Geoff Peacock Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 OK - we got moles at the patch. The onset of spring seems to be encouraging them. The discussion at our recent club night started to get a little 'heated', ending up with an initial agreement to get a rake and simply flatten the molehills before each flying session. Not the best way of dealing with them, so - any advice would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Cracknell Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Might be old wives tales but I've heard many anecdotes about milk bottles buried near the runs about 2/3 in so that the wind passing over the open bottle top causes the whistling effect. Apparently they do not like this as one of their more acute senses is hearing. On a similar vein I have also head that the childrens windmills on a stick as sold at the seaside are also effective - again producing vibration/noise. Also, if any of the members have golfing friends get them to ask the green keepers how they cope with the problem. Failing that, dig up a run and put is a sign advertising moleskin trousers for sale - that will frighten the little b*****s..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Manuel Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 I’ve tried all sorts of ‘humane’ ways to get rid of them from my garden. Unfortunately none of them worked so I resorted to traps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G. Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 One of our members regularly pours Dettol down the mole holes, I don't think it actually gets rid of the little varmints but at least they are nice and clean and well disinfected!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu knowles Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 If you don't 'deal' with them the problem never goes away and not only are there mole hills to contend with but the runs collapse over time leaving holes in the surface. Trapping moles is a bit of an art. I have had the most success with pincer type traps, 'Talpex' brand best of all. As with all things, beware of cheap knock offs of proper brands. If you want any further advice send a pm - some people are sensitive about killing moles - usually people who don't have them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 By its very nature a flying field is a large area of land and tricks that might work in a small garden will just move them elsewhere in the same field. After wasting a lot of time and money on ineffective measures we now have a contract with a professional company. For about £5 per member we have a totally mole free field. I know modellers hate spending money on something they need but hey that’s about the price of an average glow plug or a smallish prop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 An old club of mine used to contract in a professional. Good service. He offered, and we took him up, to provide a course to three members to move the skills in house. About a thousand pounds as I recall, 15 years ago. But, on a French campsite, I saw a bloke. He had a pole, with a pad of a dozen 200 mm spikes on the bottom. Also a sensitive microphone via a switch, to earphones. He slowly and carefully tracked along the runs, and drove the unit in when he though he was above a mole. He examined the unit for blood after every strike. He claimed it was only painful if you forgot to turn the microphone off. He earned his living of this machine. I would guess a model aircraft club would have the skills to make such a machine. Please accept I am reporting what I saw. Direct animal welfare concerns to the spiker, not the witness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 When moles invaded my garden I would stand quietly and wait until the hill was moving and then let them have it with the 12 gauge. You don't have to hit them, the shock is enough to finish them off. Wife recons I made more mess than the moles though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Posted by Geoff Peacock on 07/04/2018 00:29:02: OK - we got moles at the patch. The onset of spring seems to be encouraging them. The discussion at our recent club night started to get a little 'heated', ending up with an initial agreement to get a rake and simply flatten the molehills before each flying session. Not the best way of dealing with them, so - any advice would be welcome. Bare in mind that our field is not pristine and flat, in fact it is the opposite of a bowling green And bare in mind that nothing can be done during a soggy winter but when the field is available, the 1st 3 cars to arrive each session then run up and down the runway, a safe distance behind one another, and effectively run tyre tracks over the whole surface by following each other by one tyre width onto virgin grass This takes 10 minutes the action flattens the bumps, breaks taller weed stems and totally aggravates the moles in clearing off until quieter times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Moles have been steadily getting nearer our patch which is located in a large pasture field. When one actually made a home in the patch we set traps both pincer and tunnel observing to minimise scent the best we could. It took a number of repositionings (smart blighters back fill and go around) before success. We have now moved out to meet them and so far its TDMFC 3 - Moles 0. Jury is out on whether pincer or tunnel work best (both have worked) although pincer are much easier to set. I like the principle of the sound detection - anyone listened looked into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Philbrick Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 We have had limited success with moth balls which have the advantage of fitting in the hole quite nicely. As others have said moles do not like unknown smells and moth balls certainly smell. We got them from the local garden centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevejet66 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 You need one of these,,,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIMfir6r1Rc Edited By stevejet66 on 07/04/2018 10:57:16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Hope he has a cricket box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 One of oue neighbouring clubs, which I flew at for a while as a guest while we were having our strip leveled and reseeded, had a gorgous strip - unfortunately they also had moles! They installed some sort of electrical device - about five in a row along the threshold - they were silver and stuck uo ike mushrooms about 6" above the surface and I would estimate that they were about 6" in diameter at the top. I have to say that from what I could see they seemed to work as I never saw a mole hill on the strip! Steve Hargreaves would know more about this possibly as it was his club. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaL Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 possibly solar powered sonic mole dissuaders.. quite popular in France with those who prefer not to kill the moles.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Lot of repressed anger on this thread, justice for Moles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Umm, now a ground penetrating radar uses about 400 MHz. I am no physicist but I don't see 400 htz, a tone in the range of the opening of God save the queen, either bothering a mole, or penetrating ground. Bit like those magical copper bracelets, or the magnetic water softeners, me thinks. Funny one, I keep whippets. In this winter's floods they came across a field alive with flood displaced voles. So breakfast comes early. The more intelligent dog was seen to pin one down with a paw, while finishing the last victim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Posted by MaL on 07/04/2018 17:50:10: possibly solar powered sonic mole dissuaders.. quite popular in France with those who prefer not to kill the moles.. Yes they look like them. Don, I too am a natural sceptic, but I can only say that everyone agreed "they had a mole problem" but during the 3 months or so I was flying there and these things were in place I never saw a mole hill passed them on the strip. I can only speak as I find. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 We have had Mole attacks in the past and they come back on every now and again . One deterrent that really works and doesn't cost a packet is as follows Take a jam jar or small pickle jar with a screw on lid , metal lid is best. Buy some Christmas or birthday card musical chips on the internt, they are quite cheap. Get some old receiver batteries and strip them down and solder all cells in parallel to give large capacity 1.2 volt battery. You could use a "D" cell but the other way is cheaper.Then bridge the switch in the chip so that it runs constantly . Fix the speaker part to the inside of the tin lid and insert battery and screw lid on tight .I also wrap some gaffer tape around the lid to help seal it from water ingress. The lid amplifies the sound and they generate sound for weeks even a couple of months . Make few and bury them near the mole runs .They soon scarper as they don't like noise . Make sure you mark where you buriy them and you can recharge every now and again . Make sure you tell your club mate or you will see them walking around looking strange trying to find a noise that they are not sure is there Guess how I know. I had a phone call from one of our members a couple of years ago informing me that he thought someone had lost ther mobile phon in the grass and he had spent half an hour trying to find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Our mown car parking area along the lane was being attacked so we also set traps with marker canes. Both the canes and traps disappeared, so either walkers were against killing moles or nicked them for there own use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Posted by Ace on 08/04/2018 10:47:56: Our mown car parking area along the lane was being attacked so we also set traps with marker canes. Both the canes and traps disappeared, so either walkers were against killing moles or nicked them for there own use Ditto Ace, everything left on our flying field disappears for whatever reason, And the warning sign of model flying, put up for dog walkers safety, disappears weekly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Peacock Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 Many thanks to all for comments, cartoons and videos. I think that's just about covered it, so it's now up to the club's 'powers that be' to sort something out. If they come up with anything which really works, I'll post it up on here. If not, I'll start growing runner beans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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