I'm at my wits end! Moles are tunneling under all of my gardens. Over many years, I have spent lots of time improving the soil and removing rocks, all for the moles apparently. How about a couple hints on repelling, removing, and/or coping with the moles? I will not use poisons. Can someone help?
Hardiness Zone: 5b
By annelle snyder from NE PA
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Some garden centers carry predator urine crystals you can pour in the holes.
Plant daffodils or any bulb that is in the garlic family it worked for me. I went online to the HGTV site and that is the advise they sugguested. It worked in the fall I planted them and in the spring the moles or voles disappeared. It won't hurt to try!!
I live in Michigan and have a lot of problems with moles also. I tried traps, poision and everything else with limited success. My garden center in Kalamazoo carries a mole repellent called Repellex. I currently use the granular and have bought the liquid which are both easy to apply. It seems to work pretty well and I buy it twice a year.
An odd job for your husband. Human urine poured on the hill will chase them away. Be inventive as to how you collect this product. I used a toilet seat over a 5 gallon bucket in an area where there was privacy. Don't crack up laughing. It worked for me.
Fresh urine doesn't seem to work. It needs to be stored at least 24 hours to get the amonia going so that it will really be stink
Moles are not as bad as you might think, aside from the damage their tunnels can do. They eat grubs and insects, as well as some worms. With them, you see the tunnels. Voles, another common pest here in eastern PA, eat vegetation, and the evidence you might see of them is more like a topless "tunnel" on the grass. You see it more after a spring thaw than in the summer, but you sometimes see the voles, too, they're grey, with a short tail, somewhat bigger than a mouse. Kind of cute, really.
Above ground traps may work with the voles; if you have them, clear any vegetation (such as ivy) away from the bases of trees--they'll girdle a tree and you won't know until it is too late.
For moles, I have heard that they don't like if you are growing castor beans. I don't know how true it is. I have also been told that planting fritellaria (crown imperial) bulbs is a strong deterrent. The bulbs are not cheap, but they make a nice show in the spring, and are otherwise unobtrusive. I have seen recipes online for homemade sprays; but cannot attest to whether or not they work.
You can get traps that you put over active tunnels that will be triggered when the mole goes through the tunnel and will kill them. When we lived in KY, we had a problem, and someone told us those flower "windmills" help--that the vibration drives them away. I had far too many little windmills in my yard with no luck! There may be vibration "machines" available to try, but I wouldn't hang my hat on it. But since I didn't want to use poison (kids/dog), we went with the traps.
I suspect your only luck will be in killing them, unfortunately. As long as there is food in your garden (and with healthy soil, you will have worms; and if you're organic, grubs) they will stick around.
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