I think it was last summer I was mowing, saw a mole run I had just flattened with a tire being remade, and sent that mole to the happy hunting ground by means of a sledge hammer - :D Yesterday, same deal - i'm turning around on the JD on a really trashed piece of lawn, saw the ground being pushed back up - The sledge is a long way off - Only "weapon" I had was a 10" screwdriver in the tool box - If anyone had seen me on hands & knees stabbing the lawn they would have thought I lost it for sure - Took about 10 tries before shish-ka-mole - There it was, a confirmed kill - My lawn, as they say in the military, is a "target rich enviroment" :D
Mike my favorite method is to stomp down the runs and wait patiently in a lawn chair with a 12ga shotgun and a 6 pack of my favoite beverage. As soon as I see ground movement I sneak over and blast it with the 12ga.
If the hunting is slow I have been known to have a second 6 pack but by then Patty sneaks over and hides the shotgun. ;D
Smart woman, that Patty ;)
Thanks for the idea Norm. I didn't realize the shotgun shot would reach but now that you mentioned it, I'm sure gonna try it (mythbuster if nothing else ;D ). I've been chasing one for a couple weeks or more in a part of the lawn where I don't want him. Caddyshack movie is what the neighbors think, as I've been trapping (sprung the trap several times), waiting with pitch fork in hand (too slow or it's too fast), and packing the 'track' (mole run) back down with the lawn roller or truck tires. Well, yesterday I think I got him with the trap. Today will tell for sure. Shotgun will be next now that I have a little encouragement. (thanks Norm).
Here is yesterday.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10180/Gopher%20trapping.jpg)
Propane, do it with porpane. Most satisfying and the moles don't come back. I think it is the ground lifting over a run that when the propane goes off that satisfies the anarchist in me.
Norm, i've done that too - with a .22 though - Made the mistake one day of using a .223, was coming back from a woodchuck hunt - The muzzle was about a foot off the ground, as soon as I fired, instant ringing in my ears, pounding headache that night. Concussion? Thats all I can figure. The mole won that round, it's been payback time ever since - ;D
I use a half cup of blue printing ammonia. Stout stuff and heavy vapors :)
smiley_thumbsup_grin smiley_sun smiley_thumbsup_grin I use a good hard stomp from my boot heel they don't get far and it reloads really fast
My bird dog was in the front yard the other morning.... standing there in a full point and shivering all over. I couldnt see what she was pointing, so I went to her and tapped her on the tail and SWOOSH she springs over and digs up a mole :D
Does that make her a mole dog? :D :D
I stomped one last fall. Very satisfying.......
Anyone ever try those windmilly vibrator things that are supposed to drive 'em away?
They're going after grubs under the grass , I think I heard? Never had 'em 'til the last 2 years. Seems like they're camping out under the flower beds we mulch. Anyone notice that?
I got those DanG buggers too. ::) I haven't really begun an all out assault just yet, so I'm enjoying hearing about the different methods. Propane or the shotgun sounds like the most fun, but I don't think the neighbors (who I share a driveway with ::)) would really appreciate it, and I'm sure there's some kind of city ordinance. But the blue ammonia--that sounds intriguing.
I've also heard about this poison system shaped like an earth worm. You put it in the hole, the moles feel it and munch on it, and drag the rest to share with their buddies. Supposed to be fairly effective.
Anyone heard of that method, or tried it?
Someone around here mentioned chlorine tablets like you use for a pool, been meaning to try it.
Several weeks ago my parents had one circle just inside the pool wall. :o >:(
I managed to fixed as much as I could, but there are a couple spots where it went under too far and it REALLY makes it hard to clean the pool now.
Hey Tex, I'm figuring the reason they don't come back after that method is because all the grubs are fried as well. ;D
Snowball the black cat loves to catch em... keeps trackin' dirt in but I don't mind I guess...
Molecat?
I had a problem with pocket gophers. I killed about 5 of them with a "spring" trap, but then they got smarter and would fill the tunnel back up without springing the trap. I got DanG tired of that, so I bought some gas bombs. That's all I use now and it works like a charm. The bomb looks like a big firecracker with a fuse and I buy them at the hardware store. When I see a mound, I dig out the dirt to open up the tunnel. I light the fuse on the bomb and stick it, fuse first down into the tunnel and then fill the tunnel opening back up with dirt. As soon as I learn to play a bugle, I'll blow taps, 'cause they are dead as a doornail.
I no longer have pocket gopher problems, though I'm watching a colony on my neighbor's property getting closer to my property. Soon as they cross the line they are gonna die!
Now I have problems with stripped gophers. I can't shoot them 'cause I'd be aiming towards the street. I tried trapping them, but the critter squeezed out of the trap! >:( I bought some waterproof rat poison and plan to drop a couple of pieces in each hole and see if they like that. >:(
Furby,I may have mentioned the tablets. Since I have used them, over a year ago, no more moles in the yard. 8)
the wife had be hiring a fella to come and trap them, for $10 each. I was going broke and more moles were coming around. Hence, the tablets. I use two or three tables per fresh hole and about a quart of water to really activate the chlorine to create the gas.
At my last house I had a terrible time with moles. Tried every possible method to get rid of them. Someone finally showed me how to use the scissor style traps and in my best years would catch 30 to 40 each summer. Few things more satisfying then dispatching one of these guys after he has left little piles of dirt across your lawn.
Few things more satisfying then dispatching one of these guys after he has left little piles of dirt across your lawn.
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YEA - What he said - :D The moles start it, the lawnmower sure does a job tearing the tops of the runs off - Anyone ever felt a mole? For a critter that lives in the dirt, they have the softest, cleanest fur. Maybe we should be raising them instead of terminating them? A moleskin coat - probably only take 200 pelts to make a small one ! :D
Once my grandpa told me about an old fashioned way to get rid of moles.
Dig up a tunnel and place a small amount of harsh lye (?) and a dish of water after it. The critters would run ether thru the water or lye first and activate the lye. They would then run back to the next and transfer the active lye to the babies and melt.
Quote from: Frank_Pender on August 24, 2006, 09:32:35 AM
Furby,I may have mentioned the tablets. Since I have used them, over a year ago, no more moles in the yard. 8)
the wife had be hiring a fella to come and trap them, for $10 each. I was going broke and more moles were coming around. Hence, the tablets. I use two or three tables per fresh hole and about a quart of water to really activate the chlorine to create the gas.
So Frank,
Do you pop those tablets in the tunnels, or at the mouth of the hole? ???
In the mouth of an active hole. ;D
Better yet, at the mouth of the mole. :)
The first critter I ever skinned was a mole .My mom thought I was nuts .
we use a Rodenator. Propane + oxygen + spark = ;D
results in a VERY LOUD BANG, when done in a dead-end hole :o
rodenator (https://www.rodenator.com/)
Pocket Gophers being blown away by the Rodenator Pro - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIMfir6r1Rc)
I've heard catching one and burying it alive will scare the rest of them away.... :D