I came across this intriguing item while setting up an Amazon Associate store in preparation for the holiday season:



The solar-powered mole and gopher chaser. If it works, nothing could be easier. You stick it in the ground, and moles leave the area because it emits "sonic pulses." I'm skeptical because I think I've seen studies showing similar devices that plug into household outlets don't bother mice. But I really want to believe.

Reviews on things like this on Amazon are mixed—one person says the only way it will get rid of moles is if you stab one while you're inserting it in the ground, and another says moles have tunneled around hers and seem to enjoy the massages they get from it. However, another person says he's had success with devices like this and you need to use more than one.

I absolutely hate killing anything, but this is the first time I've had anything this destructive in my yard. Walking across our lawn feels like walking across rocks. They've redistributed soil, and seeds sprout in their mounds. So far the chicken wire seems to be keeping them out of the raised beds, but I'm not counting on that indefinitely.

We lived here mole-free for nearly 25 years before these varmints found us. Do I have to accept that they're here to stay?