MOLE WARFARE (10)

My last post on this was back in November; since then, mi hacienda has been pretty well mole-free. I did wonder whether the Mole Army would take advantage of my being in London for the Olympics to launch a summer offensive. And that has duly happened. Not, however, a coordinated offensive with many moles, but a single attack on the new lawn.

Readers of this blog will know that this was a doomed strategy. But as a tactical "let's piss Walter off as much as possible by ruining his new lawn" taupian suicide bomb attack, it had its attractions. Getting rid of a molehill made in long grass is a bit tricky. Mow the grass and you can easily make a complete mess of the molehill; but if you don't mow it, then it is difficult to see where the latest ones have been made.

But the gauntlet had been thrown down, and it was up to me to respond. First, some judicious mowing in order to cordon off the battleground. Secondly, some filling in of old holes. Thirdly, a triangulation of traps. Fourthly, patience. And lo and behold, this morning I got my man. Fleeing from the trap put in the newest hole, he followed his old path and went smack into the second trap. It was almost as if he had followed a sign saying "this way to the ambush".

All that I had to do this afternoon was clear up the mess. Now back to the killer snails.

Walter Blotscher