Mr mole has been having fun on the plot. Went to the plot last night to water up some salad leaves I had planted out. The majority of them had jumped out of the ground. Strange.......upon closer inspection a freshly bored tunnel was present under said salad leaves. I therefore collapsed the tunnel and replanted the salad leaves. Will visit tonight to see if Mr mole has returned. Any humane ways of persuading Mr mole to leave?
Scooby
I wouldn't try anything nasty, but as it isn't human I don't get the humane concept... and the way some humans treat others of our species "Humane treatment " might not be that nice. On a useful level a metal mesh veritcally across the "run" may encourage it to divert....
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We have a mole, and rather like him, although he can do a bit of damage. One thing that I've observed is that he much prefers to burrow under a couple of railway sleepers that we have. Whenever we move them, there are mole runs immediately below them. It might be that it's dark and damp under the sleepers, and this attracts good things for moles to eat.
So you might be able to put down something heavy like that to attract the mole away from your lettuces.
Of course the above may simply be an idiosyncracy of our mole, so it's only FWIW ...
That would make sense Mel12 given what they eat... are you watering your lettuce bed more than the other areas Scooby?
???
One of the gardens I visit had a real problem with moles. The lawn had so many tunnels and hills it was becoming almost dangerous to walk as you weren't sure where your feet were going! He didn't want to harm the moles so purchased Mole Bulbs http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/TOSOPMB.htm and followed the instructions. Well, it took a few weeks, but there have been no signs now for at least 4 weeks so fingers crossed they have moved on.
On another forum when I asked a similar question I was told ferret poo might be the answer! As ferrets are a threat, if you can lay your hands on some, bung it in their runs and it should make them move on.
There are also many humane mole traps available, altho I don't know what use they would be on a large allotment site as there are bound to be LOADS living there! http://www.pitchcare.com/shop/product.php?id=5892&option_id=8408
Moles are highly territorial, so you won't get a lot in one place. What you get is one mole (believe it or not) making a massive complex series of tunnels in a particular area. If you get a lot of moles in one field, you always find separate groups of molehills, each group representing the territory of a single mole.
Quote from: saddad on June 06, 2006, 19:59:56
That would make sense Mel12 given what they eat... are you watering your lettuce bed more than the other areas Scooby?
???
Just freshly dug the area as it had got compacted from being walked over. Did not water in as it was just starting to rain. Went down Monday night to add more water when I noticed that all the lettuce had jumped out of the ground. Must have enjoyed the freshly dug soil as it was easier to tunnel through than the compacted earth around it. Makes sense, take the easy route.
Went down last night and all the lettuce is still in the ground, there may be hope that he has disappeared, or is he just biding his time?
Last mole I encountered ran a mile when I played my dad's Slim Whitman CD!! Mind you, so did most of the other guys down at the plot as well. Lance
Quote from: lancelotment on June 07, 2006, 14:15:48
Last mole I encountered ran a mile when I played my dad's Slim Whitman CD!! Mind you, so did most of the other guys down at the plot as well. Lance
;D ;D Funny thing..my moles legged it when I mentioned a certain Jasper Carrot sketch... ;D
I remember reading somewhere that if you place the gubbins from a musical/talking birthday card into the hole that does the trick.
PP
Best way I found of moving Mr Mole on was wait for it
human pee,
Yes collect the morning ones its stronger, and any new mole hills open them up and poor some in.
They dont like the smell after a couple of goes they do move on tried and tested on my lottie.
Interesting reading!
One has to study the mole's activity & breeding/movements etc.. before one can comment.
You may 'kill' or deter the life of one, but the offspring will return to inhabit the runs! They breed in May & one can cover an acre of ground.
Over the last few years Moles have had a good breeding time due to weather conditions!
You will have a hard time stopping them. I'm still trying to complete my 'Moleskin Waistcoat!