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Re: Burrowing Pests - Advice Needed

All--

Years ago, for moles, my Dad put Carbide into the tunnel and then poured
some water on it.  He put a piece of plywood over the hole and let the gas
(acetylene) permeate the tunnel. After a few minutes he pulled back the
plywood and dropped a match into the hole.  A horrible explosion occurred! 

It scared me to death, and I think it did the mole too. On second thought,
the blast may have killed him before the fright.  

Use CAUTION with this stuff --- it is DANGEROUS.  Use this method at your
own risk.   Happy Blasting.

John F. Brownlee

----------
> From: Harry Santiago <santiagh@pop.erols.com>
> To: Square Foot List <sqft@lists.umsl.edu>
> Subject: Burrowing Pests - Advice Needed
> Date: Saturday, April 25, 1998 6:43 PM
> 
> Does anybody have a good (inexpensive) technique for eliminating moles?
> It's getting awfully trecherous walking on my backyard - you either sink
or
> trip over a tunnel!  I've read the appropriate threads on rec.gardens &
> rec.gardens.edible,  but still am not sure which method to use.
> 
> In SFG, Mel suggests lining a raised bed with wire n" deep.  Has anybody
> tried this?  It almost sounds like it would keep burrowers out and still
> allow beneficial insects to roam around. But how would this affect root
> growth?  In my case, the soil line on my raised beds (enclosed by wood)
will
> probably settle to 8".  If I "cage" the bottom of the bed down, let's
say,
> 6" would my toms, various peppers and legumes be adversely affected? 
Would
> their roots even reach the bottom of the cage?  (I just read this - are
> these stupid questions, or what???)
> 
> Also, seeing how the mole tunnels are pretty much on the surface, does
this
> mean they don't like diving deep to do their digging/eating?  Does
anybody
> have literature that suggests how deep these fellas normally dig?  My
> thought (earlier this morning as I was being beat to death by my tiller)
was
> not to "cage" the underside of the bed, but instead to drop wire mesh
> straight down another 12" along the sides of the bed.  Guess I figured
that
> would discourage the moles from trying to enter.  As you can read, that
> tiller REALLY rattled my brain!
> 
> I have learned that ridding the area of grubs would help reduce mole
> presence.  So, is there a product available that can be applied to the
> veggie garden which is safe to humans and plants, but deadly to grubs?
> Although I'd prefer an organic solution to this problem, at this point I
> wouldn't be shy about using a highly radioactive deterent either.
> 
> I'd be curious to hear any thoughts from SFGardners on this topic.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Harry
> Pasadena, MD - where today it was absolutely beautiful!
> Zone 7
> 
> 
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