Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes. Some have four legs, some have six or even eight legs. Some, with no legs at all, slither on their bellies, while others fly or creepy-crawl. But sometimes the most frustrating critters are the ones that tunnel below the surface and chomp away on your plant roots.

Perhaps you have a solution to help this reader with her problem…

QUESTION: “Any new ideas on how to deal with a serious mole problem in our acre of heavily landscaped yard and gardens?

“We live in the country, and our house is on former farm land and pastures. I understand that moles are supposed to be very territorial creatures, and that only one or two moles are supposed to inhabit an acre of land, but we know that we have many more, because we can visibly see them tunneling along in different areas of our garden.

“My husband and I respect all forms of life and refuse to attempt to trap, poison, harpoon, electrocute, gas, or shovel-bludgeon these little creatures to death, but we are very tired of repairing all the damage that they do to our beds and the expensive plants that they manage to uproot. We’ve tried all kinds of folk lore remedies to discourage them from our yard (such as pepper based products), and we’ve tried the commercial castor-oil based sprays (makes your soil terribly sticky and sickly!), to no avail.

“We’ve also tried the ultrasonic in-ground devices, but I swear that the moles seem to be attracted by anything new that we introduce to the ground and they do MORE damage in the areas that we try to protect with such devices. We’ve also tried to plant things in plastic or wire mesh cages to prevent root damage as they tunnel around, but again, these little critters seem to go berserk in the “protected areas” and tunnel out all the soil surrounding such cages, thus defeating the purpose of this time-consuming effort.

“In frustration, I bought traps, but couldn’t bring myself to use them. We’ve considered getting a cat, or perhaps a couple of ferrets, or maybe a boa constrictor to set free in the yard… but, alas, we have a thriving bird community that would be threatened by the cat… and recruiting other critters to kill the moles isn’t really consistent with our “violence-free” philosophy, is it?

“Have you any other ideas that might make our garden a little less appealing to these creatures?” – Deborah Abraham

ANSWER: I can empathize with you because we have similar problems in our gardens. I have used a product called Liquid Fence Mole and Vole Repellent and it works for us.

It’s a simple product to use in that you simply attach the container to your garden hose and spray the ground. Apparently it works by coating earthworms and plant roots with something highly distasteful to moles but harmless to humans and animals. The moles tunnel elsewhere in search of tastier meals. Contrary to popular belief, moles almost never eat plants, subsisting on worms and other small invertebrates, but they can damage plants by undermining the roots and often create molehills on lawns.

However it is a constant problem. When you use the product the moles move on but within a month more are back and you need to repeat the process. We feel the same way about killing the little things and that is why we do this once a month rather that put out traps or poison. The manufacturers claim that the product is biodegradable and environmentally safe.

You mentioned folk remedies, and I’m guessing that there are hundreds out there! So come on, readers: Share your mole-be-gone solutions and help Deborah and other frustrated gardeners! Remember, your remedy must be effective in your experience (rather than hearsay) and should be humane and non-toxic. You might see your remedy included here in a future column. Send your suggestion in an e-mail to steve@landsteward.org You can also contact me there if you need shopping information for the Liquid Fence Mole and Vole Repellent.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org

QUESTION: “A couple of mornings ago, I noticed a strange yellow clump of something had appeared, apparently overnight, in one of our flower beds. It was a bright, almost neon, yellow and very moist and slimy. It looked almost like some kind of alien being! “By the next day, it had formed a skin or crust on top and was turning brown. It now looked like a very large, stale egg foo yong! The following day, a second patch appeared, about six feet away in the same bed. Is this some kind of fungus? I am planning to remove the two clumps with a shovel and replace the mulch. But I’d also like to know if there’s a way I can treat the soil to discourage it from happening again.” – Mike H

ANSWER: We’ve had these things show up too and they do look weird, don’t they? The good news is that they might be unsightly but they are not plant parasites.

Slime mold is indeed a type of fungus that produces large, single-celled bodies called plasmodia. Plasmodia are the feeding stages of the fungus and can be seen on mulch, lawns and dead wood, according to the folks at the Plant Disease Clinic at Cornell University. You can read their complete article at http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/slimemold/slimemold.htm or click on a direct link when you find this column at my Web site, www.landsteward.org

Although slime mold is not a plant parasite, small or vulnerable plants can suffer if the mold covers or shades them. Slime molds will eventually disappear if left alone, but they are unsightly and you might want to remove them.

The folks at Cornell say that on mulch, they can be raked or turned under and on turf they can be mowed. In my case, I wait until the slime turns to a dry, flaky crust and remove it with a shovel. It will probably return when the conditions are right, but it’s good to know that slime mold isn’t really harmful to plants.

QUESTION: “Thank you so much for your helpful tips each week! I have a question about pruning in general. We have two azalea bushes and a very large bush (8-10 feet in diameter, 12 feet high) in our back yard (I’m afraid I don’t know what kind it is, but its leaves turn bright red in the fall and it has small leaves about the size of a large thumb nail).

“We need to prune these back, as they are starting to creep into walkways and phone lines. What is the best time to prune? I don’t want to kill the azaleas and the bush, but I want to keep them under control. The azaleas are currently blooming, and the bush has produced leaves. I appreciate any advice you may have.” – Sonja R.

ANSWER: From your description of the large bush, it sounds as if it is a non-blooming variety so you should be able to trim it now or most any time. As for the azaleas, the best time to trim these is after the blooms are spent or finished.

I received the following note from a reader in response to a question here about spiders:

“My brother has a good solution for spiders but it must be used with care.

”Old fashioned mothballs will kill spiders and insects. When my brother is going to be gone for a few days he throws a few under his trailer. He never has problems with the black widows, etc., that frequent his area. They die because the mothballs close off their lungs. (They will also damage human lungs if we are inhaling those fumes for any length of time.) Besides putting them under porches or other areas spiders love, you can sprinkle them around the outside of your arbor, house, etc. Note that they should not be allowed to vaporize close to food.

”I prefer to use more natural methods but this is a solution that works with some very unwelcome ‘critters’.”

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve’s free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org