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- Stayley Cricket Club is now powered by 'Dave'
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Dave the ferret. He looks cute, but it's not his face-end that were interested
in!
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No, it's not a poor copy of a Sky TV channel; Dave the ferrit has worked wonders over the
last season to get rid of our long-standing mole problem. It was a case of
chance that we heard of using ferrets against moles, and also lucky that we had a
ferret spare; doing nowt. As everything else had
failed, why not give this a go?
Before we get any complaints, let's just make one thing clear. A molehill
in the outfield is a dangerous hazard for any cricketer, and they would (if they could) do
their worst if they ever got their hands on one of those furry creatures.
Dave also, is too large to run down the burrows in search of his prey.
The solution came in a discussion to Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time - where
they mentioned the 'rumour' that ferret poo (yep poo!) deters moles. The
reason behind this is that the moles smell the ferret and (not realising he is
to big for the burrow) pack their bags and find somewhere better to live!
This has not been proven, so we thought that it would make for a good
experiment.
In March 2011, a 20 x 20 metre section of the outfield was inundated with 15 -
20 molehills. The first job was to knock all these flat and see where the new
ones arise. After about a week, a couple more hills had appeared, giving us
a sense of where the female was burrowing (molehills at this time of year come
from a single female mole as she looks for a mate and a nest)
Now for the worrying part: Each molehill has to be treated with ferret poo
so that the mole will move away from that area. Unfortunately, there is no way
of telling which way she will dig! Our first (outermost) hill was at deep
gully. If the mole moved the wrong way: She'd be burrowing towards the
crease!
So the answer is just to treat a couple of hills in the first week, and then
when you can tell where the mole is digging - apply more!
Now for the fun part! Unless you have previously owned an un-neutered male
ferret, you have no imagination how bad their poo stinks. Add to this that
they have to definately must have their cages cleaned out daily, then every
ferret owner is practically rolling in it and only too happy to give the stuff
away. The problem is that even when it is sealed in a metal tin - with
gaffer tape around it - the smell still got out, and my car stank for weeks!
Once the poo is brought onto the outfield, the molehill should be taken down so
that the tunnel vent is exposed (It's an area of loose soil that is usually
off-centre). The tunnels leading to the vent are usually 1 to 2 inches below the
surface and it is in here that the poo should be placed. Use a trowel, not
gloves, to deposit the stuff. It really is that strong!
Well, that's it. We were doubtful about this rumour - but it' really done
the trick! We waited until the end of the season to report this - as we couldn't
believe it worked either!
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