UNWANTED VISITOR(S).

I'm sure others will answer Alan but I got some advice on a question I posted a couple of years back.
Here's the link
http://www.growsonyou.com/question/show/86173

and if you fancy a laugh, take a look at the blog.

http://www.growsonyou.com/scottish/blog/20352-the-great-escape-of-mr-moley

hi alan im afraid you have got a mole there there are traps for catching these but i would get some one in quick because they can and will do a lot of damage to the lawn.you could always put fire lighters down the burrows it is supposed to stop em never tried them though kiddes wind mills for vibration.empty milk bottles in the burrows the list is endless.but they do need trapping so you know you have got them.our local mole man says they work four hours rest four hours,good luck you will need it.

Thanks Kennyboy and Angie, for taking the time to comment. I will take a look at your link now Angie.

There are still a few mole catchers around. I do know one but he loves in West Wales which isn't much help but if you ask around you might find one. Our cat caught ours, would you like to rent her? lol.

Sorry, but having tried every and I mean EVERY folk remedy suggested I am afraid that the only way is to trap the blighter. There will only be one, they live alone except when breeding.
Scissor traps are not that expensive and easy to place. Find a run and put the trap in, and wait!

And as for Mole catchers who LOVE in West Wales, perhaps they only get together in the breeding season too?

Knowing him and his attractive wife I'm pretty sure he does both...

If ours were breeding they must have had an interesting domestic arrangement. A menage à trois moles?

I always understood dropping Moth Balls down the burrows
sees them off.

I chased one into the ditch once, it took persistence.
it was round my pond and I worried about the consequences....

In each molehill you put a long cane with an empty tin can on top, drinks cans are ideal, then as the mole creates another you put a cane and can in that ......every one, every time you see it.
I can only say it was 20 odd years ago and haven't had the problem since.

Thanks Steragram, Owdboggy, Diane and Pam. Sounds like it's 'plan A' first. Followed swiftly afterwards by Moth Balls (and/or) a trap. I watched some videos on Youtube last night, of a man who waited to see movement underground, then he launched at the spot with his shovel and simply dug them out of the ground. I don't really want to stand out on the lawn all day .... not in this weather anyway, lol.

I know you can kill them and they are territorial but its the reasen they've come into your garden that's more relevant ie pushed out of there old habitat or maybe your house is quite new . I think there is an electronic disswader as a new mole will soon take over the old real estate .

Well, best of luck. As I said I have tried every method ever suggested on any site from moth balls (you need to be a better aim than me to hit a mole with one) to electronic devices (put one of those in and found mole hills all round it next morning). None of them worked. The only thing which kept them away for a while was pouring the 200 gallons of grey water from the Septic tank down one of the runs. It disappeared and so did they.......for a couple of years.

Apart from eating worms and leaving soil on the lawn do they do an actual harm?
Personally, I'd get rid of the lawn!

They leave roots dangling in space which does plants no good. They dig out and leave strewn over the soil various bulbs. The leave collapsed tunnels under paths which can lead to damaged ankles. They have even been known to kill a king!

I aree with urbanite just spread the extra soil out they are only excess from there tunnels .

My mother was a great believer in using the soil from mole hills as seed compost. We used to go in to the local fields and collect it for her. We also collected sheep purls (droppings ) which were steeped in water and the water was used to grow leeks.

I want to see a film of Owdboggy throwing mothballs at moles...

me tooi feel sorry for the moths poar lads lol .

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. I now have a plan of attack. As a keen gardener and not a 'reluctant gardner', I have no intention of "getting rid of the lawn" !

Please remember to let us know which scheme, if any, worked for you!

The moles have started coming into the gardens because the farmer, 5 years ago started ploughing the fields at the back of us. He then planted pototoes and cereal crops. The harvesting machinery is also very large and extremely noisy.

Angie, just seen your blog. Very funny ... perhaps I need a couple of cats! I don't have any at the moment , .... BUT ....... I do have plenty of water!

This is best "step by step" guide I've come across, for getting rid of moles!

http://youtu.be/fePU5CIHpas

There is an advert, or there was, on the Sealand road out of Chester going towards Queensferry for a mole catching service. Not been past that way for a while.

Thanks Owdboggy. Thats about 15 minutes away. I will have a look next week if I need a catcher. I have purchased and installed a trap as per a professionals instuctions. Three more traps being delivered tomorrow, so I will see how I go.

Success ..... No more molehills since Sunday (11th January).