Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-06-19
This and That
By Charles E. Trdce,DeU.
ARLINGTON, Va

Dear Sir:
Il am bothered seriously and de-
structively by moles, which nothing
humane seems to repel.
Traps do not always kill them quick
ly, and I will not poison any animal
Il have tried many repellants, which
so far have not repealed, and even my
cats cannot keep up with them.
IF there is any remedy, I am sure
you will know it, and I will greatly
appreciate it if you will make moles
the subject of an installment of This
and That
Yours very truly, B. E."
You might try the shovel method.
This has been used with great success
by neighbor of yours
He is enthusiastic about results, and
we believe you would be pleased by the
use of this method
Before beginning, equip yourself with
turf edger and a shovel or spade.
Then see to it that you have an assist
ant
II you are squeamish about touching
strange creatures wear a pair of gar
den gloves
Be sure to have the assistant He
comes in very handy.
First, watch the mole runs, and try
TO f1nd the mole at the point where he
is digging.
Small cracks in the turf that still
show moisture are good indications.
Angle worms are others. They flee
the hungry mole as he eats his wav
along
You see, mole is not trying to harm
turf. or make any human being angry
He simply is after his dinner. A mole
must eat constantly. 1t is said that he
Will starVe to death in few hours. Not
Tor him long wait between meals. He
consumes his own weight in worms
several times day. He has been known
TO dig some 10 feet in a night A
human. to do an equivalent digging lob,
would have to 60 two miles.
so the mole is wonderful creature.
no matter how looked at, with his Stub
by little tail and his beautiful soft coat.
lhls coat is marvel. kept clean and
neat by the constant action of the soil
IN which the mole moves, lives and eats
his dinner. ~ 20 ''
Watch for the mole, then, and once
you see where he is, tread lightly to
the place. Heavy footsteps will nut
him on guard. He feels the trenors
set up in the soil, and PLAYS dead Then
1t is hard to locate him.
Now, take up your stand over him
and wait patiently. maybe for as lone
as malt an hour, without moving, It is
not easy. Usually in 10 minutes or so he
Will start to move again
Drive tho ol0;,,, &o11 4.
SO mat ne cannot 60 backwards. and
then place the shovel or spade in front
OF MN, and dig under him quickly,
taking him up with the sod.
Here he is, in the strange element, of
hght. he often plays dead for as much
as three or four minutes.
IT left alone" he will start to DIG
himself in and will be gone in about
SO seconds or so.
He may be picked up by the tail.
upon which indignity he wriggles freely
ana who could blame him? While he
Is playing dead" his coat NAV be
touched with scarcely more than slight
movement to show that he is still alive
AS the moles are dug up, they are
placed in covered basket or bucket.
and later taken some miles away, pref
erably in the woods, and released.
This is our kind-hearted informant's
method, and it is good one, getting rid
of the pests and at the same time
keeping ones soul clean in a world of
too much killing.
We believe that mole is good crea-
ture, doing too useful service to be
killed Unfortunately. Without the
moles and others, our soil would become
so worm-infested that nothing would
Urouy ", ~