Moles

Richard Roworth wrote (see)

I was up there in August doing the Coast to Coast.  One lady went in up to her thighs.  It is a wet place.

Did you see any Moles hanging on a fence at Raven Seat?  Apparently they hate moles, there was at least 30 strung up when I went past!

Its a very old tradition - certain amount of marketing (look how many I got...you want to be employing me) certain amount of superstition (letting the spirits go) certain amount of utter rubbish (live moles can sense the dead moles so wont cross the boundary)

In my part of the world, it was crows and rats that got hung...as we didnt have moles!

Take your pick......

I have to say though Simon that I thought the practice of hanging birds was supposed to be a deterrent to other birds.

My Grandfather had a farm and his main produce was eggs and fruit.

He had around 500 chickens and raspberry, blackcurrant, loganberries and gooseberry bushes. (including an apple orchard)

He used to place upturned jam jars on canes with red paint inside on the premise that birds would think it was blood and whatever the truth of it, it did seem to work.

He also used to place small lengths of cut hosepipe between the bushes and it would stop cats digging around the lettice that were planted there as they would think they were snakes. It would also collect earwigs during the night which could then be disposed of during the day!

Thats about it....dead crows scaring off live ones.

Dont know if it worked though

Cats....thats worth knowing.....

Not as much fun as a super soaker water pistol though........

In 2007 on the PW saw what must have been 50+dead moles hung on a fence between Alston and GreenHead.

Too high off the ground to be an active deterrent to other moles.

Just thought I'd throw that in.....

cysgod-du (Grand Slam 2008) wrote (see)

... It would also collect earwigs during the night which could then be disposed of during the day!

Definately a well known and used to be well used country tradition. It used to be done everywhere with different vermin and pests. Jeez I sound old, but I remembered it all over the place and am still in 30s. Don't see it now as much though of course. Good to see it is still being used. I bet it has a pagan meaing to it that has been lost to modern memory. Bit like the time of the year that Christmas is and also Easter comes from pagan origins.

I once saw a mole crawling allong a tarmac road once. It obviously crawled onto it then took a 90 degrees turn to crall along about 2-3" from the edge. I just thought it a bit strange. If thge mole couldn't detect the edge from that distance what chance has it got to detect moles hanging from trees or fences? Bet they didn't think of that eh!

Nick Hughes wrote (see)

What, the landowners hang up those they employ to kill moles?

Chairman Bill wrote (see)

cysgod-du (Grand Slam 2008) wrote (see)

... It would also collect earwigs during the night which could then be disposed of during the day!

If people cared more about earwigs, there'd be fewer people around with bald ears

CB......sometimes I become very concerned about you......but then I have hairy ears, so dont need an earwig