Philippa - I have twisted my ankle and also had serious pain form my slipped discs thanks to bloody mole tunnels lurking just below the surface. Farmer neighbours have had cows injured. Not a lot of paving slabs round the old house in Belgium or here for that matter.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I was riding my horse when she put her foot in a mole hole and I fell off. Luckily I fell on the mole hill so only bruised and lucky she didn't sprain her fetlock, but she could have done.
The soil from mole hills is temporarily friable but is only the original soil it always was, so if it's clay it will go back to being sticky lumpy clay. It should be in the tunnels not in piles above the ground so it makes uneven lawns. Tunnels under flower beds leave roots hanging in space so the plant dies, usually of drought.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I'm just saying that if you live in the countryside you're more likely to have mole problems than crooked paving slabs. If you live in the town, obviously there will be more menace from crooked slabs. I certainly wouldn't write home about Belgian prowess with paving.
We have some moles here too but not on the scale of our Belgian garden troubles so we've left them alone so far but if they start messing with my potager and any future new beds full of ornamental treasures there'll be trouble.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
After a heavy rainfall our grass in Belgium would look like a battlefield - shallow tunnels because the worms were up high to keep from drowning but that mean heavy rain would often collapse them and there'd be sunken trails all over like mini canyons. If it didn't rain then these tunnels were easy to miss and step in and get a twisted ankle.
Belgian beef cattle tend to be Blanc/Bleus which are huge, heavy beasts with ridiculously small feet and ankles so prone to such mole problems giving them fractures and thus ending life.
The biggest problem in later years was our terrier - digging doggy - who would hear a mole at work and then dig for China! Craters. Not pretty.
Here the mole activity is restricted by drought meaning there is a shortage of worms and they're down deep. As we work and improve the soil in the potager and any new beds I expect the worm population to increase........
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
One famous fatality caused by moles was William of Orange. I'm sure there will have been hundreds of others, so don't feel sorry for yourselves over poisoning or trapping them.
Gardening is about living with nature in my book, not destroying it. A mole might be to some individuals a total nuisance because they damage their pristine lawn or something other. But then that proves in that case one is working against nature and seeking to create something that flawed in the first place. Much better to work with nature and enjoy the wonders it brings. Yes, even a mole, what a wonderful, superb mammal, worthy of life.
Although by altering the natural environment you may alter the eco system and encourage moles - i.e. A sandy soil would not contain much mole food , by gardening and adding organic material moles have a greater food source and would be able to survive and multiply. Therefore you are not fighting nature you are just trying to balance The eco system.
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Philippa - I have twisted my ankle and also had serious pain form my slipped discs thanks to bloody mole tunnels lurking just below the surface. Farmer neighbours have had cows injured. Not a lot of paving slabs round the old house in Belgium or here for that matter.
I was riding my horse when she put her foot in a mole hole and I fell off. Luckily I fell on the mole hill so only bruised and lucky she didn't sprain her fetlock, but she could have done.
The soil from mole hills is temporarily friable but is only the original soil it always was, so if it's clay it will go back to being sticky lumpy clay. It should be in the tunnels not in piles above the ground so it makes uneven lawns. Tunnels under flower beds leave roots hanging in space so the plant dies, usually of drought.
I'm just saying that if you live in the countryside you're more likely to have mole problems than crooked paving slabs. If you live in the town, obviously there will be more menace from crooked slabs. I certainly wouldn't write home about Belgian prowess with paving.
We have some moles here too but not on the scale of our Belgian garden troubles so we've left them alone so far but if they start messing with my potager and any future new beds full of ornamental treasures there'll be trouble.
After a heavy rainfall our grass in Belgium would look like a battlefield - shallow tunnels because the worms were up high to keep from drowning but that mean heavy rain would often collapse them and there'd be sunken trails all over like mini canyons. If it didn't rain then these tunnels were easy to miss and step in and get a twisted ankle.
Belgian beef cattle tend to be Blanc/Bleus which are huge, heavy beasts with ridiculously small feet and ankles so prone to such mole problems giving them fractures and thus ending life.
The biggest problem in later years was our terrier - digging doggy - who would hear a mole at work and then dig for China! Craters. Not pretty.
Here the mole activity is restricted by drought meaning there is a shortage of worms and they're down deep. As we work and improve the soil in the potager and any new beds I expect the worm population to increase........
One famous fatality caused by moles was William of Orange. I'm sure there will have been hundreds of others, so don't feel sorry for yourselves over poisoning or trapping them.
Never understand people’s mindset or desire to destroy wildlife just because they cause a little bit of inconvenience.
Gardening is about living with nature in my book, not destroying it. A mole might be to some individuals a total nuisance because they damage their pristine lawn or something other. But then that proves in that case one is working against nature and seeking to create something that flawed in the first place. Much better to work with nature and enjoy the wonders it brings. Yes, even a mole, what a wonderful, superb mammal, worthy of life.
Although by altering the natural environment you may alter the eco system and encourage moles - i.e. A sandy soil would not contain much mole food , by gardening and adding organic material moles have a greater food source and would be able to survive and multiply. Therefore you are not fighting nature you are just trying to balance The eco system.
I still think poison is the best idea for them.
That’s a very good article, and to think she’s ’just a small blonde’however does she manage?
i think the link to the article about rats should be made compulsory reading.