Helen, I am glad your dog survived that health crisis. We have a lot of dogs and cats and that's why we don't use the poison pellets here. Elaine, It is the seeds of the castor bean plant that are incredibly toxic since they contain ricin. The plants themselves, or the oil, are not an issue. In fact, castor oil USP is an ingredient in soap (even some hobby or artistic/crafty soapmakers use castor oil in their soaps) and is used as a substitute for cocoa butter in some chocolate. You'll likely never see castor oil on a label though, as they use a chemical name for the formulation of oil they use in chocolate. I grow several varieties of castor bean plants as ornamental plants and have done so ever since we moved here, though I don't necessarily grow them every year. I've never had a dog or cat even chew on a leaf as far as I know, and none of our animals have mysteriously dropped dead. Sometimes deer eat the leaves of the castor bean plants as well as the leaves of the datura (I feel like they have to be desperately hungry to eat either of these two plants), and I haven't ever found a dead deer lying in the yard either. The level of ricin found in the foliage is very low compared to the level in the seeds. The processed castor oil we purchase in the USA is from oil extracted from the seeds, which resemble beans although they are not true beans. The oil from the seeds is soluble in oil but not in water. Would I let my animals be around the seeds of this plant? No. I start the plants from seed in paper cups with bird netting placed over it so that a dog or cat cannot chew up the cup of soil-less mix and accidentally eat the seed. They've never done such a thing with any plants, but the cats love to nip off young bean plants and eat them (well, humans eat bean sprouts so why not cats, I guess), so I keep the seedlings well-protected so the pets cannot accidentally ingest the seed. Some people who grow castor bean as an ornamental just remove the flower heads and dispose of them in the trash after the plants have bloomed. That ensures pets or children won't get their hands on the seeds. In order to gather seed to use the following year, I sometimes do let the plants set seed late in the season, but I watch the plants carefully and when the capsules are starting to split open, I cut off the flower stalk off the plant and put it someplace out of reach of the pets so the seeds can dry. I haven't saved any seed in several years, so this year I purchased seeds to plant. I also don't plant the castor bean plants near the fenced dog yard, which is where are dogs spend almost all their time when they're outside. The only time they are out of the dog yard, we are with them and we take them out in the back pasture to run and play....and I don't grow castor beans there. In general I garden organically, though I've used Roundup a few times and it certainly is not organic. I don't even use some organic pesticides due to their toxicity. Just because a pesticide is organic in nature instead of being synthetic does not make it safe. However, I use mole and gopher repellent products that contain castor oil with no fear whatsoever. Keep in mind that the castor oil only repels the moles and gophers---it does not kill them. The use of these repellents is considering a humane method of controlling the targeted pests....more humane, for example, than killing them. Dawn

Not enough information. Do you have weeds you need to take care of? What type of grass do you have? Is your yard bumpy because of the earthworms or the moles? Moles primary food source is earthworms. I had them bad a few years back. I tried every product, including grubex, to no avail. Then I found the Trapline mole traps and cleared my yard of them completely. Do you have raised tunnel like areas in your yard? If you do tamp them down and check them again the next day. If they're back up you probably have a mole or moles. I consider earthworms a sign of a healthy yard. Although I can't actually see mine :) I would take care of the rodent problem before I started too much of a yard plan. However, since you asked.... 1. Pre emergent around when the forsythia bloom. You can use the gddtracker to help time this. Dimension and Prodiamine are popular and relatively affordable. I sprayed Prodiamine this year at the max rate for full coverage into late fall. Granular form is easier but was mostly efficient for me. 2. Spot spray weeds when they are actively growing in the spring or fall. 3. Fertilize for the first time around Memorial Day. Then again around Labor Day. I would strongly urge the use of Milorganite if it's in your area. 4. Finally, after your grass has stopped growing, you know when you mow and there are no clippings, apply a winterizer; urea is good (46-0-0) . 5. Deep, infrequent watering is crucial as well as is mowing high. These are very basic instructions and not exact for anyone but could be used as a start. I do things a bit differently than this myself but you would have a nice lawn with minimal effort this way. Good luck! Please ask more questions as I'm just bouncing general ideas around here!

We possibly have vipers locally, though I've never seen one on our property, and I don't worry much about them. They have the triangular head (and I'm choosing to ignore the expert's comments on identification!). We do have a resident population of what I've figured out are whip snakes: long, slender, whippy things that can get quite large, even up to six feet. We found a skin once that was 5'3". These live under the terrace and we've often encountered them sunning themselves on the road below the terrace and even on the terrace itself. They always startle me. But then I startle them: they get out of my way as hastily as I get out of theirs. They're not aggressive, only biting if cornered, and are interesting. I think of them as tutelary animals, in some fashion, a sign that the ecology of our property is in tolerable health with room for all.

Thanks for the comments. My cat is an indoor cat, but my neighbors have too many (outdoor) cats - not spayed or neutered, always having litters, always see signs outside - "free kittens" - etc,. so I am surprised at the mole explosion. We have many (admittedly adorable calico) cats running around our yard. "...Our yard is filled with moles, voles, chipmunks, groundhogs etc, and as a result also hawks, foxes, and a host of other creatures. I'd suggest living with an appreciating nature..." Same here, and I do! In addition to the cats, we have a ton of hawks in the area. I live in a rural suburb, so I am very used to co-existing with nature, and actually love the elements of it that help me out lol. I've had everything from turkeys to bobcats, foxes to coyotes, the usual assortment of deer, skunks, racoons, etc., even a mountain lion sighting in the area. Also, my same neighbors have chickens, so I have almost a personal hawk patrol flying over my yard. Perhaps they are too interested in watching the chickens (and perhaps cats, lol??) to go after the moles and voles this year. So again, some puzzlement and consternation. I've done the water down the hole thing too, usually as an impulse when I'm watering as opposed to any planned attack, and I give up on that quickly. The water never seems to back fill, and I'm on a well, so yeah, I get over my momentary determination to drown the critters pretty quickly haha. Gawdinfever you may have hit the nail on the head. For the past 25 years, I have been extremely careful with the leaf mulch I use every year (50ish oaks on an acre property, who wouldn't use free leaf mulch??) I am usually out there in December after the ground has frozen, long after my neighbors have finished their yardwork for the season, spreading leaf mulch with my frozen hands. Sometimes even on top of a light snow! Actually, thanks to climate change, there have been years where I haven't spread mulch till January. I don't want to give these guys any reason to snuggle down for the winter! HOWEVER.... last year my husband got a lawn tractor, and instead of me shredding leaves with my shredder one little barrel at a time, he helped me immensely and I had more mulch than I could use. I saved it over winter, and while the pile has drastically diminished after spreading more in spring, there is still a somewhat large pile of shredded leaves sitting over on that side of the yard. I guess I didn't think about the fact that the critters like them in other seasons of the year too. Duh. It's one giant mole-tel lol!! I will have to definitely get rid of that pile pronto. I may just have to chuck it into the woods - way too early to spread in the beds. Ugh, it will kill me to waste that! Interesting, Ken (and somewhat worrying that I know exactly what you were saying lol). Perhaps my problem isn't as big as I thought - or maybe I'm grasping on to that idea to save my sanity lol. I had thought traps were useless and/or too expensive on a larger property, but maybe I'll try a few and see. Guess it can't hurt. Thanks everyone. Please keep the ideas coming if there are more! :) Dee