Chemical-Free Mole Repellent

Something dead is under my garden shed. It smells to high heaven. The last time the garden shed stunk that bad is when Peter died. He didn't smell that bad, but it wasn't summer. He died in the winter. I found a dead baby opossum in my yard the other day. I have a feeling one of my horrible neighbors has poisoned his momma and siblings. I hate it when people kill things.

And on that note, my yard is overrun by moles. They moved in about a year ago and they make such a mess. I can't kill them. They are so cute. And there is a chipmunk living in my yard, too. Well, maybe. I haven't seen him for a while so he's probably been snacking on the neighbor's tasty treats. Regardless, I prefer to prevent the critters from making themselves at home rather than murder them.

So...moles...last year I tried castor oil. I read if you put two tablespoons of castor oil with two tablespoons of dish soap in a gallon of warm water and spray it all over they will go away. It makes everything taste bad. Do it when it rains so it soaks into the ground. It kind of worked. They stopped making mole hills for a while, but you have to constantly reapply it.

Someone mentioned sonic beepers and several people told me they work wonderfully. The moles hate the beeping and will leave. I found two for $25.00 plus three size "C" batteries each. You can get solar ones, but they were much more expensive.

Now I thought they would be like the rodent beepers you can get for your house. Silent. Not a chance. The mole beepers are NOISY. I can imagine they would definitely work because if I had to listen to that beeping noise day and night, I'd move. I can't do noise. I can't imagine my neighbors would like to hear it either. I returned them.

Another someone mentioned PINWHEELS. Oh! That would be cute. It seems the vibration from the twirling drives the rodents nuts and they will leave. Unfortunately the only pinwheels I could find are red, white and blue in anticipation of the 4th of July holiday. They are also $4.00 a piece. Since I would need too many that seems a little pricey. I found some online for much cheaper, but I was unsure of the quality. There are some much larger for much more money, but I don't know if the big ones would work as well as they would need wind. Then I went to a festival last weekend and one of the booths was giving them away. Each one of my friends took one so I got three orange pinwheels.

But they hardly ever twirl! The problem I have is my five foot fence. And the fact I don't get wind that often. Every now and then it got a little breezy and they still didn't twirl! No twirly action and the moles won't care. I've been repositioning them repeatedly and every now and then one will catch a breeze, but it's very short lived.

Twirling!

So then I decided to check online to see if I can make some. I found a pattern. Very easy. Directions:

1) Cut a square.
2) Draw or fold corner to corner for an X. (Folding for no lines.)
3) Cut from each corner 2/3rds to the center.

4) Make a hole in the center.
5) Put holes on every other corner.

6) Put a skinny nail through each hole gathering up every other corner and through the center.

7) Put some beads behind the pinwheel on the nail or a small piece of plastic straw. (This helps keep the pinwheel away from the stick so it doesn't get caught.)

8) Nail it to a long stick.

9) Put the stick deep in the ground.

I did some experiments. I made one out of paper and it worked really well, but I made the mistake of turning on the sprinkler and it got wet and fell apart.

I made one out of some old laminated posters, but made the first one too big. Too heavy. You'd need a tornado to get it to turn. Light weight works best.

I made some smaller ones and experimented with different beads. Greased them up with olive oil and if the wind is just right, they work! When the wind hits the one below, it whips into a frenzy!

I made one out of a transparency sheets and instead of beads (because I ran out) I used a small piece of plastic straw. It's lighter weight, but I have yet to see it work. Waiting for some wind. (Once the wind picked up, it twirled!)

Will pinwheels chase the critters away? I have no idea. I don't know if I get enough wind for some consistent twirling.

 Time will tell. It was fun to make pinwheels. And they make my yard look happy.