Getting rid of moles

[newshound]

ISTR the molecatcher around here charges 50p or £1 a head. He uses traps these days, available from good farm shops or on the web.

[Clint Sharp]

[Lobster]

When I first looked at that I assumed it was a spoof, but I don't think it is... is it?!!?

David

[damduck-egg]

Get one of these

tube link to show how it works. as this is DIY I'm sure the same effect can be obtained by squirting a mixture from a gas welding setup down the holes and igniting with a pre prepared spark plug layed down there and energised by connecting to a lawn mower or similar.

G.Harman

[andrew]

Is it oxy-propane? I'd go for a v lean mix of oxy-acetylene to ensure a flame front. propane may need too much fuel for safety and make an ignitable mixture.

AJH

[The Medway Handyman]

Don't think so. Interesting to follow the link to the UK site where they carefully only talk about collapsing tunnels rather than blowing the buggers up, which seems a source of delight on the USA site.

It seems its illegal to kill them with any explosive device in the UK, but no so in the USA.

Typical of the poxy PC world we live in.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Shame. Its probably the most humane way to do it.

Ah, but it doesn't make work for rodent catchers!

Thats why..

Yup.

[Bill]

In message , Clint Sharp writes

Great for finding underground gas leaks, too.

[Thomas Prufer]

Oh well, if you're worried about that, then:

Prufer

[Thomas Prufer]

No, it isn't...

Before rushing out to get one:, two chaps using one set fire to a grass field using one. And, I recall reading on the 'net (thus to be taken with a few grains of salt) of one chap who flooded a mole or gopher burrow with propane, only to have it seep into the cellar of his house through porous foundations, where it was ignited by a pilot light, leaving him homeless.

And while it may be a fine tool in a paddock, it won't really help you get the lawn back to level.

Handy to have to post to Usenet every time someone suggests an angle grinder or car body filler, though.

Thomas Prufer

[freecycle]

Update: was eating my tea last night, looked out onto the lawn and saw another hill rising. Rushed into the garage, the only thing I could find was a brand new tim of Hammerite brush cleaner ("dangerous to inhale"). Moved the spoil off the latest hill, found the run, poured large quantity of liquid in, sealed hole. Repeated with previous hills. LETS SEE HOW THE B*GGER LIKES THAT. |FC

[geraldthehamster]

Noisy mole repellers don't work. The only way to get rid of moles is to kill them, and the easiest way to do so is by the use of tunnel traps:

you don't like the idea of killing moles, console yourself in the knowledge that they are not endangered, nor are they sociable - a large amount of damage to one garden is often done by one mole. Also, if the positions were reversed, and moles were very large, while we were very small, they would have no compunction about eating us if we fell into their tunnels.

We moved to "the country" a couple of years ago, and started with all the "humane" towny ideas of discouraging them: noisy mole repellers (result: ring of mole hills); mothballs down the hole (result: new mole hill with moth ball on top), etc. I then got some tunnel traps, and had immediate success, as a complete novice. Just follow the instructions.

You could save for a waistcoat :-)

Regards Richard