Fall bulb sales when?

Okay, here's the lowdown on the snake repellent. Summer before last, a black snake took up residence near one of my two water garden ponds. He wiped out my entire population of frogs. I got the repellent to scatter around the ground at the pond to get him out of there. Then I caught him up a tree trying to get to a nest full of baby birds. So I scattered some more around the tree after getting SO to knock him out of the tree. (You're not about to see me out there with a stick knocking snakes out of trees. LOL)

There are acres and acres here where he can go eat all the field mice and voles he wants. He'd better darned sight not eat my frogs and baby birds. I'm not killing snakes, just chasing him off to greener pastures, so to speak. Because they not only help keep down the rodent population (not that you'd notice it) but they help keep away the venomous snakes such as the timber rattlers we have around here.

The stuff came in a big container and I have plenty of it left. I'm sure it's all the same stuff as a lot of the other critter repellents - reeks of mothballs only more like ubermothballs. Worked like a charm on whatever was uprooting my newly planted perennials that spring too so I thought I'd try it on the bulbs.

If you want some, Tractor Supply, Lowes and Walmart sell big plastic containers of it. I think it was around $16.

Not a sale, but dirt cheap; I've taken the plunge and am hosting a lily co op. critter, voss, don't throw rocks at me, lol...at least they don't have to be paid for till February (....enabling,...ducking,...running....)LOL!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/795449/

And Gemini_Sage doing a fine job, too. My list is posted and ready to be copied to the actual list as soon as it is posted. Nice selection and amazing prices. Thanks for adding the orientals. Gotta have those. Plus a few directly from Ednie that didn't make the list.

Snake repellent, ummm ? I wish I could find something fool proof for bunnies who adore lilies. We have a deer fence that they eat through, we spray with all kinds of stuff which works until that one night that it doesn't work anymore and 2 border collies who are terrific until they go to bed at midnight. Patti

It was either rabbits or groundhogs that were pulling my plants up and it worked on them.

Checking out your list, Gemini. Not sure if I need enough to make it worth a flat rate box but I've been wanting to get some Orienpets.

is there any help for getting rid of moles at all?

What about gophers? Anyone have ideas besides traps?

Dynamite......does wonders.

well maybe i will dig up some of those live grenades that were found a few weeks ago just down the road. lol. bleek, you ain't right.

Live grenades!?

I don't know anything about gophers because we don't have those here and I've never really had a mole problem. But when I was trying to get rid of the groundhogs that were tunneling under the garage I was told putting used (yeah, used) kitty litter in the hole would encourage them to go elsewhere. More because cats are hunters than the smell, I think. Might be worth a try.

I think you can also try running a hose in and flooding them out.

From what some people have told me about how hard it is to get rid of moles, Bleek probably wasn't joking about the dynamite. LOL

My brother in Law in Oregon had quite a problem with ground hogs and that is how he got rid of them. He has a farm with plenty of space. I do not thin you should do this close to the house.

I think the only way to get rid of them is with a stick of dynamite. If anyone has seen the movie CaddyShack that is me.

LOL OK we'll pace off a bit of space! I'm ready to try anything!

Well - my brother talked my dad into pouring gasoline into a gopher hole.
When dad lit it, the flames shot out 10' from the house from another hole.
They almost set the house on fire!

oooo...that sounds like an experiment I'd like to try, Tammy, but I don't want to torch any critter...of course, rat #11 was electrocuted in my bathroom this morning, so what am I saying?

Tammy!
That's quite an image in my head...sounds like something my DH would try:->> *laughing 'till my face hurts!*
Bev

hey guys,
i had a terrible mole problem last spring. the dang things were killing a bunch on my plants and pushing up some others. i tried poison peanuts, didnt work. then, i got some repellent at Lowe's. it is powdered castor oil, i think. you sprinkle it on the ground and water it in well. suprisingly, it got rid of them for about 6 months! then i had to reapply. i also have 3 cats, a mother cat and two 3 month old kittens. the mother cat goes down to the creek and catches the moles. i have seen her with as many as 6 in one week! not to mention the various bugs, lizards, frogs, etc. she catches. she brings the dead moles to her kittens. it is a very weird site to see a cute, fluffy kitten playing with a dead mole! they toss it, flick it, etc. LOL ☺

tracie

This message was edited Dec 6, 2007 10:08 PM

I thought moles only made the tunnels, going after grubs, didn't actually eat the plants or bulbs, and that other critters which do the eating move in to the tunnels. What's up with that? Just info twisted in my memory?

Moles eat grubs.................voles eat roots and crowns of plants & Bulbs.

I think mice do, too.

Does the castor oil chase off the moles or the grubs?

the moles werent eating the plants, they were damaging them by tunnelling through their roots and by pushing them up from below. honestly, i dont know if the castor oil runs off the grubs or the moles dont like it. i think that the moles are sensative to the smell, but i could be wrong.

tracie

The castor oil repelled the moles for me. Had to be reapplied fairly often, but it was fairly inexpensive and worked.

Works for me in Vt for moles. They just move next door to my dear neighbors, then she puts some down and they head off to someone elses yard. It lasts for a season or so and is pet safe. I get the kind you just sprinkle about and water in. They moved on pretty fast, a few days. Patti

did yall say "powdered" castor oil? home depot, i suppose?

I was wondering the same thing mamajack. I have never seen it in powdered form.

This message was edited Dec 8, 2007 11:21 AM

'at's what aggiegirl said.

I used regular castor oil. I had to special order it from a pharmacy (in big bottles), but it wasn't expensive.

I think gardens alive carries it in some kind of powder or capsules...never tried it, but think I will.

got mine at Lowe's. i like them better because they will discount plants, Home Depot doesnt. yes, i know it is because the plants are on consignment from the growers, but i love getting good plants at a great price!

tracie

Not an option for me, aggie. Nearest such store is minimum 3 hours. I love mail order.

I buy a granular form from either my farm store or local nursery. Patti

Thanks for all the tips. I will go to Lowe's and see if they stock the powdered castor oil.

I think I'll pass on the gasoline technique, though!

(I just googled for hydrogenated or flakey castor oil and couldn't find much mention of it...is it sold under a trade name? Does anyone know?) A company in India seems to make it....

i cant remember the name, just sold as mole repellant. i am sure if you cant find it, just ask and they can locate it for you. ☺

tracie

Somewhere I read (Wish I could remember where I see things like this) that growing castor bean plants themselves acts as a repellent. Has anyone else heard that, or tried it?

I am going to try again this spring. For what is supposed to be one of the easiest plants to grow I failed this last year but have seeds ready for this spring. I have actuall watched the gophers pull a stalk of corn down into their holes or should I say trying to as I came screaming like a wild woman across the yard claiiming my broken stalk of corn!!!

oh, no! I can just see tug-of-war with a giant cornstalk as it's being dragged down the hole by a groundhog! Funny picture, but oh, I'd be steamed!

I can laugh now but I could of cried then. I had kids coming out of every door in the house and my Dh running from the back of my house I was throwing such a temper tantrum!!! My yard really resembles Caddy Shcack the movie. They have done so much damage. I have tried almost everything including traps and can not get rid of them. I am sure they are filling themselves on all of the wonderful bulbs I have been planting.

Wow, that sounds intensely frustrating. Well, Ok, imagining the whole scene is really pretty funny. Still, you must have the groundhog mafia at your house. Just imagining the crunch as they take a bite out of nice new bulbs is making me wince!

I've got moles, and voles who use the mole tunnels, and squirrels above ground-but nothing as serious as what you're suffering with! This year, I'm trying allium and daffodils, (no tulips) and using blood meal and granulated garlic when I plant. I've also tried shaking the garlic into their tunnels. (I hope it doesn't just make them dig new ones.) I'm thinking of adding cayenne, too. I won't know if it's worked until things come up or not, though. I removed a nice little lily bulblet from one of my asiatics that had big fat squirrel bites off the top of it. I replanted it in a planter-hope it makes it.

No squirrels for me yet. I had a ground squirrel that was getting in the chicken food but so far seems to leave my plants alone. I did see where our chicken have munched a few leaves recently.
It is very funny because all I can do is laugh about it. I got two cats who are helpful and take care of the gophers in my neighbors yard and even bring back presents but have not managed to keep them out of my yard!! I should charge my neighbor a gopher removal fee!! I panted a few daffodils hoping to deter them (I think they do not like them),

susybell, I've heard that too about castor beans. I've some older folks refer to them as mole beans before.