Mole tunnels near run & coop

[ZennyHenny2020]

I've got a solid predator proof run & coop, with 6in hardware cloth no-dig barrier. No problems in 4 years, holds 20 hens. Lately there's been a BIG increase in mole tunnels around it. Yes, I know it's moles, NO my girls aren't interested in eating them, at least not enough to help. How on earth () can I get rid of them and will all that soft ground allow bigger predators to dig UNDER my hardware cloth wall?

 

[perkolator]

I know you mentioned several years of use, but 6” is barely anything if you’re looking for a more functional anti-dig skirt. 12” is like the minimum people recommend and up to 24” horizontal is pretty common for a good anti-dig barrier. With your short barrier I absolutely think a predator could get in where the dirt is soft if it found it.

Last year I was dealing with a skunk that was digging under our extended run fence to get any leftover food scraps and dig up worms in the run. Didn’t have an anti dig apron, but did have about 4” horizontal of fence on ground because of how I installed it on a slope. Skunk kept coming back in any soft spots and even digging around rocks bricks and firewood chunks I was tossing in the holes, until I set some cinder block in the spot and compacted the dirt. Now I have anti dig skirt. A fox, coyote, bobcat or something else could easily do the same.

I have a lot of mole activity in my yard like you, likely because mine’s one of the only irrigated areas in summertime and they come to my place for meals (hey just like those damn deer on my plants!). Anyways I too have noticed increased mole activity near the chicken run, I was guessing because I have deposited a lot of wood chips, green waste and kitchen scraps there and the worm population is fairly high compared to the rest of the yard. Soil is also much softer loam there, enough ill sink down to my ankle if I step on a mole tunnel - twice as deep as the rest of the yard

I decided put HC on the ground under the dirt in my coop build. It wasn’t for predators digging in, it was because our old coop had rodents using old mole tunnels to get in at night. We fear more rattle snakes around due to young kids, so this was a priority in my coop build.

Killing moles is all that works for me, sonic spikes, granules, etc are a waste of money and time. I use those jaw style mole traps. YouTube was great to see tips on setting them better. For a while I was feeding the dead moles to my BSF bin for fresh chicken treats, but my bin is inactive currently and I just compost them now

Good luck with the moles

 

[3KillerBs]

Odd, my chicken run is the only part of the yard I don't get mole tunnels.

I've never *seen* them eating moles, but the evidence is in the tunnels.