Sadly, now I see moles tunneling around the bamboo. Do they eat the roots or shoots? I have read they usually are after worms and insects. Has anyone dealt with them? thanks

Moles are not the problem, as they don't eat plants. The problem is shrews and voles that will use the mole tunnels afterward.

Smash the tunnels down as best you can and hope they move away soon. I'm not a fan of poisons or lethal traps.

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

Mole tunnels can also divert water from plant roots.

Thanks for the replies. I also wont use poison but just read a lot of noise will disrupt them. since there is a sidewalk adjacent to the bamboo and tunnel area, I am hitting it every few hours with a sledgehammer. I will report if if it works

I battled the damn things for years, put the sledge down and get some castor product, either oil and bloody soak the area or the granules if you can find them. It was the only thing thing seemed to help some but was not a cure. Tug on the adjacent culms and make sure they are snug, these things will sever them at the rhizome connection point, eat rhizomes etc.

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Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com

I ended up with Moso culms reduced to ... well survival shoots. They dug out the soil below and as the snow melted and soaked up the whole thing, manure hit the fan. First snow flattened the bamboo and there were roots pointing into the air. Culms were laid horizontally and the whole terrain dropped a few inches. I have no idea where the soil that was missing ended up.
I threw 10 inches of mud on top of that so I guess new shoots will be secured. At least for a while.

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http://cold-hardy.com

Castor oil is pretty expensive. Not sure if the granules are cheaper. I use mole and gopher bait.
It`s the only solution that always works. I've tried most of the high tech and cage stuff and I batted less than .500. Wire lasts a few years.

Castor oil though is cheaper than bamboo!

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Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com

Checked on internet and caster oil cost is down (off shore drilling?). Also of interest (I'm losing my hair) caster oil promotes hair growth. Does the oil repel moles or do they seek more fur? Kidding aside, best I can tell, moles are after worms and grubs not veggies. As someone else noted, gophers use mole tunnels to get to roots. Makes it confusing about who or what does what. Mole/gopher bait solves the dilemma. Even at lower oil cost, if you have lots of plants and land, lower caster oil cost is not cost effective. Moles are blind by the way.

Fred, most hardware stores sell a small bottle of castor oil with a hose attachment. Last one I bought was < $20 and it covers something like 10,000 sq feet. Voles & shrews tunnel, and eat rhizomes, no doubt about that.

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Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com

Just for reference, planting castor beans (Ricinus communis) does *not* effectively deter moles. I've grown these plants for a decade or more, and have seen on a couple of occasions a mole digging directly beneath a castor bean plant (before it got huge) causing the thing to rock back and forth.

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

It looks like they moved on. the smacking of the sidewalk created a lot of noise. now they are back under the lawn where they belong. I will try the castor oil if they come back. thanks for the replies