I have about 45 raised beds in the kitchen garden. Many are covered with multi layers of paper and topped with lots of spoiled hay as mulch. Crickets are every where, and then some. Never have i seen evidence of them eating into peppers or any other vegies here. I would also guess that they hide out in peppers, thru holes made by others. They feed on all kinds of organic matter, but as to plants - seems limited to seedlings. I would like to identify a pest that makes holes in my peppers - about 1/2 to 3/4" long larvae - black with orangeish markings up and down the body.. Those DO make holes. They crawl quite fast on my cutting board when i cut the peppers to process them. Any ideas? Glad

You problem is most likely Voles and not Moles. Voles are vegetarians and are the cause of destructive root damage of many plants. Moles are carnivorous, and eat grubs and worms. They will never eat enough earthworms in you garden to cause a problem. Both of these rodents tunnel. When I was growing commercially and had to overwinter thousands of perennials, baiting for rodent (Vole) control was a must. There is some controversy to baiting. Some are concerned that a Fox, Owl, or Bird of Prey will catch the poisoned rodent and get sick or die. My observations has been that once a rodent enters a covered bed, they donÂt leave. They are protected from the elements, and have all the food they could ever want. One year, I forgot to bait my last ground bed. When I uncovered in the spring, 1,300 plants from my stock were gone. I make my traps out of 1 ft long, 1½" PVC pipe. I put an elbow on each end. You will need to remove this elbow to put in your bait, so donÂt permanently seal it. Use the block bait only. Pellets can fall out too easily. Once the vole takes the bait they will go down into their hole to die. Many people would come to me with concerns about the damage being done to their gardens. They all thought it was moles. I would send them home with a trap and bait and tell them to hide it under some black plastic, and if the trap was empty in a couple of days then that was a sign that the problem was voles. Here is a link that might be useful: Article about Voles

Best method? Plough it all under. Yeah, like that's gonna take root and revolutionize the mole-repelling business. Personally, I have a little Jack Russell terrier. All I see is the bottom half pointing down and the tail wagging, wagging, wagging. Of course, that means I have some holes to fill, something every man dreads. I live next door to an ax murderess. She's this sweet little grandmother, but every spring, armed with her father's ancient wooden handled ax, she can be seen standing in the yard, feet spread wide, waiting, lurking, gleefully anticipating the sweet thunk of the descending ax as she unapologetically sends another mole to wherever they go. The neighbor on the other side of me prefers a pitchfork. Halloween is a blast around here. But really, so many methods exists because some people have problems setting a trap or a poison. Some people are lazy, some people really don't care, and some want...well, they don't know what they want. The "best method" is probably a combination of methods combined with eternal vigilance.

You can spend a lot of money on poisons that may work for a time and will need repeat applications or you could take a good look at the soil they grow in and correct them which will result in long term control. In my experience both the garlic and onion grow in poor soils the limit grasses ability to grow.