Question:
I’ve been unable to find anyone who can tell me how to deal with moles. I’ve tried so many things but they just do not work. Could you offer a solution?
Answer:
We need to clear one thing up right away. In the Bay Area, we have both moles and gophers while in other areas, they’re the same rodent. So, part of the problem is you may be trying to control the wrong critter. Moles tunnel along the soil surface looking for food while gophers produce exist hole surrounded by soil. Gophers move about under the ground in runs. Moles do not eat plants. Their diet is composed of soil insects. In controlling moles, my best option is to remove the food source forcing the moles to go somewhere else. The most environmentally friendly way to eliminate grubs and other insects is with Beneficial Nematodes. Beneficial Nematodes are small microscopic critters that are applied in water to the soil. They seek out the soil insects and destroy them but not earthworms. If you have a big earthworm population, you have another problem as earthworms are ninety percent water and can be the chief water source for moles. So it’s not a complete answer. My next option is to apply the granular repellant, Mole Max. Mole Max uses Castor Oil as the repellant; so this may work in moving them elsewhere to be someone else’s problem. Gophers, on the other hand feed on the roots of plants and they’re known to pull plants into their runs. There is no easy or simple answer to controlling gophers. The main methods for controlling gophers are poison bait, trapping and flooding the runs. If you back up to open space the problem is compounded as they have lots of room to roam and breed.h
Note:
Here is the links to the UC Davis IPM Pest Management Guides for moles and gophers for more information:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74115.html -
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7433.html
Question:
I have three different Bromeliads that were blooming when I bought them; however, they have not bloomed since. Should they be repotted?
Answer:
Each Bromeliad plant will bloom only once; hence, the mother plant forms new plants or pups at its base. Once the mother plant has finished blooming, I’d separate and transplant the pups, discarding the mother plant. The pups must be at least one-third the size of the mother plant and have at least five well developed leaves before being removed. A pup removed too young maybe to weak to survive and dies off or stops growing. To help the new plants to bloom cover them at night with a paper bag and include an apple or banana. The ethylene gas given off from the ripening fruit will aid in triggering the blooming process. You should take the bag(s) off at breakfast and recover them at night repeat this for the next seven weeks.
