Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mole, -- Gopher -- Remedy

On one of the topics the other day, we were takling about tear gas and the alternatve, Pepper Spray. Well, it hit me, that's my answer to getting rid of the gopher in my yard. I have tried the gopher trap for a couple of weeks and he trips it but the prongs don't get him. Next gun show I pick up some pepper spray and that sucker is history. I had an encounter with pepper spray in a large building and know what it did. When I shoot several holes with it he will commit hari-kari or come out where I can show him how I dance. Teach him the Two Step, Texas cowboy style. -- no

Sonnie,<BR>Pepper spray???Sorry man,I don't think it will help much.<BR>Over the years I have used every dadgum folk remedy and several commercial methods,and all seem to not work well.<BR>I get an annual invasion of moles(Both variety's!! deep,mound builders,and the shallow multi tunnel bastards!) on my 2.5 acre lawn.They are drawn by the abundance of earthworms and beetle grubs here in the swamp peat.<BR>Killing the Grubs early in the spring using agricultural(Federally restricted of course!!)chemicals is the best way,but if ya don't have access to such concoctions try Diazinon in the 25% concentrate dilluted to 1-20 sprayed on the lawn,then water untill you get a soak down to about 3".<BR>It's hell on the birds,and the earthworms though.It also causes your lawn to need air without the worms,so you'll need to roll the yard with an aeriator a couple times till the worms come back.<BR>When I get a stray renegade mole that dosn't get the idea,I have another more fun method of termination....Israeli Mossad style.<BR>Get over to the old timey hardware or grain elevator and pick up a tin of miners lamp carbide.Then using a spoon to dig a neat hole in the little demons tunnel,place about 2 handfulls of the carbide rocks in the tunnel at both ends of the run.<BR>Next go get the garden hose and gently flow water into each hole.When ya get the gas going good,plug one hole with a rag,and the other just place a snow shovel or board over to allow the gas to build for about 10 min.<BR>Load the .22 with Ratshot,while waiting.<BR>Pull the board off of the hole and flip lighted matches at the hole from about 10ft away or further if you have practice at such things....WHOOOOF!!!!!!Mr. Mole either gets launched out of his hole like the Space shuttle Columbia,or he comes hauling arse out,looking to unass the AO,and ya nail him with the ratshot.Hit all the little snots runs till ya find the one he is in.<BR>Just be careful not to let too much gas build up...flying sod can be painfull.<BR>This method works for 13 stripe ground squirrels as well,but they come out running hard and I would advise a good 20ga and dove loads unless you wish to be sporting.<BR>As a note of precaution,don't share this with your better half,women folk always assume us guy's will blow up the house or some such nonsense and get the vapors.<BR>Good luck man!<BR>Cheers!<BR>E4E

Let me know how it works. If he is triping it and not getting caught you are setting it too far out of the run. The load of dirt he is pushing is triping it before he gets to it. Or you are setting in the wrong prong of a Y run. Go down to the feed store and get some gopher bait. Find the runs with a dowel rod and dump a teaspoon of the bait down there. All it is is milo laced with strychnine. It works. I do my hay meadows about every four years and it cleans them out.<BR>BCR

On second thought E4E's meathod sounds like a lot more fun. Gives a whole new meaning to FIRE IN THE HOLE.<BR>BCR

I've caught literally hundred of gophers up here in my hay meadow, and I have had a few, seemed to be the smaller ones, that I had to set on several times, but I am patient and they only have to make one mistake. The traps work, you just have to be smarter than a gopher.

Heck, I am humbled, my lot looks like a freight train yard with all the tracks taken up. When I walk down along side my shop almost fall in in some places. I am afraid to use the carbide system as much fun as it sounds. He has dug into the old septic system and I can't drowned him out, all I need is load it up with gas and blow up half the town,(small town). Still going to try the pepper spray, will get some grain tomorrow. Don't want to kill the birds or worms. Years ago I heard about hooking up an exhaust with a hose and kill them with carbon monoxide, my lawn mower is a ready made killer. Heck, I don't have to go hunting, I have a challenge right here in my yard, sleep in my own bed every night, drink coffee and eat cookies while on stand. Don't have to pay attention to wind or weather. Just put on my camo, turn on the cowboy stereo, sit in a lounge chair and wait. -- no

If you know a farmer see if you can get some liquid sulphur from him. Open up the tunnel and put a few ozs. down the hole and cover the hole. Do this to as many holes as you find and have your weapon of choice ready when they come out. We use NH3 here also but that's pretty wicked stuff to mess with. We usually mix the sulphur with the anhydrous ammonia as the sulphur doesn't evaporate and mixs well with the ammonia.

Little SOB's get me every spring but the traps work for me, may be the sandy soil here in Fl. makes em work better.<P>Hmmm! Carbide, sounds like somebody has seen "Caddy Shack" tooo many times. Does sound like fun though. Tried the exhaust trick one time, found out the next morning I had wasted a bunch of gas for no results other than kill more grass. Little suckers just made a new tunnel city overnight!<P>Good luck!

HE'S BACK, after the rain and he brought his friends or been taking vitamins. THIS IS WAR! Call in SWAT team, get warrant, order tear gas. Problem, what burns in the ground, no oil or coal, EPA says can't add any. What's a feller to do? [img]images/icons/crazy.gif" border="0[/img] -- no

Surefire & safe way to rid your gophers & moles-------1st get a 5 gal. pail full of dirt-------grab a road flare--small 8 minute flare--find the largest hole you can-----try stuffing the flare down it--if it goes then strike it----stuff it in-----cover hole------right away start looking for smoke coming out of adjacent holes------start pouring the dirt from pail in holes & stomping on dirt. We use this method for our hay fields---works like nothing else. The darn smoke stays in the tunnels---------we have tunnels that are still free of gophers for 3 years--------using gas is VERY dangerous-------it always seeks the lowest level-----if you have a basement close by it could invade it---turn a light switch on & poof.........

I had a problem with groundhogs. They'd bore holes in my practice track(horses). Since I bought a couple of Jack Russell Terriers, I have no groundhog problem. They actually go in the holes(one on each end) after the hogs, kill them and stay in the tunnel until they eat the whole hog. When they come out they are pretty torn up. A groundhog is a retty tough customer. They also like to dig out moles. They own anything with fur or feathers. Nothing's safe around here. Luckily they were bought as pups and were raised with the barn cats and hens or I'd have a bunch of dead cats and chickens too. I recommend them to anyone.

As an alternative....my MIL who is 70 sits under the nearest tree on her lawn chair in the early evening sipping margaritas with the chinese air rifle we set up for the purpose. She's hell on em up till about the end of that 2nd margarita.

I once had a friend who's father liked things that went boom. My friends father had a little rat looking dog that could sence a yard rat two feet down. Seems old Ed had a good supply of blasting cap and an electric detonator. The mutt would start bouncin and yappin and Ed would twist the grip on the detonator... kaboom... But I wondered if he really ever got any of the offending critters, seems there was always some explosions over at the old guys place, and of course the cackling laugfter that came after each explosion.

Asphalt the whole yard! Save on grass cutting too.<P>Mike