Cecil;
Moles or Gophers?

I do not object so much to moles; they are after the bugs in the ground. Gophers eat every plant root they can swallow. I HATE those things with a passion. They make pastures so bumpy you can hardly mow, they ruin a garden, they make tunnels that steal water when you try to irrigate and in general are a real pain.

I have a planter that puts down gopher poison in the pasture and I sometimes use it in the yard. I also have a poison dispenser that has a little reservoir and a probe. About $10 at harbor freight.

As to using horse manure, next time just compost it for a year. Pile your manure, then every time you mow or have anything to compost throw on a little manure with it. In the meantime plant cantaloupe or melons around the edges of the pile.
Ox

Hi Ox

Well, I'm unlucky enough to have BOTH moles and Gophers!

I didn't have too much trouble with moles until I used the Horse manure! I trap or shoot the (&^&)_+_ darn gophers, the moles are a different story though. And I have the probe for Gophers, about the only thing I use it for is finding the gopher tunnel, the poison does not work around here, at least the kind I have don't.

Best regards
Cecil

Oxankle

Last year the moles built a subway system in our front yard. I had seen moles before here and there every 5 years or so but nothing like this, raw dirt everywhere. I called the Agricultural Extension Agent who verified that they were moles and said that their favorite food is earthworms. Then she accused me of watering the lawn during the dry part of summer as this encourages earthworms and then suggested that I replace the front lawn with garden. But I do not water the lawn in the summer unless it looks like it's going to die which is rare and didn't happen last summer. What I did do is mulch - copiously. This probably provided the moist conditions that earthworms like. If so, I hate to see the mole problem we'll have next year. It has rained so much that I've had a hard time squeezing in fertilizing with Miracle Grow without overwatering. I like the cool and rain but the Peter's Honey only has 3 figs on it. When they said it needed heat they weren't kidding. Drat! and I had such high hopes for it this year.

Cath

Cecil,
get out the 22, unless they come at night then a good ole stick of you know what will get em course you might need a load of dirt delivery.
Is your trap for them or the other critters i forget.

Martin,

I have gopher and mole traps, I have trapped and shot about 50+ gophers.....I like shooting them, but sometimes that is a chore.
the mole traps are still unused! Like Ox said the _()*(&&* gophers are deadly on fig roots, the moles are not!
I just don't like the mole runs going right up to my fig trees.I better pass on the dynamite.

Cecil

The manure is perfect habitat and food for compost-earthworms and they multiply rapidly in that. And earthworms are the ideal food for moles. Once the manure has fully decomposed and the earthworms have moved on, the moles will go elsewhere looking for food.

Thanks mikevanecek

I guess I'm worrying about nothing, moles don't eat fig roots do they?

Regards
Cecil

poke your finger into the tunnel and stick a stick of juicy fruit gum in the hole . they will eat it quick. then wait till next day and uncover the tunnel and wait and see if they fill it in. If not the mole is dead. works for me every time. I even mix the gum with roach proof ( borax) or mouse poison by melting it in the microwave.

Thats an interesting solution Marcuskillion. I have a date with moles in my garden. I am going to try it.

Forgot to mention, the moles were gone from the front yard by this mid Spring. Red-tailed hawks were around last Fall and this Spring. My husband even has a photo of a juvenile hawk sitting on the front lawn. He also used one little dose of poison which either finished the moles off (or wasn't necessary). I hate to use poison because of the hawks and the collie. She'll eat anything that isn't nailed down. The back yard is another story. I laid plastic down over grass, mulched it with pine bark and set the fig pots on it (for neatness sake). The moles are tunneling under the plastic. More evidence that they, or the worms, like a moist environment.

Cath

Well I don't have a Mole or Gopher problem but I have a personal observation.

I have lived in AZ for 9 years and did not see an earthworm for the 1st eight years. Nearly all of my trees are in pots and they came bare-root so no worms came with them. I fertilize with manure twice a year though and last year moving some of my trees I noticed lots of earthworms under the pots. I also had to re-pot several trees and there were worms in the pots.

Based solely on my personal observations I would say that either manure is magical and its presence creates earthworms or it acts as an earthworm lure and brings them up from wherever they are hiding.

Personally I think its the latter and that the presence of the worms attracts earthworm predators as others have stated.

I know I know I have been told before that I have an amazing grasp of the obvious.lol