Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[hereorthere]

Hello and welcome!
I have seen tunnels here or there on the property but once the Shepherd starts digging seems like they clear out. If i were you i would investigate mole traps. Ultrasonic repellents don't do anything but drain your pockets imo. Let us know what happens. Love daffodils!

Hiya! After I posted, google and I got pretty chummy.....I’m gonna go w/ your advice and get traps. Looking into NoMol traps and the reviews looks positive! There's even a video from the manufacture showing how to use.....I'd have the Ew-factor on removing the dead varmits. Has anyone used them?

Daffodils? Garlic? These repel moles? Tell me more!

It's the smell of sulfur from the garlic as well as smell from daffodils that repels them. Great thing about daffodils are that they're buried 6in under and naturalize every year. And they better protect the tree roots, IMHO. Garlic can be planted as little as 2in in soil but needs to be forked up in June, then allow to air dry & cure for 2-3 weeks prior to use. Like lazygardener.....I'm even twice as lazy! So it works, but the pests just tunnel into another area of the garden.

Are they moles, or voles? I can catch voles with snap traps. I caught 5 voles with a single chocolate chip/peanut butter. First Bubba, then Peggy Sue, then Johnny, then Linda Lou, then.... Voles aren't the brightest crayon in the box. Every time I caught one, I'd toss the body into the bushes, then re-set the trap in exactly the same spot, right in front of an active hole. There'd be an other cousin or uncle in the trap the next morning.

Garlic and daffodils are supposed to repel voles, and I'm guessing they do the same with mice. I have them planted around all of my fruit trees.

It's moles. The tell-tale brown lines of dirt as well the fresh mounds of dirt. Right now the ground is thankfully frozen. Was your snap trap like this:

 

[chickmom3941]

Are they moles, or voles? I can catch voles with snap traps. I caught 5 voles with a single chocolate chip/peanut butter. First Bubba, then Peggy Sue, then Johnny, then Linda Lou, then.... Voles aren't the brightest crayon in the box. Every time I caught one, I'd toss the body into the bushes, then re-set the trap in exactly the same spot, right in front of an active hole. There'd be an other cousin or uncle in the trap the next morning.

Garlic and daffodils are supposed to repel voles, and I'm guessing they do the same with mice. I have them planted around all of my fruit trees.

I wish rats were that dumb. We have some camped out under the coop - they come into the attached pen in the daytime when there's food in there for the chickens, and help themselves. We've tried humane traps, rat zappers, and the large mouse-trap type rat traps, but after you catch a few, the rest learn quickly what the traps are all about, and then stay away from them. I'm ready to try poison, but hesitant.

 

[lazy gardener]

St. Lawrence Nursery catalog came today. New June Berry cultivars available!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My Collie is doing more damage to our yard than the "Blind Tunnel Rats". He is destroying the lawn in pursuit of his obsession. I burred some poison peanuts yesterday along their route in hopes off having a lawn to mow this spring. Placed milk crates over the spots so Chomper (aka lawn destroyer) can't dig em up.

View attachment 1224774

Chomper is a good looking dog. Is he a mix or a breed I'm not familiar with? I love that brindle coat.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I wish rats were that dumb. We have some camped out under the coop - they come into the attached pen in the daytime when there's food in there for the chickens, and help themselves. We've tried humane traps, rat zappers, and the large mouse-trap type rat traps, but after you catch a few, the rest learn quickly what the traps are all about, and then stay away from them. I'm ready to try poison, but hesitant.

We only use poison for rats, nothing else works here.

 

[rjohns39]

We only use poison for rats, nothing else works here.

Mine won't eat the poison. They moved out of the barn for summer (when I was brooding ducks), but are back again.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Whatever is in our roof has been eating poison, two trays of it, and the one bite type stuff but just as much scampering as ever.

 

[lazy gardener]

Well, sooner or later your little pitter patters will stop. Hopefully they will stop but you won't be left with a lot of stink.

 

[chickmom3941]

Well, sooner or later your little pitter patters will stop. Hopefully they will stop but you won't be left with a lot of stink.

One of the reasons I'm hesitant to use poison is because I don't want them to die under the coop and have it stink horribly. I'm also concerned about our dog (or even the chickens) possibly being poisoned by eating (or pecking) a dead rat. I've heard there's some kind of poison that isn't harmful to other animals that eat a rat killed by the poison, but don't know what kind it is.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Won't be or will be? (left with a lot of stink). One of the reasons I'm hesitant to use poison is because I don't want them to die under the coop and have it stink horribly. I'm also concerned about our dog (or even the chickens) possibly being poisoned by eating (or pecking) a dead rat. I've heard there's some kind of poison that isn't harmful to other animals that eat a rat killed by the poison, but don't know what kind it is.

some brands are not poison.. just dehydrates them to death.. they will leave your property in search of water.