Stupid @#$^!@& gophers!

[lakelivin]

Re: Stupid @#$^!@& gophers!

"p.s. another method of gassing tunnel systems I've heard about is to use calcium carbonate crystals. After water is added it creates a poisonous gas. Might be cheaper than some of the commercial products specially marketed for gassing tunneling pests. But i'd do an internet search on it before using calcium carbonate, as I heard about this method over 20 years ago. I'd want some updated info before considering it's use."

Poisonous gas?? I didn't know carbon dioxide was deadly!
Actually, adding a strong acid will produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Now, adding the dreaded compound Dihydrogen Monoxide is another matter altogether. Read more about it here:
http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

My bad. What I should have said is calcium carbide. (it was 20 years ago when this was suggested to me; my memory slips a bit these days). When water is poured on calcium carbide, it forms acetylene gas.

from 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.''

 

[Trent]

Re: Stupid @#$^!@& gophers!

Juicy Fruit chewing gum rolled up worked for me. They eat it and die. Why I dont know.