Stopping moles in greenhouse borders

[smallblueplanet]

We're fairly rural and get a quantity of wildlife attempting to sabotage our crops! At the minute when we plant into the greenhouse border we put things like the toms, peppers and cukes into bottomless pots to try and keep the critters from digging up the plants!

Anyway I was wondering as I'm planning for the new greenhouse is there a way to 'moleproof' the borders?!

Or should we maybe try something like this on top of a slabbed floor?

[Nicos]

Having read this article, they burrow up to 70 cm deep, so you’re going to need a very deep barrier below soil level to block them from coming in horizontally
https://www.montwt.co.uk/wildlife-advice/molehills

We tried the ultrasonic device in the field which was a waste of money.
I’ve heard moth balls in their runs and ferret poo( more natural) help to deter them.

The slabbed floor would certainly give them a headache but they might try and burrow along sideways underneath it ?

Nice thread…it’ll be interesting to see what you decide to do and if it works for you.

[smallblueplanet]

Arghh, 70cm is deep!

We originally resorted to (basically) ring-collar (is it called?) planting. Take a c.15" plant pot - ie the flower buckets used by supermarkets! Get a stanley knife and slice off the bottom. Then line the bottom of the pot with chicken wire. Or when we got lazier and ran out of chicken wire, sink aforementioned flower bucket with a decent amount of holes in it's base, into the border, just leaving a few inches showing. So we still get moles but they mostly go around the pots, the basil/marigolds have to take their chance!

I guess we'll keep doing that as I don't think the 10cm soil layer above slabs will be deep enough.

[goosander]

Moles are easy to trap. Better to find the main run outside and keep a claw trap in it set. and ready to go. Surprised that you get them as they usually only go were there are plenty of worms and would have thought that there would be next to no worms in the greenhouse.
Bob.

[smallblueplanet]

Moles are easy to trap. Better to find the main run outside and keep a claw trap in it set. and ready to go. Surprised that you get them as they usually only go were there are plenty of worms and would have thought that there would be next to no worms in the greenhouse.
Bob.

I can't consider killing them, Bob. They aren't so bad and I do mainly keep them off what we grow, hence using bottomless pots. We grow in the greenhouse borders and we are relatively rural so there's quite a few around. The old boy next door used to 'dispose' of many, but he's quite a few years dead...
I had wondered about lining the new greenhouse borders with chicken wire but it's too much trouble and probably wouldn't work!