Non-toxic garden defense

[Grenadier1758]

The weasel may not be eating many of the vegetables, but the chickens need to be protected.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Someone up the previous page asked if I used kill traps or some other type;
Kill traps . I can't even imagine "relocating" all those moles!
These traps are humane as they kill them dead, not a leg-hold type.
Back home, we skinned them. (Easier if they're dead) Got maybe a shilling for the skins for making fishing flies, but as a box of cartridges was about 10 shillings, it was decent money.

I guess some of us on this sight may not be country born and bred. Pocket gopher type moles will eat all your spuds, carrots and nearly everything else that grows if left alone, and regular gophers will clean you out as well.
Regular (and unknown up here in Canada in the west at any rate ) moles eat earthworms, and the damage they do is all the tunneling and hills they pile up. That's what we had back in the UK.

All best,
R.

 

[Carbon 6]

On the moles, have yall seen the videos, propane and oxygen bottles filling up the tunnels followed by ignition?
I've got so many mole tunnels around here that I'd have to replace my windows and buy kitty tranq's.

I don't want my yard looking like a scene from Caddyshack.

 

[Eutycus]

The metal poles for the electric fence will work too. Place tin cans upside down on top of the poles. Not only will you not put your eye out if you bend over near the fence but the clanging of the cans wiil keep out gophers. It may drive you nuts on a windy day but the varmints don't much care for the vibrations either.

 

[mechteacher]

Roto metals sell lead and non-lead shot. Check them out on the net. They are the ones that I buy my lead for casting my bullets. They send it by USPS.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

MOLES -- A late friends father used to swear by a Sunny afternoon, a deck chair, a bottle of Scotch and his Double 14b. Load with TWO hard paste board wads and relax in the chair. Enjoyed the scotch. When said Mollie pushed up he aimed at the bottom of the pile and release both barrels. If he could still see straight the concussion provided another skin towards his new jacket. Neither died of Lead poisoning.
MOGGIES-- (Pussies your side of the pond) My OLD friend always said an air pistol loaded with a pellet of Plastacine (old kids modelling wax).It stung and stuck in fur. Moggie departed and took the next few days in the bush, trying to get rid of the sticky stuff from her matted coat. Good practice for the much later Kuchenreuter original..
Haven't seen a weasel or stoat in my small patch for years, only brown rats and magpies. They don't survive 21grns of Baracuda match for long.
Corvid 19..Haven't seen a Flattened Hedgehog on the village roads since it kicked off here. Our streets are No Longer race tracks.. HAPPY OLD DOG.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

Still looking for a couple of Delinquent Lab pup(Bout12Mths) Colour doesn't matter. Must be in U K .

 

[Britsmoothy]

Still looking for a couple of Delinquent Lab pup(Bout12Mths) Colour doesn't matter. Must be in U K .

Friend of mine is about to have pups. Non registered so cheap!

 

[SamTex1949]

Here in East Texas both gophers and moles (like everywhere else) can tear up gardens and yards.
Moles are carnivorous, they looking for grubs and worms , not greens but do one hell of a job in tunneling.
Gophers are your vegetarians, and will eat the plants from roots up ! Again their tunnels and mounds annoying,
For years we had a wonderful black female cat, she was feral when we found her (actually just opposite) she earned her right to a good life because she was hell on all those ground critters ! Often bring her catches to the door to show her worth ! She was an inside/outside family cat. Had her for nearly 9 years till one nite while she was out, she made mistake of running across our small road in front of the FexEx guy. She was solid back and always stealthy so he just didnt see her. We never had any of those ground pests for those years but nearly the next day it was like a sign went up "The Black devil" is gone ! So Ive relented to traps, just spring loaded type with spikes that catch kill what ever tries to push dirt around it. Im 50/50 right now. Now for fun though I can see using the "Rodenator"

 

[SandWatcher]

Roto metals sell lead and non-lead shot. Check them out on the net. They are the ones that I buy my lead for casting my bullets. They send it by USPS.

They have a decent selection of bismuth, But it’s still fairly expensive.

I’ve seen references online to copper shot, but I’ve never seen it available anywhere. Does anyone know where I can source that?

 

[mushka]

To answer an earlier question, I use kill traps. guns unless .22's using cci quiets is out of the question for me. Got an anti gun gripe of a neighbor and I don't need the aggravation.

 

[Zonie]

I've tried that "rubber hose to muffler pipe" before and It must have been some inferior type of hose. The gopher probably only came of with brain damage because the hose melted. I did shoot him later but not before alot of damage was done.It's amazing how much damage one little varmint can do.

Back in the good old days when cars produced a lot of exhaust emissions the hose method worked. There was a lot of carbon monoxide in the fumes, lethal to man or beast.

With the newer cars that have working emission devices installed the amount of carbon monoxide has been reduced to such a low point that the only effect the exhaust now has is to suffocate them because of the lack of oxygen.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

Friend of mine is about to have pups. Non registered so cheap!

Many Thanks for your reply. After 45 odd years Done my fill of puppies. About 9/12 month old would suit me.. Old Dog..