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sevierville, Tn

Any one have any experience with moles? My best regular melon (260 clements) which grew my 297 had moles. I guess they must have come in august. When i pulled the plant & ground cover, the ground was as soft as a just tilled garden. There were tunnels everywhere! I was shocked cause normally by october the soil is packed down. Did not seem to hurt the plant as there were roots everywhere.

11/2/2013 12:05:48 PM

Arden, NC

Try using some merit to kill the grubs the moles are going after. You may have one passing though from time to time but your patch won't resemble swiss cheese when you dimish their food source.

11/2/2013 1:27:01 PM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Been dealing with them dang things for 10 years in yards i mow.i usually throw down grub &worm killer takes there reason to be there away.but not sure if you want to kill worms in garden.
You got poision peanuts&other stuff that can be put in tunnels&traps to set.depends on how many there are a couple can be handled alright with poison food.but the worst yard i dealt with took all summer with everything i had they finally went away.
When setn traps or placing poison find there main tunnel.lot of tunnels are only used once in search of food.there main tunnel usually along an edge of sidewalk house ect..slightly depress a foot print in tunnel.come back next day &see if its raised back up.then u know there regular path.

11/2/2013 1:45:53 PM

look up( taliprid)
plastic worm drop in tunnel moles fav last meal

11/2/2013 3:40:28 PM

sevierville, Tn

Thanks for the info, but i guess what i was asking was... Are they bad?? I mean we want soil that isn't compacted, which they did a great job of doing. They are not eating the roots RIGHT ??
So are they bad for melons & pumpkins ??? I know they are for lawns, but i'm not growing grass !! LOL

11/2/2013 7:51:13 PM

Arden, NC

Chris moles will eat grubs, Voles on the other hand will eat roots. Voles use Moles tunnels so yep they are problem.

11/2/2013 9:40:39 PM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Aww ok chris well i see your point now yeah the keep soil loose &areated.but i know it detstroys the shallow roots of grass &kills it.&roots hangin freely in tunnel are not getn to touch dirt to get there microbes & to steady bring water in.now with big tap roots that go down deep probli helps them cause top is being stirred up.hard to say for sure chris

11/3/2013 7:11:37 AM

Bethlehem CT

Chris it is way better to have moles than to have voles. In 2012 I had my entire competition patch wiped right out by the voles. They got under the fabric and ate the roots to drink the sweet melon sap.
The only way I can see the moles harming things is by drying out the soil and disturbing the root system of your melons. Other than that I don't think they would cause you much harm. 297 pounds confirms the idea that it couldn't have hurt much.

11/3/2013 7:33:25 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Here is my opinion, know your enemy. Are you sure they are moles or could they be voles or possibly shrews? If you can catch one then you will know exactly how to handle the situation. Moles has no eyes, shrews do and can look similar. Moles eat meat, voles eat vegetables. Good Luck Chris, catch them suckers.

11/3/2013 8:09:39 AM

sevierville, Tn

good point sue. Stevann, that should be fun, they are all through my veggie garden, half of the grass & half of the melon patch !

11/3/2013 9:13:49 AM

sevierville, Tn

how do you catch em? i guess a trap? any noncommercial cheap ways?

11/3/2013 9:14:54 AM

SW Ohio

A rat or Jack Russell terrier would root those rascals out ;)

11/3/2013 10:27:56 AM

Arden, NC

This may help you figure it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UHr6IGjE-0

11/3/2013 6:55:32 PM

Akron,N.Y.

I had a chocolate lab that developed a taste for moles.She mostly got them from our hay field especially . If the hay was long enough to lay down with snow on top of it , we would have tons of moles out there.Fox like them too.
So if you wanna get rid of them just get a red fox,a chocolate lab,a terrier,assorted traps and some poison.That should to do it

11/4/2013 6:03:04 AM

Watervalley Ms

I would not trust a mole or vole to dig under my plant. It worked good for you this time, BUT next time he could get the soil lose under the stump.

11/4/2013 7:52:48 AM

Watervalley Ms

soil lose at stump = roots lose at stump.

11/4/2013 7:57:55 AM

Corryton, TN

If you can find a tunnel on top of ground in the taller grass or a hole in the ground, take a piece of old downspout (approx. 10")split the skinny side lengthwise and fold it out the opposite way. You have just made an artificial tunnel. Drill a hole in the center of 2 mouse traps and insert a #16 nail to pin it to the ground. Place the traps on each side of the hole with the triggers near the hole. Opposite way if your doing a set on a natural trail. Cover both traps with the fake tunnel and secure with a couple more nails. This set doesn't care if their mice, voles, rats or your fingers. Good luck.

11/4/2013 9:05:18 AM

South East

with a 297 lbs melon, you hardly speak about a problem, lol.

11/4/2013 9:32:34 AM

Berne, Indiana

Get a mole spike stick it along the tunnel the next day it spears it.

11/4/2013 9:39:50 AM

The North Coast

I like to find a hole on one side of my yard and light a candle right next to it...then pump a mixture of acetylene and oxygen into a hole on the opposite side of the yard. All's left to do is crack a beer and wait for the show. Even though I know it is coming, it scares the crap out of me every time.

11/4/2013 11:37:03 AM

50 Acres

Clean your shorts, addto compost pile. :] Jim

11/4/2013 8:19:01 PM

Williamsburg,KY

Chris, when you catch your creature we all hope you will let us know. Mole, Vole, Shrew, Mouse...what could it be??

11/5/2013 7:31:40 AM

Alaska

Sounds like Mighty Mouse, I'd be careful Chris! lol

11/5/2013 2:32:52 PM

sevierville, Tn

considering that they have about half my yard , veggie garden & some of the patch, i would say there are several ! ;)

11/5/2013 3:37:30 PM

sevierville, Tn

they have definately expanded from last winter. Also, i only saw 1 worm in the garden & patch when i did my fall till.

11/5/2013 3:39:19 PM

Shingle Springs, CA

We are putting up Barn Owl boxes this year to see if that helps. We have many commercial vineyards in our area and they swear by them. Here are a couple of references for those who are interested: http://www.amadorbarnowlbox.com/ and http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=voles .

12/12/2013 11:10:22 AM