billb@teklabs.UUCP (06/28/84)
Well. A Lot of interest in the flamethrower/sulfur technique was
apparently sparked by my first article, so even though we haven't
actually tried it out, I thouhgt I'd add a few more bits of infor-
mation as a sort of progress report.
Several people have asked where to buy the flamethrower. I
bought one at "Your Town And Country Co-op". I don't know if this
is a national organization, but it is a farm supply co-op where we
have an account. It used to be "Cenex" or "Circle P". A good farm
supply store or garden supply store or even a farm implement dealer
should have them. The one I got is called a "Handiboy" hand burner.
They are commonly used for burning weeds along fence lines etc. Mine
was manufactured by Manchester Tank in Lynwood, California. It burns
propane, and has a claimed output of 500,000 BTU's.(!!!)
I bought the sulfur at the same place, 50 pounds for about $4.50.
Ask for dusting sulfur, the cheapest grade.
I forgot to mention the cost of the burner, it was $47.00, which
seems expensive, but easily justifiable in our case with many acres
of gopher infested wine grapes. One person I talked with was going
to try to rent one, which seems like a good idea if you don't have a
large area to attack.
I am building a small dedicated handtruck with fat tires which will
carry the burner, a bucket of sulfur, a small shovel, a measuring cup,
and a spark striker.
Furthe conversations with Emil (the retired dairy farmer down the
road) indicate that this method of
nuking the beasties doesn't work as well on moles. He claims that they
can be driven off with noise makers like the rattly daisy propellers
or the bleach bottle turbines on a broomstick.
Enough for today, I'll report progress later. Another reminder,
be very,very careful with the flamethrower! The flame is nearly in-
visible in sunlight and could cause a lot of damage to you or your
surroundings very quickly.
Bill Beran
Imaging Research Lab
Tektronix
{decvax,ucbvax}
!tektronix!teklabs!billb
"A day without wine; who needs it?"