top soil consolidated so it's a very thin layer and nutrient-defecient most of the time.

Presumably the thin top soil is far to much work for mole or the worm population is scarce, mole isn't scared of tough soil with stones and I have a friable respect for him.

EML ?

Do you know I never caught a mole in 12 years of trying all the local tricks and carefully reading and following trapping instruction. The only thing that ever worked, but briefly, was pouring Jeyes fluid down the mole-holes.

What found is that they love the newly loosened soil in places where i'm improving the structure, cow-poo brings more worms and more moles.

I'm still shooting myself in the foot at a time of my life I should be resting on my experiences.

The mole problem round here for the farmers growing silage is massive, if my hips and knees had been better I would have invested in a 'Rodenator' and hired myself out but you also need a decent quad to get up the hill sides.

[Diane]

I'd be interested in EML too. Never heard of that before.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've not heard of EML, but installed a layer of aviary mesh under my new compost heaps. It is strong enough and small enough mesh to keep rats or any other burrowing creatures out, and it goes right under the sides (a continuous piece under all three heaps) so there aren't any gaps to squeeze through.

[oldherbaceous]

Expanded metal lath, is used to cover any timber work before being plastered. This could be beams or plywood sheets, the EML is nailed onto the timber, and gives the plaster something to bond to.

The gaps are a lot finer than normal wire mesh, so is excellent for stopping moles, mice or other vermin.

Moles always seem to be a huge problem at this time of the year, i have got them under the grass paths over the allotment at the moment, i would say it's because it's slightly drier.
And the little field behind me, is covered in molehills.

[Monika]

My OH, well versed in farming practices, always advises bringing in an experienced mole catcher. Most bought devices might drive the moles away only to return or to practise their habits in your neighbours' gardens, but a mole catcher will actually get rid of the moles for you, if not for ever, certainly for a very long time!

[Ricard with an H]

I wonder if the mole-catcher still charges on the basis of his success or does he rely on us being gullible.

[peter]

I have proper galvanised mole traps, word must have got round the mole community as they haven't visited me for years.

[Monika]

I think, Richard, a proper mole catcher would give you a price for the job, depending on the size of the problem and field, and then get rid of them with a guarantee for success or your money back!

[Ricard with an H]

I think, Richard, a proper mole catcher would give you a price for the job,

You'll need to appreciate the cynical view I have when my neighbouring farmers also have a cynical view of mole-catchers.

I had some success with deterrents, the moles lived and worked in the Pembrokeshire banks where they don't cause any problems though you have to be careful walking in the grass alongside the banks where the extensive tunnels collapse, it's easy to stumble. When I was recovering from hip-resurfacing I used to do laps of our one-acre paddock using elbow crutches and had to avoid the obvious areas because the crutch would sink six-inches.

The local farmers view is that catching the odd mole just makes room for another who takes the territory and that the only solution is 'Rodenator'. If you don't know what a 'Rodenator' is or what is does it's worth a Google search just for the fun.

'Rodenator' injects propane/oxygen mixture into the tunnel then ignites the mixture, the explosion collapses the tunnels and "does not kill the mole". I think the statement that the mole isn't harmed is typical of American and increasingly our view of protecting wildlife. Farmers aren't bothered about moles in the barley fields, just the fields used for silage and of-course equestrian uses.

I'm happy for mole to continue in most parts of our property, I just need to control him in my chosen areas, my neighbouring farmers feel the same way.

[Johnboy]

A fully experienced mole catcher is worth his weight in gold but sadly they are dying breed.
If my treatment fails to work I will certainly employ one. I thankfully know the right person.
Moles are a problem in all agricultural grass crops and have been known to even bugger-up a combine harvester. In yesteryear Binders could be totally ruined because Moles also manage to bring rocks into the equation.
Where Moles were known to have blighted a field a young boy used to walk ahead of the binder. (me normally)
The strange thing is that there is no trace of Moles in the field immediately alongside my lawns so where they have come from is a complete mystery to me.
JB.

[Geoff]

Don't expect hard sub-soil to deter the little buggers. The grass nearest my house is a over a concrete slurry pit that we filled in with begged rubble and other rubbish and a minimal amount of soil then let grass over and we get moles in that. I employed a mole catcher last that cost me £20 for 4 caught. I was amazed that only 4 built all the hills I had but the problem went away until this Autumn when presumably a fresh population moved in from the surrounding field. I have a trap but have never caught anything with it, he used it as well as his and it worked for him. This Autumn I took up a sod above a run and set the trap covered with loose soil and got nothing, put the sod back and the next day it had been pushed up on top of a new hill!

[Ricard with an H]

put the sod back and the next day it had been pushed up on top of a new hill!

This has been my experience Geoff, in the case of tunnel traps the mole fills the trap with soil and in the case of scissor traps mole either pushes them up or also pushes lots of soil into the trap.

Smart-Eh ?

I put black-thorn into the runs, I tried glass. Mole just back-fills with soil.

Dog poo, urine and any number of smelly stuff seems to deter them but they just tunnel around. I used five litres of Jeyes fluid once, I used it over an area of around 100 square metres where mole workings were heavy. Jeyes fluid does work but they eventually make new tunnels.

In our one acre paddock there is a specific area, the one I described above as about 100 square metres where the mole workings have always been big. It can't be a surprise that this area is THE most fertile area and was possibly the site of a cow-poo dump used by the farm when it was a working farm.

[Monika]

One of our mole catcher friends (you see, we DO have friends!) always says the secret in actually catching moles in the traps is to make sure that the traps or anything near them does not smell of humans. Therefore, you have to wear mole-smelling clothes, gloves etc every time you go anywhere near the traps .... Now you know why I always refused to share the Landrover with him!