Murderin' moles--very preliminary results

[Pilot]

First, I have never been very successful at trapping them. I have tried the scissor traps with little success. Just don't have the technique right. So I have been looking for another method.

Years ago I noticed that if I stuck a garden hose down the mound and washed water into the tunnel, overnight the mole would push the dirt back up. Sometimes they didn't do that, suggesting the mole wasn't working the area any more.

Yesterday, I stuck the hose down some holes in an area where the mounds had been refreshed since I had last mowed the lawn. Then I dropped in some dry ice, which if you remember your basic chemistry, evaporates into CO2, an odorless, tasteless, toxic gas which is also heavier than air. Put a little newspaper on top, then covered with dirt to seal it. The newspaper was to insure the CO2 could disperse into the tunnel freely without also being wasted up to the atmosphere.

So far, no sign of mole activity!

I have plenty of more tunnels to try this on.

Dry ice at our local market is $1.29 a pound. It's heavier than I expected; my half pound was only good for about 6 holes. If the system works, I'll probably need about 20 pounds!

 

[Tim D]

Keep us posted. I am always looking for a shotgun method of wiping these critters out.

 

[rekees4300]

dry ice & moles .. who would have guessed a connection!? :confused3:

 

[1950T]

right here is the best defense against moles and other ground burrowing vermin. a couple jack russells

 

[jcummins]

This will get um. Gophers Pest Control | Moles Burrowing Rodents @ Rodenator

 

[rekees4300]

This will get um. Gophers Pest Control | Moles Burrowing Rodents @ Rodenator

It will also get you arrested by Homeland Security! :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Good luck with that. Mole runs go mostly horizontally. It would take a lot of gas to fill those tunnels and my guess is most of it will be absorbed into the ground. Also, moles have twice the amount of red blood cells per unit than humans. They can breathe in dirt for crying out loud! :laughing:

Learn to set your traps correctly and you will be amazed how easy it becomes.

 

[schmism]

Time to run your portable genny for its monthly hr maintenance run.

pipe exhaust into mole hole.

 

[brt]

After standing there with my wife and literally watching her plants sink into the ground as they were being eaten I've tried some Juicy Fruit gum in the holes. They eat it and then die. Got the big box at Costco. Pretty reasonable. One stick for the mole. one for me.

 

[MossRoad]

After standing there with my wife and literally watching her plants sink into the ground as they were being eaten I've tried some Juicy Fruit gum in the holes. They eat it and then die. Got the big box at Costco. Pretty reasonable. One stick for the mole. one for me.

Moles are carnivores. They do not eat plants. :laughing:

Also, no one has yet to do an autopsy on a mole and found it died of gum poisoning, so the myth is an urban legend until proven.