Moles and gophers

  It seems in spite of my advice on the use of warfin in burrow holes of
mice, moles and gophers some of uou are still having problems. So it is time
to bring out the really powerful artillery. For groundhogs, which make
really big holes, the recommended poison is potasssim cyanide (KCN) which is
a gas given off from its crystal form potassium cayanate (KCNO) in the
presence of water. To use it put some of the crystals down the hole on to
damp soil. If soil is dry put a small amount of water down first to dampen
it. Shove some paper or plastic down to block the hole and then push some
soil down to seal off the hole. Check for other entrances and block them the
same way. The cyanate will soon form a deadly gas and kill anything in the
burrow. It works very well for groundhogs but you must be alert to find the
unmarked backdoor to the burrow - there may be more than one and there will
be no earth around this back door as it is all excavated from the inside.
Even the grass is left undisturbed around it. Perhaps mice and  moles also
have  a backdoor exit, so be on guard for one or more openings and block all
of them. The gas will work quickly and do its job in half an hour. The
materail comes in metal cans which should be kept tightly sealed when not in
use as the crystal will absorb warter from the air and give off the gas
slowly. Store in a high dry place where  safe from children . You can
probably obtain it from a Farmer's supply store as it is mostly used in
pasture fields or orchards. (I used it in my orchard years ago and it really
worked - if you found all the openings.

Bruce Richardson 
Bruce Richardson (near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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