Hotrodder wrote: ↑Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:24 pm
Now I just need to find some equivalent that will deal with moles.
At our last place, moles were a nightmare. I found the most successful way to get rid of them was putting slices of pigs liver dipped in alpha-Chloralose powder - like poisoned worms. It was no problem when we had border collies who didn't dig but when we got the Aussie shepherds, it was a different matter so I had to stop doing it.
We have the odd mole here and use the metal traps which seem to do the trick. But we're not inundated with them here.
Hotrodder wrote: ↑Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:31 pm
Very interesting post mon ami. I have been using a pair of detaupers for a few years now and they only occasionally get one. I leave them primed and in place for 3 or 4 days and then move them to a new spot. Every morning I wake to find between 12 and 50 new hills, quite often quite close (both sides) of a live trap. Apart from the crazy price of the units I must have spent well over €100 euros on replacement charges. Before that I tried two types of wire spring traps, poisons, brambles, broken glass, petrol, diesel & sump oil mixes, old distress flares, fireworks, and hooking up my tractor exhaust to fumigate the runs. If someone would like to earn some beer money I will pay (per mole) for proper results. I called a "professional" mole man and he wanted €75 up front with no guarantee of success.
Failing that, can anyone offer a cheap deal on enough concrete to cover about 6,000 sq. metres of grass?
Hmmm...must admit I didn't get 100% success rate first time, every time, but after checking the batteries and re-reading the precise instructions for where and how to place them (IIRC it's in a penultimate hole in the run and important to clear loose soil away so there's plenty of daylight), it took on average 10 minutes to work. Do you wear gloves? Do you leave the bodies in situ? Can only suggest you keep an eye open for promos on petards! Brittany's a bit far else I'd willingly give you a hand. Not with the concreting, though. Done more than enough of that over the years
I've shown this home made detauper before but maybe worth repeating.
It uses bird shot cartridges which are lots cheaper than the normal petards & are easy to buy if you have a gun permit of know a friendly chasseur.
I've seen that design before on another forum. I like it a lot but have no access to ammunition.
The poisoned offal idea might have legs if I could find the chemical and didn't have a dog who would dig it up.
Humanity landed on the moon over fifty years ago but it seems too much to ask for a reliable telephone/internet service in rural France.
@Hotrodder We always cover the area where the metal traps are, because the gallery is exposed but it also stops the dogs sniffing around. We probably only get one or two moles at a time and the metal traps from Gamm Vert work well.
Anything to do with Wildlife in France, from insects to birds and moles.