Turf Wars
While many of us in the Rogue Valley don’t have the goal in mind of growing a putting green that has the look and texture of velvet, I think a number of us can say – with absolute certainty – that we have a love-hate relationship with moles and other excavating varmints. In that relationship, one could say that it’s most likely 1% love and 99% hate. You might experience a slight feeling of closeness when your dog digs one up and starts playing with it, but that’s probably about as close to a “warm fuzzy” as you’re ever going to get.
If you’re looking for solutions to a mole problem, there are a number of “remedies” out there. First, you need to identify what, exactly, is using your yard for it’s subterranean excavations. Moles, unfortunately, are not the only pests responsible for tunneling into your lawn or garden areas, although they are often confused with these other pests.
Who are these interlopers? Pocket gophers and voles. Because all of these critters are rarely ever seen, it’s easier to identify them by their handiwork. Moles produce two types of tunnels in your yard. One type runs just beneath the surface and is a feeding tunnel. They appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of tunnel runs deeper and allows the mole to unite his feeding tunnels into a network. The soil that is excavated from this second type of tunnel, appearing on your lawn like a miniature Vesuvius, is what gardeners are most familiar with. The mound of the pocket gopher is more distinctively horseshoe-shaped. Voles, on the other hand, do not create mounds at all, but rather well defined tunnels near the surface, about two inches in width. Vole tunnels result from the critters eating the grass blades as well as from the traffic of many tiny feet.
Let’s say that you’ve determined that it is, in fact, moles that are causing areas of your yard to resemble a veritable mine field. What can you do?
You can turn, first, to the “mean” method of poison. Aside from the risk to pets, there is the risk that any animal up the food chain from the mole will fall victim to the poison. This could be anything from your neighbor’s cat, to a skunk, to a fox, to that gorgeous hawk that cruises your yard at 9 a.m. every morning. Not necessarily the best choice.
There are a number of traps on the market designed specifically for eliminating moles. These frequently resemble, in both name and appearance, mini-medieval torture devices; scissors mole trap, choker mole trap, harpoon mole trap – Oh my! There is also the popular Havahart trap, though you will still have a live mole to get rid of after you’ve trapped it.
Trapping is the early spring can eliminate pregnant females, which will nip in the bud what could be a greater mole problem later in the season. Placement of the traps is vital for successful trapping. You will need to place your traps near tunnels that are active and in use.
Here’s how to determine if a mole tunnel is active:
1. Using your hand or other implement, flatten sections of the raised portions of the tunnel.
2. Mark these sections with something bright so it will be easy to locate them later. Maybe a
small flag or a bit of ribbon tied to the end of a stick.
3. Check your flags in a day or so and inspect the flattened areas.
4. If the flattened areas are raised back up, you’ll know this is an active tunnel, as the mole will
have re-dug to make it available. This is where you will want to locate your trap.
5. Remove the turf over the active tunnel and remove the soil right down to the bottom of the
tunnel where the moles are taking their daily strolls. Moles have very poor eyesight, but are
also very sensitive to touch. Be sure to remove ALL the loose soil from the tunnel floor
leading up to the trap. If you don’t do this, the moles will find it and back away from the
trap.
Now, let’s look at repellants. The formula for most mole repellants is based on castor oil. A popular one is Mole-Med. When applying such a repellant, you must often water the area where you place it, both before and after application, so that the surrounding soil absorbs the repellant. While products such as Mole-Med are advertised as a “safe” alternative, the cost effectiveness of a product like this should be weighed against the likelihood of necessary reapplications. If you are hosting a large number of moles, this could get expensive.
Many mole control success stories include the planting of barriers composed of specific plants whose smell moles find offensive. While this method is likely less reliable than the use of traps, pesticides or commercially prepared repellants, it’s also a lot more fun and a whole lot safer! These are visually appealing plants that are worth growing for their decorative value as much as their repellant value. If you’d like to send Mr. Mole packing, but aren’t desperate for immediate results, using these plants as a completely natural solution may be the right choice for you.
Several bulbs are said to repel moles. One of these is the well-known harbinger of spring – the daffodil. These are known to naturalize in the Rogue Valley and thus are a self-propagating mole repellant. Two others are also spring-bloomers but perhaps not as widely known as the daffodil. These are the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) and the crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). Squill bears lovely bell-like flowers in shades of lavender, blue, white or pink. Over time, squill will multiply and fill in an area. Squill is hardy and naturalizes in zones 4-8.
Yellow crown imperials, such as Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ bear six to eight hanging yellow flowers. The scent of its bulbs is said to resemble that of the fox, which would definitely be unpleasant for our little burrowing friends. These plants grow to about 3’ in height and are hardy in zones 5-7.
The Allium family of bulbs is made up of garlic, onions, leeks, shallots and chives, as well as ornamental flowering onions, sometimes referred to simply as “Alliums.” This flowering plant ranges in size from 6” to about 5’ in height. Garlic is reputed to be a mole repellant, but Allium is probably a better choice if you are interested in the aesthetic value of the plant as well as its repellant value. Allium giganteum is a taller version of the ornamental Alliums, growing from 3’ to 5’. Since this plant dies back in early summer, you’ll want to plant these behind other plants to screen the view as the foliage dies back for the season. Plant Alliums in the fall or spring at a depth of 6”. These are cold hardy to zone 4.
Other living mole repellants are the Mexican marigold (tagetes minuta) and is a stinky, yet attractive, plant widely used for its ability to repel a variety of pests in addition to our friend, mole. It is said that planting it amongst your veggies will prevent horn- and cutworms from taking up residence. This is known as “companion planting” and is an example of organic pest control.
Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) has gained such notoriety as a living mole repellant that it is often referred to as “mole plant.” An annual, mole plant readily reseeds itself. It is often grown as an ornamental and is a very attractive addition to the landscape. The milky sap of the mole plant is apparently what is offensive to moles. This plant should not be grown near where children play.
The final living repellant to be addressed is the castor bean (Ricinus communis), also known as the castor-oil plant. Used in the old days as a laxative, I’m sure there are many folks who can attest to the repellant qualities of castor oil! It would appear that moles don’t like it any better than humans do! In the right climate, castor bean can grow to a height of 15’, suggesting it could be used as a privacy screen. It grows quickly; a boon for those who don’t want to wait years for other shrubs to reach such a height. Castor bean, like mole plant, is poisonous.
Lastly, some residents of the Rogue Valley say that the only sure-fire way to repel moles is with a shotgun. Others say, “even moles have a purpose”. I’m sure that in the grand scheme of things, they do. I just wish that they’d find their purpose lie in areas other than our yards, gardens and orchards.
So, if you’ve ever found yourself screaming curses while pounding a pitchfork into a new mole run in your yard, do yourself and your blood pressure a favor and try some less exerting alternatives.
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