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Mole rats aka campagnoles - how to get rid of them ?


Manon
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I posted this under gardening but didn't get any useful replies so I thought I'd try here. These wretched creatures are destroying my garden which I love and they have started eating the roots of my young fruit trees . Does anyone know how to get rid of them ? Mole traps don't work and rat poison doesn't seem to either - I'm at my wit's end !
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The only way is to go for a "scorched earth" approach, the nuclear option and destroy everything in the garden by a combination of highly toxic poisoning and constant ploughing. This should result in a temporary removal of said species from your garden.

They are of course a great primary food source for a number of species.

Chris

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[quote user="Manon"]These wretched creatures are destroying my garden which I love and they have started eating the roots of my young fruit trees . [/quote]

Yes, I had a great deal of trouble with them in my orchard a few years ago.  Not only interference with the juvenile trees, but they are (as you will know) such indefatigable diggers that they filled the interior of my cabane so deep with spoil that I couldn't even manage to open the door to shovel it out.

Merely out of experimental interest I started pissing regularly in their trial diggings.  I had previously been successful in detering a very persistent badger from interfering with my beehives, with exactly the same technique  -  which had been recommended by another bee-keeper.

They very rapidly ceased to be a nuisance, and from that day to this I have had no further trouble.

Of course the positive result may have been entirely coincidental.  But it is worth trying.  It is ozone-friendly, biodegradable, cheap, and does not require going to the Mairie.

I was was given to understand that the best 'outcomes' are produced by gentlemen rather than ladies.

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[quote user="Gengulphus"]
Merely out of experimental interest, I started pissing regularly in their trial diggings. <snip> They very rapidly ceased to be a nuisance, and from that day to this I have had no further trouble[/quote]

You're absolutely right and thanks for reminding me about it, Gengulphus [:D] - I had quite forgotten.  It's not just an Old Wives' Tale, it can work, and here's why ..

Voles ('cos that's what we're talking about here) mark their runs with urine, both so they know where they are and to tell other voles that they're around.  Peeing down their holes upsets this particular strategy and can oblige them to go elsewhere.

Btw, while looking into this, I found a great piece of research by some Finnish researchers.  They discovered that these scent runs are visible under ultra-violet light and that Common Kestrels, Falco tinnunculus, who can see ultra-violet light (they're not the only birds who can do this), are able to detect the runs and use them for hunting.  How's about that!

Craig

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