Saturday, July 14, 2007

Turf pest


This is my first ever "hand kill" of my lawn nemesis Scalopus aquaticus AKA "the mole"
I had noted the grass around the pool was getting long and trim. Not wanting to use the weed whacker near the sides of the pool I opted for the traditional hand shears. Bending down to begin the job, I saw movement in the grass and the unmistakable fur of this varmint. With little hesitation I skewered the pest. My aim was true, right thru the center between the shoulders. As I lifted the creature, still run thru on the shears it showed little life and quickly succumbed to its injuries.

This is my 2nd kill for the year. Walking across the front lawn this morning I saw evidence that there’s been a replacement for my earlier kill. Fortunately these pests are very territorial; one in itself can wreak havoc on your turf.

3 comments:

BB-Idaho said...

Holey Moley! Never heard of one of these subterrainian creatures being taken by the sword! If these continue to use your lawn for an underground housing project, my brother-in-law, the builder uses a sure-fire cure: use
lawn pesticide...no food, no moles..

Steven said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steven said...

I have used pesticides to control grubs, it does help. Most of these varmints seem to comes from the direction of the neighbors, they just burrow over in search of food, I'm not spraying their lawn too ;)