Re: Moles, (once grubs)
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Moles, (once grubs)
- From: B*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 11:32:15 EDT
In a message dated 9/22/98 8:43:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
SAdamsGARD@aol.com writes:
<< "I should go get more moles, then I wouldn't have to do anything to get rid
of
the grubs". The articles I read said that if your bulbs or vegetation were
being eaten it was ground squirrels. >>
The trouble with moles, aside from the awful appearance of their runs, is that
when the plant roots are exposed to air inside the tunnels, the plants die.
And they say that voles will also use mole tunnels to munch on roots. On the
plus side, moles do help aerate the soil.
As for ground squirrels (chipmonks) eating bulbs or vegetation, I don't know
what the food for these creatures is. However, those of us in the American
Daffodil Society know that daffodil bulbs are toxic and most creatures will
not eat the bulbs or the roots. Not more than once, anyway. I have seen
squirrels take a taste of a daffodil bulb left out of the ground, but they
soon abandon it. Squirrels, however, are very curious and if you have
anything newly planted, they may want to investigate the newly turned earth to
see what's in there. Or to plant some choice tidbit there themselves. tulips
and the minor bulbs are apparently very tasty, however.
So the moral is, don't encourage the moles--there's a lot of damage they can
do. And plant daffodils. I don't think you can ever have too many.
Bill Lee
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
