Mole in my veg bed

Cloggie

Posted this in the wildlife thread because I don't want to cause him\her any harm but anyone know what the worst I can expect is from a mole in my veg bed.

So far I have carrots suspended in no soil because I watered them and found a track went through there.  (S)he's been burrowing under my walking planks - not a problem.  And I have a run of carpet down the side of the bed to suppress weeds and walk on and I walked on it today and it collapsed.

As long as I get a crop I'm happy to live with moley.  And maybe even if I didn't to be honest but just wondered what devastation to expect if anyone has experience of this.

pansyface

Mr Mole will stay as long as there are earthworms and there will be earthworms as long as you are cultivating the soil. 🙂

One way to make Mr Mole move on to pastures new is to drop a couple of those big brown pickled onions down every tunnel that you find inside every mole hill. Then cover the opened tunnel again after you have inserted the onions.

No more moles.

wild edges

Are you sure it's moles and not voles? Voles tend to dig shallow tunnel runs under things like that and they're a bit more of a problem in the veg garden than moles are.

Posy

The problem is that when you cultivate and feed the soil, you encourage worms and create a soft, easily dug medium. Moles know when they are well off. It is the root damage that causes real loss of crops and it can be very severe. I didn't know about the pickled onion idea when we had moles, and to be honest, I'm not 100% convinced, now, because I suspect the mole will only move on a little, or dig another tunnel. It's worth a try. However, moles multiply and if you make them welcome they will destroy many of the plants you cultivate, including mature shrubs and young trees, so you will need to take this into account!

Cloggie

I've read up and they're solitary and territorial and quite shy it said so the pickled onion thing works in two ways: they have sensitive noses and if they know you're around they might find somewhere else.  I'll go down there tonight with a jar and let her know I live here 😊 

@wild edges vole or mole?  There are quite a lot of castings but not really mole "hills" but you can tell the soil in the mounds have been forcibly moved, it's a lovely, fine tilth 😁

Topbird

Looks like a mole to me too Cloggie.

Voles and shrews in a veg bed are bad news. Remember thinking I had a lovely row of beetroot and not a bad crop of carrots one year. Except every last one had been nibbled from the bottom up leaving just a near perfect lid on the surface to keep me fooled. Little bu$$ers!

dave125

Don't want to upset the apple cart but that looks like Brown Rat to me and nothing like a Mole.

Blue Onion

More vole than mole.  I have voles in my yard and raised beds.. look for little paths under the overhanging plants and such.. they have 'runs' above ground too.  They do leave little piles of dirt at the end of a hole, but more like a rabbit and not a round pile in random spots like a mole.  Glad you are happy to leave with them, as you can't get rid of them.  My voles and I are like neighbors that go out of their way to annoy each other, but knows neither is going to move or be very effective in their campaign.  I stuff hair from my boys haircuts down the holes to make them itchy, or water direct into the new hole they dug in my cucumber hill.. and they nibble a few ends of beans, a bit off the tops of the radishes, some bottoms of carrots, etc.