Re: Combat with Moles, etc.

Where does one buy castor bean seed?  Will they grow here in Southern 
Maine (zone 5)?  I believe I read somewhere (I wish I could remember 
where) about using castor oil to repel moles.  Does anyone know 
anything about that, or has anyone tried it?

The moles have been very active here lately.

Things I have tried:

smoke bombs in the holes - didn't seem to make any difference.  Of 
course they would have to be "home" for it to work.  I suspect they 
just escaped out another hole and came back after the smoke cleared so 
to speak.

Poison bait - my dog dug it up and ate it.  The vet said to give her 
pepto bismal and keep an eye on her.  Luckily she didn't get sick, but 
needless to say I don't use that anymore.

Moth balls - they push them out and close off that hole.

Apply diazanon granules to the lawn & gardens and water it in during 
late August or early September to kill the grubs that the moles feed 
on.  I did this last year too.  It doesn't seem very effective as we 
had more Japanese beetles this year than last (which I think come from 
the grubs) but at least it makes me feel like I'm DOING something.  I 
spread it right before a rain so I didn't have to water it in.

Got a cat.  I adopted Moxie from the shelter on June 24th.  She's a 
sweetheart and I love her to pieces.  She IS hunting but I guess one 
cat can only do so much.  I've seen her get several mice, but only one 
mole that I know of.  The reason I know about that one is she brought 
it in and deposited on the living room carpet for us to admire.  Thank 
good ness it was dead!  We praised her and fed her treats and made the 
mole disappear to the compost bin.
I wish she lined the kill up on the deck like Clarence's cat does so I 
would know just how much she was accomplishing.

I am also trying hardware cloth cages around some of my newer 
plantings, but someone told me that because I didn't put a bottom in 
them, they may not work.  They are about 8" high and 18" in diameter 
and I line the planting hole with them.

Something I haven't tried YET (only because my bulb order isn't in 
yet) is planting Frittilaria bulbs.  One of the bulb catalogues calims 
they repel moles.  I've been told it isn't true, but it's worth a try.

I'm running out of ideas and I am seeing new mole activity every day.

I can't give up though.  I haven't tried castor beans yet.  How tall 
do they get?  Do you interplant your flower beds with them or use in a 
crop rotation somehow?

Any other ideas?  I'm almost ready to try one of those expensive 
electronic gadgets I've seen in catalogues, but I expect they don't 
work either.

Well, that's the "encouraging" news from Maine.

Linda Ridlon
No. Berwick, Maine (southern Maine,. zone 5)
ldridlon@waveinter.com
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