I had an infestation of moles a couple of years ago, having a lot of wildlife in my garden l had to be careful what l could use, l came across 'mole smoke' it comes in a small plastic tub that you take the top off, light the fuse, and push it in the hole cover it quickly with soil so that the smoke doesn't escape. I had to do this quite a few times to different mole hills and they are not cheep (about ??8 each) touch wood l haven't had a visit this year even though the field next to me is covered in mole hills, l always keep a couple of tubs to hand just in case.
This smoke just lines the tunnels with castor oil which the moles do not like. Eventually it wears off and the mole may then return. Cheaper to do what Lavatera suggested.
Also you can try putting strips of cloth soaked in Jeyes Fluid in the runs. It stops them using that one for a while, but it does encourage them to dig new ruins too.
Once upon a time they sold Mole smoke which killed them, not any more except to professional people.
We had a new raised flower bed installed which looked very good until Mr Mole arrived. Hills everywhere and plants uprooted. My husband bought a solar-powered Mole Repeller from Tool Station for £20.41 in June of this year and touch wood he has disappeared. The repeller gives off a sound which covers a very large area and is only just audible, well to me anyway. But it has certaily done the trick and well worth the money.
Glad it worked for you. When I tried one on one of our lawns, we found dozens of mole hills all round it. We reckoned they were having a disco to the sound from it.
Please, try everything, if it works for you then great. It is just our experience which is so negative, not other folk's.
Some time back I made a very special type of Alpine growing area. To make sure the "little gentleman in black" (Historical reference there to the name given to moles by the Jacobites) did not ruin my work, I put a piece of chiciken wire on the ground before constructiom. So far they have not managed to come up through that.
If you are seeing crane fly they have already laid their grubs to munch away at your lawn ,best thing to do is to send for sone nematodes from The Green Gardener , then you can treat your lawn the nematodes. Seek out the grubs and eat them from the inside . Now is the best time to treat the lawn so don't hesitate ,you can ring the green gardener and order and pay over the phone ,you will be treating the lawn within a week .they are really helpful couple tags town the company. And will answer any queries you have ,so hurry ,get the phone number from the internet . Good luck
The nematodes were watered in 2 days ago and here's hoping they work. The caster oil granules went in the week before that.
Yesterday was the first time we didn't see a molehill in the morning, but the runs are all over the grass, as we felt them while walking over it with the watering can.
The mole repellant is still buzzing away, and one of them is now stuck down a hole in the middle of the grass.
It's too early to say whether the caster oil granules have worked, or that it's eaten all the leatherjackets, or maybe moved off somewhere else, but I'll be back on here to let you know if it returns in the future.
Thanks again to everyone for your helpful suggestions.
Craneflies have a very short life how ever horrid they are and starlings love to eat the grubs of these gritters.keep the windows shut at dusk is one way of avoiding .
In my experience trapping the mole is really the only solution, it probably is one mole as they are very terrrotorial except in the spring when they go looking for mates. I use tunnel traps, you need to find the moles main run which will not be near the molehills but it will run along a nearby fenceline. This is the moles main run and where the trap must be set, use a screwdriver or long metal rod to push down along the fenceline until you find the run. Dig a hole just big enough to get the trap in, i then use my hands to scape all bits of soil out and then tamp the run to ensure it's nice and smooth. Set the trap and insert into the run, then cover the top with plenty of matted grass or similar and soil on top. Moles have a keen sense of smell so you don't want a draft blowing in! Mark the location and check daily, when mole runs through the trap, death is pretty instant unlike scissor traps which cause a long and painful one.
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This smoke just lines the tunnels with castor oil which the moles do not like. Eventually it wears off and the mole may then return. Cheaper to do what Lavatera suggested.
Also you can try putting strips of cloth soaked in Jeyes Fluid in the runs. It stops them using that one for a while, but it does encourage them to dig new ruins too.
Once upon a time they sold Mole smoke which killed them, not any more except to professional people.
We had a new raised flower bed installed which looked very good until Mr Mole arrived. Hills everywhere and plants uprooted. My husband bought a solar-powered Mole Repeller from Tool Station for £20.41 in June of this year and touch wood he has disappeared. The repeller gives off a sound which covers a very large area and is only just audible, well to me anyway. But it has certaily done the trick and well worth the money.
Glad it worked for you. When I tried one on one of our lawns, we found dozens of mole hills all round it. We reckoned they were having a disco to the sound from it.
Please, try everything, if it works for you then great. It is just our experience which is so negative, not other folk's.
Some time back I made a very special type of Alpine growing area. To make sure the "little gentleman in black" (Historical reference there to the name given to moles by the Jacobites) did not ruin my work, I put a piece of chiciken wire on the ground before constructiom. So far they have not managed to come up through that.
If you are seeing crane fly they have already laid their grubs to munch away at your lawn ,best thing to do is to send for sone nematodes from The Green Gardener , then you can treat your lawn the nematodes. Seek out the grubs and eat them from the inside . Now is the best time to treat the lawn so don't hesitate ,you can ring the green gardener and order and pay over the phone ,you will be treating the lawn within a week .they are really helpful couple tags town the company. And will answer any queries you have ,so hurry ,get the phone number from the internet . Good luck
Yesterday was the first time we didn't see a molehill in the morning, but the runs are all over the grass, as we felt them while walking over it with the watering can.
The mole repellant is still buzzing away, and one of them is now stuck down a hole in the middle of the grass.
It's too early to say whether the caster oil granules have worked, or that it's eaten all the leatherjackets, or maybe moved off somewhere else, but I'll be back on here to let you know if it returns in the future.
Thanks again to everyone for your helpful suggestions.
Craneflies have a very short life how ever horrid they are and starlings love to eat the grubs of these gritters.keep the windows shut at dusk is one way of avoiding .
In my experience trapping the mole is really the only solution, it probably is one mole as they are very terrrotorial except in the spring when they go looking for mates. I use tunnel traps, you need to find the moles main run which will not be near the molehills but it will run along a nearby fenceline. This is the moles main run and where the trap must be set, use a screwdriver or long metal rod to push down along the fenceline until you find the run. Dig a hole just big enough to get the trap in, i then use my hands to scape all bits of soil out and then tamp the run to ensure it's nice and smooth. Set the trap and insert into the run, then cover the top with plenty of matted grass or similar and soil on top. Moles have a keen sense of smell so you don't want a draft blowing in! Mark the location and check daily, when mole runs through the trap, death is pretty instant unlike scissor traps which cause a long and painful one.
Yes my OH did that at the wkend , it works cos we got one!
That is how I do it, except that I tend to wear very soil covered gloves, to avoid leaving my scent in the run.
Great if your runs are easy to reach, ours are below a thick layer of brick rubble.