Despite their cute smile, moles are not particularly appreciated by those who are trying to keep a garden. They can have their uses, turning the earth, eating worms, larvae and insects, but what they do to the soil does nothing for their popularity. When these little squatters decide to install themselves in your garden, you can say goodbye to your well kept, flat ground! If you are sick to death of them, there are a few measures you can take. In this article, we will explain what you need to do to keep them at bay naturally, as well as what you need to avoid at all costs, in order to protect the environment.
To avoid!
- Moles are hunting for food, and getting rid of worms and larvae may seem like a good solution for getting rid of them. But be careful, as this will greatly affect the quality of your soil.
- Never pout naphthalene in their tunnels. It is a harmful chemical pesticide. It is carcinogenic, not very biodegradable, and is bad for the environment.
- Avoid resorting to placing rose branches or broken glass on the ground, solutions based on the completely erroneous belief that moles are hemophiliac and that they die when they get a cut or a wound. There are many far more effective and less barbaric techniques that work without harming the animal.
So what can you do?
1) Dog’s fur
Do you have a dog, or even a friend with a dog who is always complaining that they spend their time cleaning up dog hairs? Collect a few and put them in the mole tunnels to have the moles running for the hills!
2) Elderberry
To protect an area, don’t hesitate to surround it in a few elderberry branches (which you have grown just for this purpose!)
3) Concentrated elderberry compost
Pour it directly into the mole tunnels.
4) Flowers
Flowers can come in very handy in a variety of ways. A few bulbs such as spurges or fritillaries will get rid of moles.
Moles also hate certain odours, such as those of garlic, crown imperial (fritillaria), hyacinth, daffodil, onion and castor oil.
5) Castor cake
This fully natural fertiliser is not very well known, but however, it has many advantages, such as its richness in trace minerals and organic matter. It is usually used as a basic fertiliser and garden care product, which works as well for peat as for vegetable gardens. And if we are talking about it now, it is obviously because it also repels moles, rodents (wood mice and voles included) and insects.
6) Ultrasonic devices
These devices vibrate to chase away any undesirables in a certain patch of land. In order for them to be effective, we recommend that you regularly charge the device.
Good to know: you can also go for solar powered versions, which work day and night.
7) Plastic bottles
If you don’t mind ruining the aesthetics of your garden, plant a stick in the ground, and place an open plastic bottle over the stick. This will make a noise in the wind, and moles prefer to find calm, quiet areas!
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