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Here We LOVE to Play in the Dirt!

Archive for May, 2009

How to Rid Yourself of those Pesky Moles!

May 25

Posted by Kevin Pigg in Ask the PIGG?, Lawn & Garden | 5 Comments

You might be staring out into your yard thinking,How to Remove a Mole Man, I have a thousand moles running around tearing up my pretty lawn and garden. That is a fine thought, but totally untrue. Typically, there are 1-2 moles per one acre of land. Can you believe that 2 little creatures can do so much damage? 1 mole can tunnel about 800 feet per day. So let’s talk about how to get rid of them…

There are many wives tales that your grandfather will tell you on how to kill moles. Most of them are probably true. I have a lady that works with me that swears the Juicy Fruit technique really does work. Juicy Fruit gum is sweet to taste and the moles like the taste. When they eat it, they cannot digest it and henceforth, die.

You must find an active tunnel in order for most of these remedies to work. How to find an active tunnel…step down on all the tunnels you can find, and which ever ones are repaired (pushed up) within 24 hours, are active tunnels.

Here is a list of options for mole removal…

  • Juicy Fruit Gum. Insert sticks of the gum in several different tunnels
  • Castor Oil. Spray over the yard, and spray in the tunnels. The oil makes them uncomfortable and they leave.
  • Hot Pepper. Makes the skin itch and they leave
  • Smoke Bombs. Can be bought at a hardware store and the smoke kills the mole if it reaches them.
  • Flooding. Fill all the tunnels with water and wait for the moles to pop up, and do with them what you please.
  • Live Trap. Gently dig a hole in the middle of an active tunnel, disturbing the least amount of soil possible, and bury and bucket for them to fall into. Dispose of as you please.
  • Spring loaded trap. A metal trap that is placed over the active tunnel. When the mole trips the sensor, the spear comes down on the moles back.
  • Vibrators. A battery powered spike that sends shock waves through the ground to scare them away.
  • Kitty Litter. Put this in the tunnels and holes and let it harden up to block entry.
  • Moletox. A chemical that is inserted in the tunnel for them to eat and die
  • Mole Repellent. A granular chemical to spread over the yard to repel the animals away.
  • Grub Killers. A granular chemical spread over the lawn to kill grubs, (which moles like to eat). Not always effective because moles eat earthworms and other little creatures.
  • WeKillMoles.com. If you live in Tennessee, you can hire WeKillMoles.com for a guaranteed kill. They inject 98% oxygen and 2% propane throughout the tunnels and light it. It instantly kills all underground animals and collapses the tunnels to prevent rehabitation from neighboring moles.

Is There a Secret to Keeping Weeds out of Your Garden/Flower Bed?

May 22

Posted by Kevin Pigg in Ask the PIGG?, Lawn & Garden | 3 Comments

NOPE!weeds Sadly not.

There is no secret to keeping weeds out!

Click this link to find out more…Weed Control

Weed Prevention Chart

Weed Prevention Chart

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Evaluating Your Likes and Dislikes when Starting a Landscape Design

May 21

Posted by Kevin Pigg in Ask the PIGG?, Lawn & Garden | No Comments

As we have previously discussed in the “Where do you start when you are starting a Landscape Design” blog; It is very important to ask several questions to yourself to know where to begin. designToday we want to discuss your ‘Likes and Dislikes’ about the plants you will be putting into the landscape design.

First question to ask is ‘Do I want color from my landscape?’ Many shrubs provide color, some bloom once per year, others bloom all year. Some shrubs have colorful foliage that breaks up the green bushes.

Second question to ask is ‘How much maintenance am I willing to put into my creation?’ Sorry to say that there is no such thing as a no maintenance landscape. Every bush requires one to two trimmings per year. Other bushes require three to four trimmings per year. Most of the time it is worth the extra maintenance to get the look you are going for.

Third question would be ‘Do I want all shrubs, or do I want to mix in some flowers or perennials?’ This would depend heavily on where your landscape design is, in perspective to the house. If you are landscaping the front of the house, it will be different than if you are doing the back of the house. In the front of the house, I prefer 75% or more shrubs. Flowers and Perennials become an accent plant only. The back of the house becomes wide open to use your maximum creativity.

Stay tuned as we continue to break down how to start a landscape design!

Evaluate Likes / Dislikes

  • Do you want Color
  • How much Maintenance
  • Do you want Flowers in the design
  • Or just all Shrubs

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How Do I Get Grass To Grow In the Shade?

May 20

Posted by Kevin Pigg in Lawn & Garden | 1 Comment

Sherica asks what kind of grass to plant in her backyard under some huge shade trees, with 2 dogs running all over it. There is not going to be good answer to this question. Growing Grass in ShadeFirst off, dogs can usually wear out whatever kind of grass is growing, including Bermuda grass, which is tough to kill anyway.

So, let’s eliminate to dogs for a minute and talk about the grass type. The best grass seed for shade is creeping Red Fescue. This grass is usually included in a shade mixture grass seed. Most grass seed bags that are more than just Rye or Kentucky 31 have a good blend of several types of seed.

Now, Here is the problem with Red Fescue…It is a very sensitive grass. Because it will grow in the shade, it cannot gain the strength from the sun that other grasses do. For years I had a customer that we planted Red Fescue in his backyard and I could not use a mower to cut it because the tires would squish the grass into the ground. I would spot weedeat any high spots to keep it looking level. His yard looked great every year.

Something else with grass seed that most people don’t realize, is you should plant your seed in the fall, and plant EVERY year. Perfect yards take about 5 years to establish.

Sherica also asked if she is supposed to lay down hay/straw over the seed. Straw has its time and place, but if you can get away with not using it, DON’T! Straw brings in weeds that will haunt you for a long time to come.