Varmits

[Shuto]

I just discovered that a groundhog has made a burrow in my vegitable garden. From what I've read, I need to address this situation now before it grows biggers since they can be very distructive towards both gardens and house foundations.

I've read about non-lethal methods of warding them off, in fact, I am going to try either mothballs or ammonia soaked rags, but I am not optimistic for their success. Also, I am leary of using a trapping method since there are skunks in the neighborhood. Ultimately, I suspect I will need to kill them.

That leads to my problem. I have a shotgun and a .22 rifle but the neighborhood has grown over the years to a point where using these guns wouldn't be my first choice. In fact, I suspect that it is illegal to discharge them. There are houses ~100 ft from my house on either side of me so even if there isn't a law prohibiting the discharge of firearms I really wouldn't want to use them.

So, here is my question. Do you think that some kind of pellet gun would work? Do you think it would be safer than a shotgun? If yes to both, any suggestions? Any other thoughts?

 

[Cryozombie]

Some kind of pellet gun would work. As long as it had the velocity. Typical Wal-mart crossman air rifles probably ain't gonna work.

If you aren't concerned with neighborhood pets you could poison it?

 

[Grenadier]

Cryozombie's right.

A good quality pellet gun will do the job for small varmits, but don't go cheap on it.

An RWS 350 .22 pellet gun would be a great choice, and cost around the upper 300's. 950 fps out of that .22 pellet.

If you can't afford that, the RWS 34 launches a .22 pellet at 800 fps. Still a respectable performance, and costs around the mid 200's.

 

[KenpoTex]

a good pellet-gun would work, another option is to get some .22 shorts or some of the Collibri (sp?) rounds that don't have a powder-charge, just a hot primer. They're extremely quiet (quieter than many pellet-guns) and will kill small animals at close range (20 yards or so) if you make a good hit.

 

[arnisador]

Nonlethal methods have failed for our yard moles...but they're too small to shoot!

 

[Deaf Smith]

Napalm? Hydrogen cyanide? Mini-Claymore? Or maybe just a small box mine. My favorite is a remote control mini-dunebuggy with a nanny-cam and a couple of M-80s attached.

You said all non-lethal. Have you tried a waterhose down the hole?

Ok, if push comes to shove a good .22 cal. gas pellet gun will do if you have the patience. But it's just as illegal to fire a pellet gun in the city as it is a real cartridge gun. And if you can legally do it, just use a .22 rifle with shorts.

Otherwise, how about a mole trap? There are seveal types.

http://www.themoletrap.com/
http://www.victorpest.com/mole_gopher_products.htm (lots of types)
http://www.molepro.com/
http://www.garden.com/item/moletox-mole-trap-unit/
http://www.nomol.com/

and more!

Or you could just use a MOAB. You do know what a MOAB is, right?

Deaf

 

[arnisador]

The traps have failed us! The hose has too. Claymores might work, but my neighbor is old and slow-moving.

 

[chinto]

well granulated Castor oil will tend to drive moles off.. and Castor oil in the hole i hear they do not like... and poison gas in the hole will tend to get em too.

 

[Shuto]

FYI, although I also have moles, my concern in this post is groundhogs.


I'll need to check on the firearm restrictions. I didn't consider that they might also restrict pellet guns. We don't live in the city, at least as I define it, but that doesn't mean that they haven't created laws limiting such weapons. We have a three acre zoning where I live and some of us have more than that.

It's too bad that my bow hunting skills aren't good enough to do the job. ;-) I know those are legal where I live.

 

[Shuto]

a good pellet-gun would work, another option is to get some .22 shorts or some of the Collibri (sp?) rounds that don't have a powder-charge, just a hot primer. They're extremely quiet (quieter than many pellet-guns) and will kill small animals at close range (20 yards or so) if you make a good hit.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of these. Thanks.

 

[KenpoTex]

here ya go: http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=AU1B222337

 

[Shuto]

FWIW, on the day I started this poll I put some moth crystals in the hole and covered it with a steel plate. I saw the groundhog right after I did this so he was not in the hole. I had seen the groundhog ~3 times in the week since I discovered the hole and I have not seen him since. The hole is undisturbed.

I am confident he has moved. The question is where to?

 

[girlbug2]

I don't know about groundhogs (aren't they huge?) but around here the problem is pocket gophers. The popular method of dealing with them is poison corn. But I have an organic solution: a good hunting cat.

My part siamese male cat is an exceptional hunter. From spring through fall he brings in at least one varmint (gopher, mouse, rat, mole) every night. The bonus is, he eats them almost completely and it appears that his high protein diet is great for his teeth and his health.

Of course you can never know for sure if your kitten will turn out to be a good hunter, but it helps to get known breeds for that purpose (some cats are definitely more talented than others, such as the Siamese mixes).