A mole problem.

[juicylucy]

LOL i know it sounds bonkers...i saw it on a tv prog years ago!

[AL37]

I was reading an old book the other day and one remedy it mentioned was to dig empty wine bottles into the tunnel. It neads to be upright with the neck end open to the wind.
Apparently if you get enough wind over the top of the bottle you get the same effect as if you blow over the open end with your mouth.
It also said the more bottles the better.
I do have a few mole hills in my allotment so I am busy emptying plenty of wine bottles in order to test it.

[Mo]

Any solution that works to protect a small garden will just move them around a big paddock and send up a load of new runs.
And yes, there may only be one, but if you 'remove' that one you are creating an empty territory... just right for a new mole.

Sorry, no solution. We have the same problem. I hate the idea of trapping. OH has tried but without much success.

[stiggy]

Thanks for your replies!

I've got some more smoke bombs coming and also a couple of humane mole catchers...

...if those don't do the job then the only thing left is the tunnel trap.

[spudley]

i cant remember what they are called but they thump the ground and cause vibrations that the moles dont like. Basil has had some luck and ate one the other day (poor thing its not a good way to go)
We really really suffer in the winter too, but ours seem to go in spring i dont know where though.

[samantha]

Ok this is going to sound insane but here is what I did last weekend.
Last Wednesday I had one Molehill appear, then the next by Saturday I had 4 - so one a day. Never had them before - I had a look around the internet and one of the things I came across was smells. They are sensitive to it - also Jeyes fluid - well I wasnt sure if the jeyes fluid would hurt them so I thought I would make up something smelly myself!!! I removed all the mole hill and found the entrance and popped a cane in it - went out to my front drive where all the cats poo and scooped it up ( as I do every saturday ) and got a bit of my lovely dog poop got my husband!!! to mix it up in a pot and push it down into the holes!!! sealed it in with soil and put a cane backin so I could remember where they were.
I havent had any more mole hills at all - so I am hoping its worked!!!

[kate egg]

I think if I was a mole I would be of to find somewhere less pongy

[AL37]

Samantha, that sounds like fun.
Let us know if it works, I have a few mole hills on the allotment and eventually will be trying to get rid. Only problem is I don't have any cats. perhaps if your (for want of a better word) potion works you could send me some.
Only joking I think theres a law about posting the likes of that

[R.Watkins]

I've had some limited success with solar powered vibrators bought from my local DIY store. They have 12" or so plastic spikes that you stick deep in the soil. The mole is still around in my lawn, but not nearly as active as it was.

You'd need loads to be effective in a large area though and it would get too expensive and you'd have to work around the solar panels that sit above the surface obviously !

I've recently read about a bulb that can be planted to deter them, allium moly apparently, although RHS say they are of limited value!

[Gwenoakes]

I have used childrens windmills, you know the ones on sticks. Just shove the sticks down the holes and when the wind blows the top turns and vibrates down into the ground.

[seahorse]

I hear that moles dont like crushed garlic or anything really stinky, as they have ultra sensitive noses. There could be just one female doing all that digging! They only get together once a year , then live alone in their territory. If you catch one, and it is a female, there could be a nest of babies being orphaned

[spudley]

stiggy, my moles appear to have moved fields. we have gone from getting about three new hills a day to about one a week. the other fields around us though are now covered. I think that the five dogs all digging the hills and furkling around the tunnels have put them off. Seriously though it was a problem for us too, i dont know why they have just upped and moved.