If we have one major problem in common it appears to be moles, they are everywhere (though it is hard to believe probably only 1 or 2 in each garden) and driving us all mad.
So do you have a remedy on how to get rid of them? Most of us don't want to harm them but we want rid of them.
Let us know your remedies, no matter how whacky they may be (most of us are desperate) ...
It's some consolation to find that we're not the only ones getting manic about moles. Ours create new molehills even as we are shovelling up the mounds.
A French friend swears that he got rid of his by trickling sardine oil around the holes. I tried tinned tuna oil as I happened to have it handy and marked the holes I had oiled. So far (about 10 days later) there have been no new molehills near those sites.
The same friend also reported that mole traps were a waste of time. The sort he used required that he bury the traps in somewhere like a compost heap first for about a week in order to get rid of any alien smell that would alarm a mole and to use gloves when installing a trap, for the same reason. But the traps became so ricketty after burial and handling they disintegrated before any mole came near.
But if moles are so sensitive to smells this might explain the success of the sardine oil which they interpret, perhaps, as the sign of a dangerous intruder. This opens the possibility of trying other, more convenient substances .... over to you, folks!
A neighbour of a Burgundy Friends member swears by scattering ashes around the perimeter of where you do not want the moles to go but this, somewhat logically, has to happen on Ash Wednesday (or Cendres in French), which this year is Wednesday, February 21.
I've been saving the ashes from our woodburner and intend to give it a go around those areas I most want to protect from the moles. Not sure if it will still work if we have the same amount of snow as we did around this time the last couple of years or even if I'll be able to see the outline of the beds I want to protect...
I'll let keep you informed.
Here are two repelents often used by our neighbours:
Moth balls- (boules de naphtaline) placed in the tunnels.
Fertilizer made with Ricinus communis available at Gamm Vert under the commercial name of Tourteau de Ricin.
However, most gardeners around us use much more barbaric and lethal techniques such as placing in the tunnels corks spiked with pins which will prick the mole's snout making him bleed to death. Another sits out on a garden chair and at the first movement in the tunnel will let off both barrels of his trusty two bore.
The most bizarre suggestion comes from a Canadian Government directive: Place in the tunnel rolled up balls of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum which the mole will then chew and choke to death. Actually, the site is very informative and should be watched:
Further to my last thoughts here's the link:
http://www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/francais/consum/molesandvoles-f.html Personally, I always use traps and provided one follows the instructions they have always proved successful.
For a different perspective read:
Dunctan Wood by William Harwood published by McGraw-Hill 1980
Well, I've scattered the woodashes yesterday (Ash Wednesday) around the areas where I most don't want moles..
Will keep everyone informed.
