Has anyone tried the mole repellers that vibrate the ground or make a buzzing noise and if so, are they any use? A mole has ruined the new slate scree bed that my OH made last year. The plants have been dug up and earth is now on top of the slate in several places. It has also gone into an adjoining flower bed and reeked considerable damage. :angry3:
There have been many reviews on the solar repellers, some saying they worked successfully and others that they are a waste of money. One criticism of the solar powered ones is that they do not charge very well during the winter months. Maybe I should get a battery one! :dontknow:
I read putting a pinwheel in the garden helps to make vibrations. I put one in an area where tulips are and haven't had any mole problem whereas other areas are riddled with them...but one pinwheel does not a scientific experiment make. It could be they didn't want to be that close to the house or some other thing.
I'm watching this thread with great interest.
Dig down until you find the run and pour in a load of garlic powder, the mole will get the message.
Cheers, Tony.
I tried one a couple of seasons back, didn't seem to make any difference here :sad11:
It was a solar powered one, can't remember the make now, but I wouldn't waste my money on them again. It did seem to work well in that you could kind of hear it vibrating when up close, trouble was the moles weren't bothered by it. If I were having a big problem with moles again I'd probably try several kids windmills, just in case and it might be quite cheerful! The garlic might be worth a go too. Hope they move on soon.
Tried every marketed repellant and every Folk remedy, none of them work. Sadly the only cure is to catch the blighter (glad to be able to say that they only come in singles, except at breeding time.).
Yep..tried the 'buzzer' and didn't work..tried the 'stork' bulbs and didn't work...tried mole traps and they did the job..poor moles, I quite like seing them, but it wasn't my lawn they were digging up and they had to go.
Uncle Ted's mole reppeler
We had bad problems with a number of moles at the beginning of the year, tunnels and mounds all over, so I did a Little research, and found out moles don't like noise, particularly the sound of human activity, so promptly bought, via eBay, two sonic mole repelers, about £20 each, re chargable batteries about £25 each. However, before they arrived I was wandering round the allotments, past where someone had set up a couple of large lemonade bottles balanced on tall bamboo canes to scare birds (the bottles are neck downwards with the cane inside the bottle) I noticed as the wind blew and the bottle rocked back and forth, it generated a random tapping noise that would of course be transferred straight to the ground. I had an idea this might give the moles the impression human activity was taking place above (and of course keep tapping 24hrs/day). So I put a number of canes with bottles on top dotted about my allotment and within 48 hrs no more moles. When the eBay puchased 'sonic mole repellers' arrived I put those in as well. So far I've had 8 months mole free, although recently there have been signs of moles on the edge of the cultivated area, perhaps they are getting used to the tapping and buzzing, so when I see a mole hill I put a cane with bottle actually in the mole hill and, as yet, moles have not ventured further.
So I can not vouch for the bought buzzing sonic reppeler, but 'Uncle Ted's bottle on a stick mole repeler' definitely worked!
Give it a try what have you got to loose? A cane and a large plastic bottle!
Sorry, tried that one, no effect on our moles. Ours must be deaf.
Well it's a shame it didn't work for you, but it worked for me and continues to work for me, and if Paulines7 risks a cane and a bottle and it works for her the purpose of the thread was a success!
I did find a way of keeping them away for a few years. I emptied the grey water from our malfunctioning Septic tank down one of the holes, 200 gallons or so of it. Improved the quality of the soil too. :happy7:
We tried one of those electric devices, it seemed to attract them, got more hills in the area where it was placed.
Whatever works for folks is good. :happy7:
I have quite a lot of experience clearing moles. The best fix was strychnine on worms poked in their runs, but that's banned now. Since then I have tried electronic vibration and sound generators, windmills, moth balls, Jayes fluid etc. The sound and vibration kit was completely, utterly, totally useless. The smelly stuff only works until the mole diverts a couple of feet away or blocks the tunnel.
So I resorted to tunnel and scissor type traps, they cost about £3 on the internet, are very easy to set (once you are used to it) and extremely effective. Scissor type are best because you can tie a thin cane to the trap leg to indicate when its been triggered and remind you where you burried the trap!!!
Find the runs near the mound by poking a cane down vertically about a 6" - 9", you will feel the change in resistance when you hit the tunnel. Always wear good dirty gloves - stops your scent getting on the trap in addition to protecting you fingers.
Thank you everyone for all your suggestions; I have plenty of ideas to try out now.
After I wrote my post yesterday, I went into the garden to find even more devastation so went back indoors, searched the web and ordered a solar and a battery repeller.
Fortunately, I live on chalk and the mole tunnels are very near the surface so I stand a good chance of them working. Evidently they don't work in clay soil. I will place one in the scree bed and the other in the flower bed. Hopefully he or she will move out of that area and take up residence in the paddock with the rest of them!
The runs are very easily exposed, so I will put some garlic powder in as well. How much do I use though? Will one of those small 60g spice jars of garlic granules from the supermarket be sufficient and do I just empty it in the run or should it go in an open container please? Is there a difference between granules and powder and will either suffice? Your replies will be much appreciated.
I also have mole problems in my strawberry bed so will put a bottle on a cane there.
I didn't really want to resort to a trap but may have to if nothing else is successful.
QuoteThe runs are very easily exposed, so I will put some garlic powder in as well. How much do I use though? Will one of those small 60g spice jars of garlic granules from the supermarket be sufficient and do I just empty it in the run or should it go in an open container please?
I think you only need a pinch..not a whole packet. It is the smell that is supposed to deter them away, they don't eat it..so little goes long way and as for granules or powder, either will do as long as its smelly.
The 'stork' bulbs that are sold for to deter moles are Allium moly bulbs..close relation to garlic and has the similar smell. I you have some small cloves of garlic spare, some that you don't fancy using being so small..smash them up a bit to get the smell out use them up in mole runs..same job and saves you buying dried garlic.
Thanks Goodlife. All my garlic this year is small sized, the bulbs being no bigger than a two pence piece in diameter. I also have some left from last year and some of the cloves are a bit powdery.
The repellers arrived yesterday but I only have the solar one working at the moment as I don't have any batteries for it yet. I don't know whether it will drive the mole away but it certainly drove my husband up the wall yesterday as he was outside all day erecting our summerhouse! :BangHead:
Hi Pauline's7.
If the runs are very near the surface they are not tunnels but feeding runs that branch off tunnels. The moles don't return along these exploratory surface runs, so you can't trap them, you might see a mole extending the runs, in which case you can whack it with a spade. The answer will be to find the mole motorways running from the molehills.
If you don't have any molehills but lots of feeding runs, you are more likely to have an infestation of voles, now they are a pain.
Well, the solar and battery repellers are now working and I haven't had any new mole hills in my beds. I will leave them for a few more days and then move them so the moles are directed towards the paddock.
We have had voles nesting near our front door and also in the paddock. However, these runs that we see always accumulate in a mole hill. Many of the runs had mole hills on them but were then stamped down by my OH, leaving a trench in the grass.