Re: Stupid @#$^!@& gophers!
ZmOz said:
How exactly do you tell the difference between a mole and a gopher?
This morning I found two more holes, and as I was standing out there cussing at them another one popped up...so I killed it with a hammer. That's what happens when you make me mad before I've had my caffeine. d
If you've seen a mole you can't mistake it for a gopher. Moles are fairly small (prolly mouse to small rat size), have really pointed noses, and 'flipper-like' claws for digging rather than regular front legs. I believe they're blind. Extremely ugly little buggers. Even though they eat grubs & insects instead of plants, they
can tear up your yard with large pushed up tunnel systems crisscrossing the yard once they take hold. Sounds like you've got gophers, you'd know a mole if you saw it. Pic of mole below, the real ugly one is a starnose mole.
Link to site for info & products for mole control:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/mole-control.htm
Link to site for info & products for gopher control:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/gopher.htm
I'd
love to see the Gophernator 5000 in action on a large gopher tunnel system! Sounds like a re-creation of the final scene in Caddy Shack!
the following text is edited, the original chemical was wrong, see Xcusme's post below
Another method I heard about almost 20 years ago is to use calcium carbide. When water is poured on calcium carbide, it forms acetylene gas.
extract from an online search:
...advice from Alice Upham Smith, one of this country's respected landscape architects. Smith is in her 80s, and she passed along this advice, given to her 25 years ago.
She says: ``Dig a hole in an active mole run. Pour in about half a cup of calcium carbide. Don't smoke, because it's flammable. Cover the hole with dirt again and then pour water on it. The calcium carbide becomes acetylene gas, which kills the moles. It is not harmful to anything above ground.
``If the runs are extensive, do several spots at once. We did this on the golf course at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., one year, and I think they used too much of the chemical, because they found dead moles up on the surface afterwards. Usually they just expire underground in the tunnel and that is the end of the trouble.''
p.s. as part of my search to correct the wrong info I gave, I noticed that most sites recommend trapping as the most effective way to eliminate moles.
p.p.s. one other thing I read is to note that alot of chemicals that will kill grubs will also kill beneficial creatures under your lawn (like earthworms).
