Whoosh! And there they were. The mole hills were connected by tunnels just below the surface which were both visible and tangible – you work over them and the turf feel like a sponge.
I read up on the problem and found the males are supposed to come up and start tunneling just below the surface in February when they’re looking for females. Seems ours have got the itch a little early.
So I bought six traps online but caught nothing other than my thumbs – these things are nigh-on lethal! Difficult to set at the best of times, I quickly learned it wasn’t worth the risk attempting to do so in the cold or wet.
I struggled on but to no avail. The mole runs appeared in the orchard, in some of the vegetable beds, in the chicken pen, next to the pond and on the other side of the lawn between the sun terrace and the bungalow.
Now, in mid-summer 2015, activity has all but disappeared – underground and out of site but I don’t for one minute think they have gone.
I need to prepare for their return – perhaps once more in October – so I’ll read up on the subject.
I'll be back.
