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  Phil Voice June 27, 2009 at 9:33am

  Hi Jim
  
  Personally I would go for real grass and challenge the moles.
  
  I built a lawn at my previous house in the early nineties. The centre part (about 175 square metres) I kept to a reasonably high standard and the outer I tended to leave a little more wild.
  
  When I built the lawn initially I put up a 6" x 1" wooden profile board for the levels and to act as a profile and a barrier to fill my imported top soil to. I then planned to import a lesser grade of soil from jobs over a longer period to backfill the outer areas.
  
  I never did remove the wood and it remained in place and I just mowed over it. My sheer accident I had created a barrier against moles. I never had a huge mole problem to start with but the moles would from time to time move into the looser 'outfield' but never once, ever, ever did I get a mole in the show lawn area and I put it down to two factors.
  
  The wood acted as a barrier and the imported soil was more compacted to a greater depth so the moles always took the easy route.
  
  Is it possible to sink a fine mesh wire (say 30cm deep) around the boundary of the lawn (along the border edge. It would be a cheap option for sure and you could make sure that the mesh was a couple of inches below the grass level so that it didn't interfere wit the mower.
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  Classic Gardens June 28, 2009 at 5:05pm

  Didnt rolawn come with a plastic mesh built in to the turf?
  
  I think we laid a lawn a fair few years ago with it and it stopped the mole problem straight away iam not sure though if it was rolawn or not.
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  Graeme @ BGS June 28, 2009 at 5:20pm

  Rolawn do the large rolls of turf with the mesh but it's lower grade turf and the mesh wasn't intented to act as a mole deterrent but if it does the job could be a good option.
• PRO

  Phil Voice June 28, 2009 at 5:29pm

  The nylon does play havoc if anyone is a keen lawn enthusiast. Scarifying is especially difficult.
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  James Hall June 28, 2009 at 8:38pm

  I have trapped them before and won, or so I thought, 6 months down the line they come back!!
  
  I`m thinking that pest control and then a mesh barrier would be almost foolproof!!
  
  Has anybody tried the mesh idea??
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  Classic Gardens June 28, 2009 at 8:45pm

  Yes i just phoned someone who still works on the garden and they have had no problems with the moles yet they tunnel all round the edge of the lawns and in there neighbours garden.
  
  The only problem he seems to have with it is when the dog has run a bare patch round a corner of the lawn and the mesh is now showing.
  
  They also have a lawn company come in a few times a year to treat the lawn and scarify and have had no problems to date.
  
  Jim Bowerfold Lawncare & Landscape said:

  I have trapped them before and won, or so I thought, 6 months down the line they come back!!
  
  I`m thinking that pest control and then a mesh barrier would be almost foolproof!!
  
  Has anybody tried the mesh idea??
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  Ofer El-hashahar August 5, 2009 at 6:02pm

  I must admit that dont know weather it is true or not- but I had few customers saying that the lawn edging they bought from me will also stop moles.
  
  we deal with all sort of treats at some point (15 years ago- as employed) but as self employed left that problem to others.
  
  I had customers trying a stick that make a noise in the ground -it worked for a short while only.
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  ben ranyard August 5, 2009 at 7:47pm

  I spent a few hours with a mole catcher last year...he told me that moles travel overground very regularly...something to bear in mind perhaps. Even if mesh was 6 inches underneath what is there to stop Mr mole coming from the surface and going down? he would then remain just under the turf....however he likes his/her bedroom to be much deeper...like a couple of feet or more so wouldn't stay long.
  He also mentioned that when you've got runs, even if you kill all the moles, new ones will soon find the old runs.
  Which kept him in business...he made a fortune trapping moles on horse racecourses...one mole run could be very costly if a horse stuck a hoof in it!
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  pete August 5, 2009 at 10:12pm

  Why doesn't someone come up with some type of sturdy rot resistant mesh in wide strips that can be rolled out, secured together, cut to shape and pinned down properly - guess it would need a sunken edging also - 2 foot? ..... prior to the lawn being laid - to stop the moles making hills (if there's fields nearby it's a fair chance there'll be moles around) ---- I think that might be the best way to prevent molehills, - cuz even if you do catch them, more will soon come along. The other way is to reduce the number of worms and the easiest way to do this is to increase the acidity of the lawn by frequent applications of ammonia fertilizers, which will also have the useful side-effect of discouraging most common lawn weeds.
  Electronic vibrations mean one of two things to a mole - predation or food. The mole feels its environment through an acute nervous system stimulated by the hairs on his body and his sensitive nose. He may well retreat a distance away for a short time, but with no predator actually coming through the tunnels after him, then he may well think that the vibrations are food. Often you see the device surrounded by fresh molehills where the mole has increased a tunnel complex as a result of this vibration. (Jeff Nicholls - Molecatcher)
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk August 5, 2009 at 10:26pm

  I worked for a customer when i started 7 years ago and their garden /rose garden and lawns were to one side with Mole problem- as it was next to a cow field.
  
  they used the metal /sonic/shiny steel? spikes that emmited noise(high pitched). inc batteries in them .
  
  i think this solved the problem easily , he put them say 12ft apart on just one side a foot inside his fence and had about 3 or 4. only had the odd few and i mowed for 3 hrs constant every week.
  
  search 4 them on the Super wwweb.....................