Moles

happyclappy

happyclappy

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 January 2014
Messages
2,971
Location
Cornwall
Visit site
Last week, for the first time ever, we seem to - actually DO have - moles in my field. Really don't want my field all dog up and covered in moles hills, so does anybody have any ideas how to get rid of them. The sonice devices really do not work.

Thank you from my equines!:)
 
Traps I am afraid , I have had to use them for the first time this year .
I hate doing it .
We must have got over fifty .
 
The little ******* are making a right mess of my fields too atm - what I hate is walking to the top of the hill when poo picking, too only find it is a mole hill!!!

A word of warning, never kick a frozen one, as it bl**dy hurts!
 
L&M said:
The little ******* are making a right mess of my fields too atm - what I hate is walking to the top of the hill when poo picking, too only find it is a mole hill!!!

A word of warning, never kick a frozen one, as it bl**dy hurts!
Click to expand...

I'm with you on both!!! Ruddy things!! ;)
 
traps i'm afraid, colleage of mine had them in his field and he tried gas but he swore they had breathing air on standby....didn't work :-) finally the traps did.
 
LJR said:
Mouse traps with peanut butter - I kid you not! Or a professional to gas them.
Click to expand...

Really? How does this work? I'm guessing they are too big to be trapped in a mouse trap.

I too am plagued; have caught a couple but then they seem to respawn almost immediately. I thought they were territorial but I'm having no success in clearing them out
 
ROMANY 1959 said:
May sound daft... But my grandad used to swear by crushed up moth balls in the runs...it did work too...
Click to expand...

I would agree with your Grandad. I have successfully moved a mole from my garden by putting a revolting smelling bone oil directly into their tunnel. Moles have an acute sense of smell. It is amazing the damage one mole can do, it was soul destroying wakening up in the morning and finding up to 14 mounds from one nights moley escapades!

OP, something skinky down their tunnel or use a professional trapper. Good luck!
 
Probably not the PC way of doing it but my husband goes out in early morning with a sledge hammer, he stands in the middle of the mole hills and when one starts to rise he thumps it hard. It looks a bit strange but works.
 
Trapping is the only thing that works because one mole can tunnel a l-o-n-g way. And I mean hundreds of yards! So anything smelly will just move them from the immediate area to return when the smell disperses. If you catch one, another will move in as it is easier to clean out an existing tunnel than dig a new one. You just need to keep on top of them. Mole hills provide an ideal seed bed for ragwort and will bring up fresh seeds (which can survive in the soil for up to 20 years!). Oh the joys of land ownership! :(
 
Welly said:
Probably not the PC way of doing it but my husband goes out in early morning with a sledge hammer, he stands in the middle of the mole hills and when one starts to rise he thumps it hard. It looks a bit strange but works.
Click to expand...

My dad told us the story of the time he whacked a mole the other day. I can just imagine it. He said he had to wait a long time for it to pop up :o

We got the mole man in and he is trapping them. They are destroying the paddocks :( seem to be catching a steady stream of them. I feel bad about it but it seems to be the only way.
 
Seems Moles are a problem where they have not been seen before.:rolleyes: Lots of suggestions, many involving things like dog poo down the hole, but they will just move to another location and make new holes.:mad: I do think traps are the only way to go. Like the idea of Peanut Butter in a mouse trap, works or Mice. I guess I could spare a little Peanut Butter. :pGuess I will be visiting our Agri Stores this week. More money.:(
 
My brother had a nightmare with moles in his relatively small garden - over 50 molehills!! At the time I was at college studying horticulture and luckily my tutor was a bit of a mole expert. He lent us some traps, as that really is the best way to deal with them. If there are any signs of human scent on the traps the moles will avoid so make sure you use garden gloves that have that earthy smell.
He asked if the tunnels were in a straight line or all over the place as the male tends to go in straight lines and the female wherever she fancies! Well they were definitely all over the place.
The best times to catch them are spring and autumn. If the ground is hard, either summer or when frosty, they go deeper underground.
The problem in my brothers garden was that the tunnels started to collapse due the lawn being heavily used with the children etc.
It took a few goes but they did eventually trap a female mole. The down side really was that she was heavily pregnant so not at all pleasant. The garden was in such a state it had to be rotavated and returfed.
Good luck with your mole - probably only one as they are extremely territorial and solitary unless its mating season.
 
We had a mole problem. Dad declared war. Traps were unsuccessful, unpleasent smells didn't work, gasing was unsuccessful. He just used to wait over the mound, until it moved and then bop them with a shovel. The cats were pretty adept too. The funniest sight, my father plus three cats; each standing over a mole hill waiting for movement... They haven't been back since...

We have had badgers move in now though, they make even more of a mess!
 
I had the mole catcher in yesterday, laid down 10 traps to start with, but the ground is so wet they have gone down deeper :(

He's coming back on Thursday so I'll let you know how we get on

Making a mess of my spring/summer paddock!
 
We have got the problem this year grrrr... And a smart ****** dug a tunnel around first trap and circumnavigate :D another completely covering it in soil. Seriously considering shoving moth balls down...
 
Agree about the nasty smells. Someone on here suggested pickled onions in the run under a fresh mounds, and it worked for a year. Then they were back, seemingly having cultivated a taste for pickled onions (except the one who ejected the onion and I found it sitting ON TOP of the mole hill - hinting or what??).
Then a local man said his had gone when he put chilli down into the runs. I struggled to find a way to get the chilli to not get dissolved away then tried mixing it into boiled rice - a spoonful of really hot chilli powder and the rice, tipped into the run under the mound. That was last summer and I haven't had one since - but that is in my garden, would only work in a field if they are coming in from next door property, to keep them out.
The professional was a waste of time BTW - trapped one and promised to return if and when the runs were colonised by a new one, but despite phone calls he never did. I had a lawn like a sponge with all the local moles thinking "hey guys, ready made tunnels here, fill your boots"!!! They don't like chilli rice though ;)
 
I have a lot of moles in my field judging by the molehills. I just let them get on with it. I use the dirt from the molehills to fill in the rabbit holes :cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top