Terror from below

Pendo Pilot · Post by **Pendo Pilot** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:00 am

The line has recently come under attack by a terrorist style mole. The trackbed is fine as its laid on concrete blocks but the cess & flower beds are getting really messed up by this damn thing.
Before I adopt a napalm style way of getting rid of this thing I would like to know is there any humane ways of ridding moles from the garden? I wouldnt mind but the thing isnt digging up the lawn, just going round the path of the line digging it up!!

Any idea's for a sensible way of dealing with the issue?

Thanks.

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:24 am

http://www.pesthelp.co.uk/weshop/mole-traps.asp

DVT Dweller · Post by **DVT Dweller** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 6:35 pm

Those windmill things that you can buy for kids, with the handle bit stuck into the molehill. the vibrations scare them off. only problem being if its not windy......

Sir haydn · Post by **Sir haydn** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 6:47 pm

I heard western region locos can sometimes attract moles (must be their bad eyesight) Maybe a more Midland/ London North Eastern theme may rid them?

DVT Dweller · Post by **DVT Dweller** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:33 pm

Sir haydn:54633 wrote:I heard western region locos can sometimes attract moles (must be their bad eyesight) Maybe a more Midland/ London North Eastern theme may rid them?

Must be why they went down the hydraulic route, smoke the buggers out.

Sir Clothem Cap · Post by **Sir Clothem Cap** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:37 pm

My rabbits have started unauthorised mining operations that have covered the mainline in soil nightmare.

Pendo Pilot · Post by **Pendo Pilot** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:58 pm

Sir haydn:54633 wrote:I heard western region locos can sometimes attract moles (must be their bad eyesight) Maybe a more Midland/ London North Eastern theme may rid them?

Yeah that makes sense, western stuff with it's tasteful theme would be easy to blend in with the enviroment around it. As you say Midland & NE stuff with it's garish taste & bling stands out like a sore thumb. Like a bunch of hoody chavs at a bus stop...

Cheers for the web link Gregg, but has anyone tried these things?

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:13 am

can you get traps for them? That's how we use to deal with then, find one of their tunnels, set the trap, and bait for it to bite.

Dr. Bond of the DVLR · Post by **Dr. Bond of the DVLR** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:18 am

I have a relative who was a gardener at Cue gardens (not sure how that one is spelt...) and his method is to sharpen the end of a broom handle and wait above a new mole hill until you see earth moving, being shovelled up by the mole under neath then strike down with all the force and vigour you can muster...

Narrow Minded · Post by **Narrow Minded** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:44 am

Mr. Bond of the DVLR:54649 wrote:I have a relative who was a gardener at Cue gardens (not sure how that one is spelt...) and his method is to sharpen the end of a broom handle and wait above a new mole hill until you see earth moving, being shovelled up by the mole under neath then strike down with all the force and vigour you can muster...

Sounds as much fun as using my .22!

We have a small beck running along the bottom of our gardens which lends itself to an occasional rat problem.
My next door neighbour had a particularly bad infestation in his brick-built sheds last year and called out the pro's - they fitted one of the ultra sonic deterrants and it worked a treat.
Dunno how closely related "Ratus Norvegicus" is to Moleybut seeing as the buggers are blind they must have enhanced hearing as well as smell!?

Speaking of rats - is everyone aware that they can carry Leptospirosis (or Weil disease)?
It can be passed on via their urine, and since rats aren't particularly well toilet trained - they urinate as they scurry about - the chances of getting rat wiz on your hands whilst fettling the railway are abundant.
If you have an open wound, or you put your hand to your mouth, you are then in severe risk.
If you want to know how bad the desease can be, Google the words in italics!

(Sits back and watches people with "cold symptoms" start to panic!)

Marquis DeCarabas · Post by **Marquis DeCarabas** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:10 pm

I would strongly suggest using one of these : http://www.plantmenow.co.uk/solar-power ... re=default

£20 and hassle free.

Endless, Nameless · Post by **Endless, Nameless** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:35 pm

Build a swimming pool. A friend has one and it's not unusual to have to fish a mole out before going for a swim. Not particuarly humane, nor I suspect particuarly practical!

Frankly I think it serves you right for having a damn great field to build a railway in while the rest of us have to make do with our modest suburban plots

Oh, and Meester Bond- Kew

Pendo Pilot · Post by **Pendo Pilot** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:23 pm

Thanks for all the advice, may well try those sonic mole repellers. May of course require two or more for the field the railway is in..

However whilst just running a train the cat, (prime destructor of railway property) turned up with a mole in it's mouth. Not sure on the actual size of moles but this was about 2 inches long. So I wonder, did the train make the mole surface & the cat (who is normally dozy as anything) grab it? Or is this a baby mole from a whole herd/pack/congregation of the little ******** who have taken up residence in my field? Will study the cess with interest this evening & tomorrow to see. Then again the cat has now done a big poo on the lineside & scattered dirt all over the trackbed by the new hole he dug. :? :? So whats the next level in the food chain up from cat then? Looking for an animal that doesnt dig though so that rules out dog. Maybe a really big & hard Owl..

mhlr · Post by **mhlr** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:42 pm

I'm surprised Mr Bond hasn't invented something for this by now, a rail-mounted mole catching machine...

And if you catch them humanely, make sure you release it FAR away, not in the field next door or something as they just come back! When I was a young lad, we owned a house in Wales that had a large lawn area, dad tried trap it and released it in the field next door, it came back. Resorted to pest control, the Welsh guy turned up and just connected a pipe from a mole hill to the exhaust of his van, then just gunned the engine until the lawn began smoking!!! Needless to say, never saw the mole again... or much of the grass.

The Yoghurt Weaver · Post by **The Yoghurt Weaver** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:07 pm

Jasper Carrott had a few ways of dealing with moles.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePU5CIHpas Hope the link works

Mrs F Controller · Post by **Mrs F Controller** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:27 pm

We did have problems with a mole for a while and it had a habit of coming up right next to the track so it looked like there had been an earthquake. It suddenly stopped and then we found this....

Now we have a problem with one of them (yes there are now more than one!) who likes lying on top of the wagons that we leave in the tunnel! Help....

Steven.T · Post by **Steven.T** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 8:30 pm

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:05 pm

crikey!

wish it were a black adder, then I could sing the lyrics to one of my favorate sitcoms.

Hancockshire · Post by **Hancockshire** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:51 pm

Aww, so cute (yes I do like scaly things. I have the same reaction when I see my friend's ball python Monty).

You are lucky. Up here in Scotland, snakes are something of a rarity & the worst thing is, the ones that are most common are Adders but sometimes I do go to the reptile shop to have a look. Mind you, it's a good thing that we don't really have snakes as the local children (or cave weans) would pelt them with stones. Such beautiful & misunderstood creatures don't deserve that fate

pauly · Post by **pauly** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:35 pm

Shes gorgeous, dont worry about her, shel keep the rats and mice away and aslong as you leave her be she wont give you any trouble.
Besides I dont think anyones died in Britain from a snake bite since the create of Anti-venoms.

Garden Railway Forum

Terror from below

Terror from below

Mole attack

Who is online