Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:51 pm
He is considered a nightmare in the garden for many gardeners and would prefer to be transported out of the garden as soon as possible – the mole. With its mounds, which it neatly distributes in the garden and which make it unsightly, he is a great threat to the peace of mind of the gardener.
However, the mole is a protected species and must not be killed, nor put under great stress. All expulsion measures are therefore unfeasible and can harm the mole even if they seem relatively harmless.
One way to protect the garden and keep the lawn in perfect condition is to lay a mole net. In most cases, this net is laid horizontally under the lawn and ensures that the mole cannot burrow to the surface.
It can build its underground tunnels, but due to the fact that the mole net is a barrier, no mounds are visible on the surface. Thus, the mole net is a very animal-friendly method of protecting the garden.
If you suffer from moles yourself, but don’t want to leave the garden to the mounds without a fight, then installing a mole net is a great way to protect the lawn.
But which net is the best and how exactly do you have to proceed when laying it? Here you will now learn everything important for a beautiful lawn, even if it is infested by a mole.
Contents
Why the mole is good for the garden
But first it should be clarified that the mole is by no means a pest for the garden. Of course, his mounds are not very attractive and when mowing the lawn they cause great problems, but the mole itself is quite useful.
If the mole settles in your garden, it is a good sign. The mole is relatively demanding when it comes to the choice of soil. So, if the mole feels comfortable in your garden, it is a clear signal that your garden has good soil.
As if that were not enough, the mole can further raise the quality of the soil. He feeds mainly on earthworms and caterpillars. However, real pests such as the grub, snails or snail larvae are also on his feeding program.
He can detect these under the ground and exterminates them before they can do any damage to the garden. Therefore, the mole should be welcomed in the garden and not killed.
Unlike the vole, the mole does not eat roots. So you do not have to worry about your plants in the garden being attacked by the mole. It feeds almost exclusively on insects and other vermin.
In addition, the mole loosens the soil with its underground activities. Due to the one-sided cultivation in a conventional garden, the soil becomes compacted after several years. Through the mole, the soil becomes a little looser and well mixed again.
Why the mole net is beneficial for the garden
So there are many reasons why the mole should actually be a welcome guest in the garden. However, besides all the useful properties, he still has a habit of throwing up his molehills. These are reason enough for gardeners to want to drive the mole away.
However, you don’t have to be so radical and want to kill the mole right away. It is better to give the mole an adequate habitat and make friends with it.
With a mole net, you can make the mole work for you and protect the lawn. This is because the mole net is not an obstacle for the mole at first. The latter can continue to enter the garden and frolic in the subsoil.
However, if he wants to raise a mound, the net will prevent him from doing so. In the long run, the mole will look for a place where he can reach the surface through his mounds. However, for a short period of time, the mole can live in your garden in this way without causing any visible damage.
Therefore, mole nets are very inexpensive ways to keep the mole as a farm animal, without it spoiling the garden.
How to lay the mole net
In principle, the mole net can be laid both horizontally and vertically. In the vertical solution, this is installed at the edge of the garden and is intended to prevent the mole from entering the garden in the first place. This variant can be used, but it makes more sense to lay the net horizontally because here you still leave the mole an access to the garden.
For vertical laying, a mole grid is better suited anyway. A net will not necessarily have the necessary stability here and is therefore rather not suitable as a barrier at the edge of the garden.
The mole net is laid under the turf. This means that you will need to remove the turf to do this. The net is built at a depth of about 10 centimeters below the ground.
In principle, the net can also be laid deeper, but here the effort increases and a depth of 10 centimeters has proven to be optimal. At this depth, you can continue to dethatch the lawn without any problems and the net will not be affected by the gardening equipment.
However, if you lay the net too deep, then the mole can simply dig its tunnels above the net.
If the lawn was prepared accordingly and the surface was removed, the nets must be laid. The mole nets are laid slightly overlapping in strips on top of each other. In this way, they can be better fixed and there are no gaps.
The nets are firmly anchored in the ground with ground anchors or soil nails. Now heavy topsoil is poured back onto the nets. This prevents the mole from exerting enough force to push the nets up.
If you are planting a new lawn, this procedure requires some additional effort, but it is worth it and protects your lawn very effectively.
The situation is different, however, if you already have a firmly established lawn and want to retrofit the mole net.
Here you must first remove the lawn and then lay the net. To get a good lawn again as soon as possible, you can lay sod. If you do not want to have sod as the top layer, then you will need to sow a new lawn and wait until it is fully grown.
Removing an old sod and putting it back on the grid is rarely met with success.
To make the job easier, you can simply lay the netting on top of the old turf, then pile up a new layer of soil and seed new turf. This variant involves a relatively small amount of work, and the cost is also limited. Therefore, for an existing lawn, this process is preferable.
The properties of the mole net
If you want to stop the mole from piling up his annoying mounds, then the mole net is a very good way to protect the garden.
The net can last for several decades and is much cheaper compared to the mole grid. However, in the defense against the mole, this is just as effective.
However, the nets have one big disadvantage, because they do not protect against voles. The small rodents can bite through the nets and tear a hole in the protection of the garden. The mole is not so skilled and is effectively kept away by the nets, but if voles take the trouble and damage the net then this weak point can also be exploited by the mole.
So, if you are afraid that voles may be in the area, then the net is rather unsuitable. Here, only a solid mole grid will help to protect the garden.
The choice of the optimal mole net
Mole nets are available in various designs. Here, distinctions are made in the dimensions and fabric weight. A fabric weight of 60g/m² is sufficient to prevent the mole from spreading its mounds on the surface.
Slightly stronger models with smaller meshes, however, can also reach a fabric weight of 80g/m². This provides better and more long-term protection if you are more frequently visited by moles.
Here you see as a recommendation a product with a fabric weight of 80g/m² with which you can cover a lawn area of 300m². In addition, 100 ground anchors are included here, which you can use and fix the net. Even if the 300m ² for many gardens at first glance seem oversized you should note that the nets are laid out overlapping. Furthermore, the net can be stored space-saving and versatile.
If you want to protect a smaller lawn area and a fabric weight of 60g/m² is sufficient for you, then you can also purchase the following product. Here you get a web with a length of 50 meters and a width of 2 meters.
However, when ordering you should not forget about the fastening anchors.
Conclusion
To protect the garden from a mole, it is not always necessary to use elaborate devices in the lawn. Moreover, the effectiveness of these small devices, which work, for example, with ultrasound, is controversial and they can not always protect the lawn.
However, with a mole net, the lawn is very safe and the small animals can no longer cause damage here. In addition, the guidelines of animal welfare are followed and the mole does not come to harm. He can still enter the garden and burrow through the soil, but the netting will keep him from raising his mounds.
So if you are looking for an inexpensive, animal-friendly and safe way to secure the garden from the mole, the mole net is a very good recommendation.