Gopher Gitter and Mole Muffler

[jimgerken]

I have read about this, and know a guy who swears by it, so thought I would try it out. Took my oldest crapiest weed wacker and within 1.5 hours I had it ready to try. Pretty simple, just need to weld onto the muffler to get the extension tube to reach into the mole tunnel. The flat plate keeps it from going too deep. The tube extends below the flat plat about 2.5 inches.

I put a video up too, here is the link...
http://videos.tractorbynet.com/video/933/Gopher-Gitter-and-Mole-Muffler

 

[ding2520]

WOW! That video is awesome! If you market that it could be called the "Molester".

 

[Scooby074]

Good idea. Gas the little buggers.

Is it wrong that i was laughing during the video:thumbsup:

I got moles in the yard here, and that would be a great way to kill them... too bad i threw out that old leaf blower....

 

[ultraglide62]

I think you are onto something! Your device is so cool I am going to build one just to have it. Does it work?

Ultraglide62:thumbsup:

 

[HiTechTed]

That is great, I have moles around here that are really busy. I need to kill the grubs in the lawn so they have no reason to be here but in the mean time your device looks like fun.

I wonder if I couldn't put a plastic tube down in the tunnel in different places and throw some smoke bombs in there? I use those on ground squirrels when they get into my downspouts and it works great...their hearts beat like 500 times a minute so they huff large amounts of smoke in a short time...not trying to be cruel but they have chewed the fuel line off of my truck twice and I'm paying them back for it.

 

[jimgerken]

I cannot say for certain yet that it does work. I have a friend that swears by this method, and he mows a multi-strip airfield, so he should know. I used it last night. I found a brand new mole tunnel, and ran to get the "Mole Muffler". I put only about 4-5 ozs of mixed fuel in it, but it ran a long time. The video where I was poking holes in it, was taken right after I started it up, maybe five minutes' run time. It ran for 40 or so after that! If the mole was in there, I am CERTAIN he is dead. I will flatten the tunnel tonight, and watch the area for new activity. Will report back as this progresses.

 

[Travelover]

I don't see why one couldn't just stick a piece of flex pipe onto an exhaust pipe and poke it into the tunnel. All you really want to do is inject carbon monoxide. A vehicle with a catalytic converter would not make as much CO.

 

[jimgerken]

Travelover: Sure, that would work. My friend (with the airstrip) uses an old lawn tractor with a pc of flexible metal tubing stuff attached to it. He puts in about a half gallon of gas, drives it out to the mole/gopher area, sticks the tube into the hole, and walks home, leaving it run till it is out of gas. Next day he gets a lift out there in the golfcart with a gas can, and brings home the lawn tractor. I am doing the same thing with about 4 ozs of fuel (less might even work, as I experiment). My friend uses a half gallon or so. Your car or truck might use more, but it is easy I guess. If you don't mind driving the vehicle on your lawn. Carefull though, most vehicles are not designed to idle for extended periods of time, and the catalytic converter can start a grass fire.

 

[Travelover]

.......... Your car or truck might use more, but it is easy I guess. If you don't mind driving the vehicle on your lawn. Carefull though, most vehicles are not designed to idle for extended periods of time, and the catalytic converter can start a grass fire.

I think the bigger problem is that the catalytic converter in a car or truck greatly reduces the amount of carbon monoxide out the tailpipe.

 

[spruce Deere]

Well, I got a good chuckle out of it..... I battle pocket gophers also... far as I'm concerned anything goes with them

Just another means of control

I love it:thumbsup::laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Good idea. Gas the little buggers.

Is it wrong that i was laughing during the video:thumbsup:
.

Me too!.. "oh, yeah, their getting it" you bet their getting it. There are no alive moles in that network, you can bet your ole weed wacker on that!
Get 'em.

James K0UA

 

[77bronco]

Then there's always this:

Gophers Pest Control | Moles Burrowing Rodents @ Rodenator

 

[NC tractor driver]

Then there's always this:

Gophers Pest Control | Moles Burrowing Rodents @ Rodenator

Oh man, I gotta get me one of those. :laughing:

 

[bikerdib]

Oh man, I gotta get me one of those. :laughing:

Yeah, I was really interested in it till I found the price; $1600+

 

[dieselscout80]

I'd have a shovel and water hand in case you start a grass fire.

It looks like it will work though. :thumbsup:

 

[Fxfymn]

Nothing is ever really new is it? Like all farmers my Grandfather hated groundhogs because of the damage they did to his garden. He would run a hose from the exhaust of his AC Model B into the groundhog holes and let it run for quite a while to gas the critters. The AC was a 1937 model he bought new.

Of course this is the same guy who had his grandson help him remove old apple tree stumps by putting a 1/4 stick of dynamite under the stump. But that's another story.

 

[boggen]

interesting to say the least. and craigslist normally has cheap old weed whackers. hhmmmssss.

 

[2manyrocks]

Any old worn out push lawn mower should produce plenty of Co2 as well, but this one is pretty clever.

If you start pumping propane into the ground and igniting it, could very well blow up more than moles depending on where the mole tunnels go in your yard.

Now blowing up your own yard....is sort of like the reason why a person tries to get rid of the moles in the first place.

 

[jimgerken]

So far, so good. Two different tunnel systems, two MoleMuffler treatments, no repeat offenders. I wish I could actually SEE them gasping and choking, and then puking and falling over, but I guess as long as they die and quit digging, it's good enough for me.

Did learn one more thing about moles. The last tunnel system I hit, was only about 12 feet long, and no visible means of entry or exit. So I am standing there with the engine running, studying the tunnel, thinking "How the heck does the mole get in there? Where did he go?" So I took a wooden dowel and stuck DOWNWARD at the one end of the tunnel, the end that faced the woods. Sure enough, the tunnel goes downward, at about a 45 degree angle, into the ground really deep, like maybe 8-10 or more inches. Where it goes from there, I can't tell of course. But that explains a few things. I was left wondering how far the exhaust will travel down in there, killing multiple moles, entire families and colonies of moles. Ok, maybe a bit optimistic.

 

[ham]

This should definitely work and it tells you why the EPA rightly so is going after lawn products in the future. But I have to tell one on my self.

I used a device with a hose and attachment for my pickup muffler cause we had a real mess with an explosion of gophers and a wedding coming up. So I connected up my 2003 HD Hemi and set to work....I now think we need to lighten up on the auto industry for a couple of decades because right now after a few hours of running that thing it didn't kill one little gopher....didn't even phase them. Finally my brain bulb went off and I got my 59' Ford pickup and connected and it killed everything in a certain radius with certain lethality...Ha!...

Hence this will work.

Hint: We are just bigger gophers