Controlling Moles the Organic Way

For many years, gardeners have planted castor
bean or mole bean in their garden space. The
plant produced seeds that would be placed in the
mole's holes with a hope that the mole would eat
the seed. The seed from this plant is very
poisonous and contains ricin. This chemical is
said to be 1,000 times more toxic than cobra
venom. While most moles will not eat the bean,
many commercial repellants are made with a high
concentration of castor oil. The castor bean or
mole bean is where this substance comes from.

Castor bean or mole bean is known as Ricinus
communis and belongs to the spurge family. Its
native home is Africa where it grows into a
40-foot tall tree. When this plant is grown as
an annual, it can reach heights of 10 foot.

The vegetation on this annual is unique. The
star-shaped leaves can grow to the size of
garbage can lids and has a reddish tinge that
outlines the leaf margin. Seeds of the castor
bean plant resemble a large tick and are housed
in three-celled, spiny capsules that is
supported on a red stalk that is one foot in
height.

The striking appearance of this plant makes it
a perfect backdrop plant for any annual
flowerbed. It also creates a wonderful and
unusual privacy screen.

Another plant that is known to repel moles is
the mole plant or caper spurge (Euphorbia
lathyris). This plant is a very striking plant,
which bears lanced shaped leaves. The leaves
have an exquisite white vein that runs down the
middle of each leaf.

To use this plant as a mole repellant requires
the gardener to cut the stem. This will release
the milky white sap. The smell of this sap is
what many believe actually repels moles.

The wood hyacinth or scilla is another plant
that can be used to repel moles. To make this
effective, one must plant wood hyacinth around
susceptible plants as a garden border. Keep in
mind though, that while this plant repels moles
it also adds a colorful touch to any garden
space with its white, lavender, blue, and pink
bell-shaped flowers.

A homemade repellant can be made from mint. To
create your own mole repellant starts with a big
handful of mint and a little water. Both of these
are placed in a blender or food processor and
processed until smooth. The mint and water is
then placed in a large pot of water and boiled
for 30 minutes. Enough water should be added to
the large pot to make six gallons of the mole
repellant. Once it has cooked, cool the liquid
and them pour on and around the molehills. If
the soil is dry, water the mint liquid into the
ground. Repeat often. It is believed that moles
do not like the scent of mint and will leave the
area.

If you do not want to plant any additional
plant material nor do you want to have to apply
a repellant, there does exist other organic
choices. These include a sonic mole control
chaser and glass bottles. Both work about the
same but the principle behind both is sound. The
sonic mole chaser emits a sonic sound every 30
seconds while the glass bottles depend on the
wind. Both of these techniques are set up on and
around molehills. They are also used around
susceptible plant material.

To set up the sonic mole control chaser, follow
the directions on the package. On the other hand,
the glass bottles are simply buried in the ground
with the neck of the bottle sticking above the
soil line. As the wind blows across the opening,
it will create a sound but be careful with this
technique especially if you are using it in
turf. Many gardeners have forgotten about the
bottles and mowed over them. To avoid this,
always mark the location of the bottles with
brightly colored flags.

Moles can be very destructive not only to a
lawn but also in a flowerbed. The techniques
described above provide information on organic
ways of handling this pest.

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Young's Pest Control is actually consistently
here to assist. You are happy to face every pest
troubles one could have or to provide assistance
24 hrs a day please call 0161 776 9832 or click
http://www.youngspestcontrol.co.uk or
http://www.pestcontrol247.co.uk

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