Moles

I have heard horror stories of them eating an entire bin of worms in a few hours. YIKES. At $25/pound that can be an extensive loss.

Even if you have never had them before, they almost always show up when you have a compost pile or outdoor worm bin. Like the movies says "if you build it they will come." It is probably more accurate to say "if you compost it, they will come"

A sure sign they are present in your yard are the presence of piles of dirt or tunnels showing up all over your lawn. They will stop at a driveway or sidewalk then turn and go a different direction.

We have them here at our house. Go figure, I am a worm farmer.As soon as we wrangle one, I will post a photo. Basically they look like a mouse but with flat feet.

I have read far and wide about how people try to rid themselves of these pesky creatures.

As far as worm composting goes, my recommendation is to try to prevent them from having access to your worms. This can be as simple as building a bin with a bottom or lining your windrow with hardware cloth. I use the hardware cloth because it allows for drainage. Some have even opted for a concrete block "shell" for the bins. You get the idea BLOCK ACCESS to the worms.

Here is a video on how to set up a trap. I have NEVER used a trap but if a mole family moved in and ate my worms, I would set one up real fast. I safeguard all my bins with hardware cloth at the bottom to PREVENT them. OR, I have fully enclosed bins (horse troughs) I would never suggest an open bottom bin like a traditional compost pile as a worm bin for this reason.

Update 07/2011 we discovered moles in April 2011 at our new home. Tunnels/piles of dirt in our lawn just after an application of worm tea. So far, my husband has tried the poisons (to my disapproval), watering the tunnels, smoke bombs (he had fun with this one buying them at the fireworks stand) and taking a shovel to the tunnels. Nothing has worked thus far. We are going to try a broadcast application of castor oil next. I am trying to hold him off on the traps, seems very mean. I will keep you posted.

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