olson (03/23/83)
#N:fortune:23900001:000:1661 fortune!olson Mar 22 20:26:00 1983 Re: Mole Removal We have never had a serious problem with moles but we did have a serious problem with another rodent, one year (gophers). Here in the S.F. Bay Area, there was a wooden box trap available with an interesting modification from the ordinary box trap found everywhere over the past 30 years. There was a gap (1/4" or so) where the back met the top (rather than the usual pencil-sized hole in the center of the back), and covering this gap was a metal plate, which kept light from getting in, but allowed for a stream of air. The object of this trap is that the rodents go hunting for the stream of air and Zap! ... instant success. It has been so successful for us, that we eliminated the gopher population completely in 2 weeks with only one trap. Another recommendation would be to use "Gopher Plant"...a euphorbia species. I'm not sure if it grows everywhere, but it is readily accessible in northern California, and reseeds itself. Supposedly, you can plant these things 10 ft apart to rid your area of moles and gophers, but I'd be inclined to say 3 ft. apart. (The reason I say supposedly is that I haven't seen any signs of gophers or moles in our yard since our last erradication program, and we just happen to have a high population of gopher plants.) Like most members of the spurge family, the plant has a sticky white sap which is most irritating to the skin and is supposed to excrete a substance into the soil which repels rodents. A word of caution: like all other members of the spurge family, it is poisonous to children who put it in their mouths so proper precautions should be used. Dave Olson at Fortune Systems
olson (03/25/83)
#N:fortune:23900003:000:1644 fortune!olson Mar 24 21:45:00 1983 Re: Mole Removal We have never had a serious problem with moles but we did have a serious problem with another rodent, one year (gophers). Here in the S.F. Bay Area, there was a wooden box trap available with an interesting modification from the ordinary box trap found everywhere over the past 30 years. There was a gap (1/4" or so) where the back met the top (rather than the usual pencil-sized hole in the center of the back), and covering this gap was a metal plate, which kept light from getting in, but allowed for a stream of air. The object of this trap is that the rodents go hunting for the stream of air and Zap! ... instant success. It has been so successful for us, that we eliminated the gopher population completely in 2 weeks with only one trap. Another recommendation would be to use "Gopher Plant"...a euphorbia species. I'm not sure if it grows everywhere, but it is readily accessible in northern California, and reseeds itself. Supposedly, you can plant these things 10 ft apart to rid your area of moles and gophers, but I'd be inclined to say 3 ft. apart. (The reason I say supposedly is that I haven't seen any signs of gophers or moles in our yard since our last erradication program, and we just happen to have a high population of gopher plants.) Like most members of the spurge family, the plant has a sticky white sap which is most irritating to the skin and is supposed to excrete a substance into the soil which repels rodents. A word of caution: like all other members of the spurge family, it is poisonous to children who put it in their mouths so proper precautions should be used. fortune!olson