My butterfly weed blooms continuously until frost. Slows down a bit when it gets cooler but it is definitely a continuous bloomer.

I'm sorry I don't have any mole advice. Right now I'm battling bunnies who are literally eating *everything* in my garden. Even the things they supposedly don't eat.

~Laura

That is good to know (re: butterfly weed!)

The rabbits are pretty much leaving everything alone this year except my verbena. The poor things can barely grow buds before they get bitten clean off. They were one of last year's problems that haven't been too bad this year. I never did find a way to deter them :(

Good luck!

Sandy, I don't have any answers for you about moles. I must have them here myself, because there are areas in my garden and elsewhere that are tunneled. The damage doesn't look like Swiss cheese, but like a raised line. I just live with it and step on the raised areas.

My tithonias are the "short type" and they grow to about 5' tall - I've never tried the tall varieties for obvious reasons!

Good luck!

Sherry

I have struggled with moles, gophers, and voles for years. The biggest problem is the gophers and voles which eat vegetation by pulling it under. I've lost hundreds of dollars worth of plants to these critters. Normally, I'm a peace-lovin' woman who wouldn't hurt a fly. But these critters have gotten my dander up. When they moved from the lawn to the gardens, they asked for it. I've tried the pellets you spread on the garden to drive them away. They just eat twice as many plants. I've tried the poison peanuts down in the runs. I think they consider these to be a delicacy. It all reminds me of the movie, Caddyshack. So. . . I have purchased some sulphur bombs that you set off in the runs. This kills them. I found these bombs at Ace Hardware. I also purchased some spray on Castor oil. You can purchase a setup that uses your car exhaust. Traps are available, but I've never heard of anyone having much success.

For all of you who are turned off by my approach to this problem, I have been dealing with this for years. I'm desperate! I want to grow nice plants for the butterflies that don't end up being eaten by underground eating machines.

Sandy

I believe this is animal year,we finally figured ours was a groundhog. As far as the moles try placing moth balls in the hole,flushing with water, my best, lighting and placing in a smoke ball carefully in their runner[ 4th July--they hate the sulfur

I have been fighting moles for years & haven't had much success with any of the deterrents! I have tried the battery & the solar powered ones...waste of $$$! I am trying a new one called Mole Scram that works better than just the caster oil ones. My problem is I can't use poisons because I have dogs that dig to find the moles & I don't want to take a chance on them getting the poisoned moles! I also have the exhaust attachment but because of all the rain we have had lately...all the tunnels are open & it works best to have closed tunnels! If you find anything that works...I need it, too!
I have heard that you can plant castor plants as a barrier but you have to make sure that your animals or children don't get them...highly poisonous! My problem is they like sun & the moles are in my shady area of my yard!!!
I have Swiss cheese in my yard as well!!!

I have the same problem with poisoning them...my dogs have gotten ahold of a couple and I don't want my pups getting sick. Keep me updated on the Mole Scram and if it works?

Sandy-I won't be judging anyone here on their pest removal. I think since we're all gardeners, most of us would of course prefer to go the natural/non-violent path, but that's not always an option. My only concern is that other animals (my/neighbors cats/dogs/children) will come into contact with poisoned animals and get sick themselves.

Last year it was rabbits for me, this year it's moles. They're digging under my seedlings and pushing them up out of the ground. I don't know if it helps much but I water my seedlings sparingly in the morning so it's sort of dried out by night time when the moles dig. If I water in the evening, they seem to do more digging but it could just be a coincidence. At least they don't EAT my seedlings like the rabbits were doing last year. If I check every morning, I can push the soil back down around my seedlings so the roots won't dry out. I don't think moles do much harm to established plants but it sure makes the yard look awful. I'd be happy to find an inexpensive solution. I have dogs so I can't use poison either.

Well, let's start with that moles mostly eat earthworms. They are not attracted to other types of baits. Even though Wikipedia says they eat some nuts, I have never heard of that before. The grub thing is also a myth (see link). I love moles and think they get the rap for a lot of damage done by other critters (chipmunks, voles, mice, gophers, etc.). Yes, they can dig up your yard. However, it is the rodents (moles are not rodents) that use their tunnels that eat plants.

I once managed to catch the one that was in my flower beds by watching the tunnels. I could see it moving and I stepped on the one side, cutting off its escape. Then I dug it up and deposited it outside my yard. Now that was a lucky shot. I think if you constantly water your grass, you end up with earthworms in the upper portion of the earth. If you let it stay drier, they will go further down and moles will follow.

I have no problems with killing pests. Our human ways have led to an explosion in certain animals. I keep telling my hubby that we have to start culling the chipmunks as we have gone from the occasional sighting to multiple little chip and dales dancing in our yard. We are constructing rock walls and all I see are chipmunk jungle gyms. He doesn't believe me. Wait till his veggies are all "sampled". However, I am really not looking forward to emptying a "Chipper Dipper". I wish I had a more humane way to dispatch them.

Check out the link for some suggestions on moles.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

Here is a link that might be useful: Moles in lawn

I have one small female outdoor cat, and she does a pretty good job of catching voles, moles, mice, chipmunks, and baby bunnies. Yes some of these critters are cute, and I don't like when she occasionally catches creatures like birds and snakes (and even leps), but mostly she just catches rodents and without her they would be running around everywhere.

However the cat doesn't hunt in the front garden up close to the sidewalk, so the voles were still wiping out plants up there. So I use hardware cloth barriers around the rootball of the plants, and also tried a castor oil and urine mixture and sprinkled that on the plants. These have worked really well!

I tried a mole/vole trap (borrowed from a friend) but that was unsuccessful - perhaps I didn't locate or set it properly.

For the woodchucks, deer, and rabbits, I generally use barriers and sometimes repellents.

for moles: A local garden writer & speaker Ciscoe Morris suggests making your own Mole Blaster, a strong mint tea solution that is poured or sprayed around , but doesn't hurt dogs. I've used it a few times and in summer when we don't have much rain the smell lasts a bit longer. I still have moles that move in & out of the garden beds.

Repelling Moles (best method)

Make up some Mint Mole Blaster as follows: Begin by running a couple of big handfuls of mint stems and leaves through the blender with just enough water to make slurry. Then mix the blended concoction into a large soup pot full of water and simmer for about 30 minutes. This will make a concentrate that can be diluted to make about 6 gallons of mole blaster. Whenever you detect mole activity, pour the diluted mixture into mole holes and around the surrounding area. Irrigate lightly after application if the soil is dry. The key to success seems to be persistence. The moles evidently hate the smell of mint and if all goes well, the varmints will pack their bags and set up shop in your neighbors' gardens.

Reapply after heavy rain.

An alternative is to plant potted mints, but don't put mint in the ground without a sturdy barrier or pot to contain the spreading roots.

I've also heard to attract moles to another location under a large tree or shrub by putting a compost pile to attract earthworms who then attract moles to that location.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ciscoe's Mole Tips