Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Feb 8, 2008, at 9:14 AM, Don Bowen KI6DIU wrote:

> Does your chicken moat in any way discourage moles?

I don't recall any connection. It might have been the case, as I do  
not recall mole problems during the years I had the moat. During  
daylight hours when the hens are out there looking for groceries they  
will run and peck at anything that moves, including dirt. Moles work  
in darkness. I don't know if they feed more at night or daytime.  
Perhaps temperature affects them. Sunlight should not be a factor  
otherwise.

This last fall, as I finished the new garden watering system I was  
pestered by a mole digging through all the loose dirt I had created by  
ditching for the pipes. I chained a bent grader blade behind the  
garden tractor and pulled it up and down the main path to smooth it. A  
mole kept digging and re-digging his tunnel, making a ridge through  
the pathway, ruining my perfectionist work.

Of such experiences a life is made.