[arugula]

I wish you luck with you quest! We too don't have any sort of a manicured garden, but after we moved in here (previously empty for 35 years), to fix mole damage we had to get diggers in to skim off the top layer, get it flattened and replace tonnes of topsoil, at no small expense! All we want is a bit of flattish grass that the mower can run across and safe vegetables (but they always go for the lawn first).

The fact that they've suddenly decided to like your garden may just be down to over-crowding elsewhere. I notice in our location here, they have recently taken up residence in the fields across the road from us.

[shokkyy]

I wish you luck with you quest! We too don't have any sort of a manicured garden, but after we moved in here (previously empty for 35 years), to fix mole damage we had to get diggers in to skim off the top layer, get it flattened and replace tonnes of topsoil, at no small expense!

When we moved in, ours was worse than empty for years, it was rented with no garden maintenance thrown in The entire garden was waist high in stinging nettles. We had to get men to come in with industrial strimmers to chop it all down before we could even find out where the lawns and beds were. The really puzzling thing is that the moles' favourite hangout seems to be the big lawn, which we know is just a layer of topsoil and grass laid down over the top of a cobblestone farmyard. How the heck they're coping with that I don't know.

[arugula]

Ours is not to reason why....   

[8doubles]

When we moved in, ours was worse than empty for years, it was rented with no garden maintenance thrown in The entire garden was waist high in stinging nettles. We had to get men to come in with industrial strimmers to chop it all down before we could even find out where the lawns and beds were. The really puzzling thing is that the moles' favourite hangout seems to be the big lawn, which we know is just a layer of topsoil and grass laid down over the top of a cobblestone farmyard. How the heck they're coping with that I don't know.

Sounds like the worms are more concentrated in the lawn area , they can`t go deep because of the cobbles.

According to google for painless mole removal you need anesthetic and a laser.

[prakash_mib]

well I dont want to kill any animals/pests unless it has name like slug/mosquito.
the best way to move out would be to create a feature spot somewhere else. manuring and creating a delicious spot (well for moles ofcourse) might attract them. The good thing about mole is they dont destroy your vegetables. They just disturb it and probably keep rabbits at bay (my theory).
And they are not ankle twisting.. we have mole hills all over the ground where we play cricket. you have just keep an eye on it, thats it.
I had lot of slow worms nest (only nest in the whole allotment) I didnt drove them away instead created a very small carpet pile in the corner to allow them to live there. we can co-exist. cant we?

[lacewing]

Poor moley, they have very poor eyesight and are probably not quite sure where they are going, except for their very keen smell for juicy worms.

[arugula]

well I dont want to kill any animals/pests unless it has name like slug/mosquito.
the best way to move out would be to create a feature spot somewhere else. manuring and creating a delicious spot (well for moles ofcourse) might attract them. The good thing about mole is they dont destroy your vegetables. They just disturb it and probably keep rabbits at bay (my theory).
And they are not ankle twisting.. we have mole hills all over the ground where we play cricket. you have just keep an eye on it, thats it.
I had lot of slow worms nest (only nest in the whole allotment) I didnt drove them away instead created a very small carpet pile in the corner to allow them to live there. we can co-exist. cant we?

As I said, moles stick to well worn routes, so I don't know if a "delicious spot" will attract them away from those. Moles do cause a lot of damage to vegetables if they get underneath them, and no, I'm afraid they don't deter rabbits either! You are also correct in that molehills don't cause ankle twisting, but the maze of runs close under the surface of the grass can and do! 

[freckledbeck]

Not sure if this works but I've heard if you stick windmills in molehills, they don't like the vibrations so move elsewhere.
We have lots of molehills the other side of our allotment boundry wall, & theres been lots of worried comments about them, but at the moment they aren't bothering us. If you try it please let us know how you get on.
Good luck!

[Trikidiki]

We've actually lived in this same house, surrounded by fields, for 15 or 16 years now.  Up until the last year we've never had any problem with moles, the occasional one or two mole hills but no more than that. Why they've suddenly decided to move in from the pastureland around us is beyond me.

Is your plot higher than the surrounding fields?

I beleive moles will move into higher ground in the winter due to water in their runs. With all the rain we've had this year the water table is higher They may be heading up to dry ground.

[shokkyy]

Is your plot higher than the surrounding fields?

I beleive moles will move into higher ground in the winter due to water in their runs. With all the rain we've had this year the water table is higher They may be heading up to dry ground.

No, I'd have said we were pretty much level with the surrounding fields. Both my garden and the fields are probably equally sodden in winter time, since both are on a clay bed and the ditches round the fields haven't been cleared in living memory. It's sheep pasture, so they're not too diligent about the field maintenance.  And in fact the big lawn they're so keen on if anything is wetter than everything else, I've always assumed because of the cobblestones underneath.

[shokkyy]

According to google for painless mole removal you need anesthetic and a laser.

Painless for who?
 

[ziggy]

did,nt some one on here make a device from bamboo and plastic lemonade bottles?
you cut errrmmm wings out of the sides of the bottle,stick the bottle on top of the bamboo and when the wind rattles the bottle the vibrations go down the bamboo and scare off the mole.i think the electric things work the same.

by the way,have you heard of the mole cricket,now theres a beast to contend with.

[lacewing]

Or you could try lemonade bottles on top of bamboo canes, as the wind blows they rattle against the canes, another idea is to sink empty beer bottles in the ground, the wind blowing accross the bottle tops makes a whistling sound. It is said that moles are irritated  by noise and will move to quiter ground.