No garden for moles - I
am open to all methods of fighting mole infestation other than poisons.
I looked at some yesterday; the packets all have warnings like "do not
use if you have a cat or dog in the garden" or "do not use if you grow
berries in your garden". Both apply to us, so no poison. Above: ripening blackcurrants on the edge of the lawn, close to the area of greatest mole intensity.
Following
last night's attempted to flood the moles out, I woke up to find a
further four new moleholes have appeared overnight (two of them pictured
right). I responded with a further concerted attack on the
moles with high-pressure water. Eddie extended the hose to stretch right
across to the far end of the garden, and we poured several cubic metres
of water into the other end of the tunnel system.
Our gardener
told me this morning that the mild winter has led to a massive explosion
in the mole population and the problem is evident in many of his
clients' gardens. Nicole B from Hungary has helpfully suggested I use
"holunder", which I discovered in Wikipedia is the German for
elderberry. I read: "The crushed foliage and immature fruit have a
strong fetid smell" There are elder trees on ul. Kórnicka, along the
path leading to the railway track. I shall collect some fetid vegetation
and pump it into the tunnel system. Our gardener has suggested keeping
'molewatch' at dusk; half an hour after sunset, lie still on the lawn,
wait, watch, listen. And be ready to move fast with the spade.