moles on me bowling green

[surgeonofsteel]

Can anybody advise on a good method of getting rid of moles,my wife does not want me to get a shot gun with night sights.Any advice welcome thanks.

[billyo]

Bear with me...

There is a plant that moles dont like that works a treat, heard my dad talking about it ten years or so ago, but cant remeber what its called or any other information, but a decent uk plant book could probably help. Or instaed of the shotgun try a large dog, but you might have to relay the lawn after!

[Alane]

Traps.

Available in Bricos, garden centres and all good hardware stores. The ones that look like a pair of copper tongs. We've tried everything else and nothing works. Our sentimental attitude to dealing with rodents and moles lasted two or three years before we realised that either we did what was necessary or we would be chased off by the vermin.

At the first sign of activity lay the traps and check them after two or three days. Remember to mark the locations where you have set them. The French seem to use little flags on a stick - I just use pieces of slate.

I keep ours in a large flowerpot kept under shelter outside with a pair of rubber gloves that have to be worn whenever the traps are handled.

Best Regards

Alan.

[cabman]

Not sure if this should be in the garden section but we'll carry on.

Alane,  are you able to be more specific on the setting of these traps?

Mine have a little square of stiff wire and a pair reversed of pliers . Presumably to hold them open.

Do you lay them prongs up or prongs down?... and so on.

[Deimos]

I’ve tried these things that look like a dark green mushroom on a spike and set of a vibration into the ground every 15 seconds or so. They are meant to scare off moles for around a 10m radius of the device (depending on soil conditions) but I am far from convinced. They are about €10 each and are battery powered (the solar powered ones are very expensive).

I would not recommend them at the moment as I am not convinced about how effective they are.

Ian

[Lorribee]

Alane is correct - I bought mine from a Gamme Vert store.

My french farmer neighbour showed me how to use them :

You will need a minimum of 3 of the tong style traps

Using 9 " of string tie the small metal square to the spring of the trap to prevent it getting lost.

Take a sharp spade and take out a divot of turf between two mole hills.

Using one of the tongs as a tool -look for the galleries made by the moles in the sides of the hole you have just made. There should be two but perhaps three holes. if you find more abandon this hole and replace the divot, and try again.

Clean out the loose soil in the holes (the bent end of the trap is a useful tool for this) Before setting the trap rub it with soil to remove the new smell. Set the trap by squezing it so the jaws open and placing the metal square so it sticks up at a right angle, holding the jaws open. Carefully push the set trap into the hole jaws first. You should end up with a hole with two or three spring ends of the traps on view in the bottom. Now push a small stout stick (pencil size) through the spring loop into the soil to secure ( this prevents the mole disapearing down the hole with your trap)

Now cover the hole with a piece of black plastic ( most farmers have loads of this kicking about) and replace the divot. ( the black plastic prevents light coming into the hole and scaring off the mole)

Now mark the position with a stick or similar and wait

two to three days.

Last spring I did this and over a week I killed 4 moles and this cured the problem until this week when I can see some fresh activity.

I hope this helps !

[Alane]

It sounds like you are using the type that look like coal tongs and come in a silvery metal finish. I've not tried using those. The style of trap I use resemble the tongs used in bakers to handle cakes but are in a copper finish. Hard to describe but if you look for the copper colour are quite distinctive in the store. I leave new traps outside for a couple of weeks to lose their smell and always wipe the trap a couple of times in the molehill before each use.

They come with a squared up thin wire spacer. The tongs are forced apart using either a special pair of reversed pliers or a lever style implement provided with the trap. The wire spacer is inserted roughly a third of the way up the trap to hold the jaws apart. When the mole pushes into the trap the wire spacer is displaced and the trap closes smartly.

I use a slightly different technique to yours - I use a trowel and dig down through the mole hill to find the tunnel. I then use the handle of the trowel to locate the tunnels going down and insert the trap, prongs downwards into the tunnel as far as I can push it without setting the trap off - this takes a little practice. The tip of tying the spacer to the trap is a good one so that if the trap releases the spacer isn't lost. Then scrape the earth of the molehill back into the hole and cover with a piece of slate.

This is all a little macabre but unfortunately they can cause a tremendous amount of damage and make it almost impossible to mow the grass. For a couple of years we left them to their own devices but one year came back to a scene that made us think of the Somme battlefield and realised we had to do something effective and this is the only method we've found that works.

Fortunately this year we haven't had any underground visitors, so no need to use the traps, but this is the first year since we've been in France that we've been mole free.

Best Regards

Alan.

[Russethouse]

I think I read here that moles (like many other animals) are territorial and getting rid of one lot only creates a vacancy for the next invasion.

Perhaps there is a way of learning to live with them ?

[Harvey]

My garden has been invaded by what seemed to be an army of moles, and although I consider myself to be an animal love, they had to GO. Sorry Russethouse, there is no way could I see myself 'learning to live with them' . The grass is now very unstable where the little darlings have tunnelled under the surface. Not to mention the areas where they had broken through.

After lots of failed attempts, plastic bottles on sticks, etc,  someone told me to try moth balls. This seemed more humain that other suggestions. So having bought a packed - I pushed a couple down all the mole hills that showed recent activity....two days later a very fat mole was lying, paws up, by my front door. I think my cat must have been involved in transporting him for that bit. That was a week ago, since then I am very pleased to say that I have not seen any more activity.....More discussion with my neighbour, he seemed to think that only one mole was responsible.

I THINK the success is due to the moth balls but it COULD have been my cat....maybe I could market him!

[Ron Avery]

I give my moles spades and trowels so they can help me with the house renovation 

[SC]

I've tried most of the common ways of ridding our gardens of moles. I've never got on with traps, although I know some people that do.

For me the Eradic détauper, available in agricultural suppliers, works within 24 hours every single time, provided there is a proper mole hill and not a 'surface run'. There is a small charge that is fired by a battery when the mole pushes fresh earth out of the run and I've seen them used by professionals on the television. It seems me to be an instantaneous humane death for the mole compared to trapping or poisoning.

If pets may interfere with the detauper, simply place an upturned bucket over it, it still works like that.

Good luck,

Steve

[Deimos]

[quote]I've tried most of the common ways of ridding our gardens of moles. I've never got on with traps, although I know some people that do. For me the Eradic détauper, available in agricultural suppliers...[/quote]

How do you recognise a "proper" mole hill rather than a surface run ?

Ian

[Montybird]

Try putting rose twigs or any other twigs with thorns on as far as possible down the holes. Because moles are haemophiliacs they then bleed to death. It cured our problem pretty swiftly. Not very nice I know but when it’s the moles or your lawn guess which wins?

[SC]

<How do you recognise a "proper" mole hill rather than a surface run ?>

Sorry, it's probably a local description. What I refer to as a 'proper' mole hill is the pile of earth pushed up out of the run, usually 10cm and more high, and added to by the mole at each visit.

I refer to the ridges of almost unbroken ground pushed up by the mole as he burrows horizontally just below the surface, as surface runs. You can prang these moles as you would a flounder , but I'm not suggesting that anyone does so. However if you keep an eye on a surface run and see robins and blackbirds following it, it's a sure sign that m.mole is working. creep up and you'll see him easing up the ground........

Steve

[chris pp]

Has anyone ever tried this:

Bio-Stop Mole Repellent

If you put those words into Google you will find several organisations that sell it. I have no idea if it works but it could save a lot of effort if it does, perhaps someone has friends in the UK that have tried it.

Chris

[surgeonofsteel]

[quote]Has anyone ever tried this: Bio - Stop Mole Repellent If you put those words i[/quote]

thanks for the info people, have armed myself with moth balls,traps and bio-stop will let you know which works on the crown green.

[SC]

[quote]thanks for the info people, have armed myself with moth balls,traps and bio-stop will let you know which works on the crown green.[/quote]

Wot, not the explosives???? You'll learn!

 

Steve

[surgeonofsteel]

[quote]Wot, not the explosives???? You'll learn! Steve[/quote]

like my fingers on my hands,sounds to much like blaster bates.

[richards]

We bought two of the mushroom type things at a cost of approximately 13euros each and were supposed to be effective over an area up to 100m so we put one in the front garden and one in the rear courtyard.

Dont waste your money.   They appear to attract them rather than deter.   I found the best solution the first year we came here was to use the powder compound and place a scoop in each hole dug up.   We continued to do so throughout the winter and was effective for a year giving us a mole free garden for the summer . 

Using the traps would not suit everyone but I am sure in the long term more effective and certainly the cheapest.

 

Ellen