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Burrowing animals a problem
I generally have a booth directly across from the inventor of the Rodenator at Empire Farm Days, he has some interesting stories. It appears that the quantity of propane is a bit of a guess, even with his expensive machine given you really don't know the volume of the chuck hole.
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Burrowing animals a problem
I would be very suspicious of this method. Growing up on a farm in southern Idaho as a kid, I trapped hundreds of gophers. In those days, the farmer gave you $0.25 for each gopher tail and then you could take the tail to the local conservation office and get another 2 bits.
I learned all the tricks to catching gophers and sometimes when I ran into one that was too cagy to catch I would try to smoke him out. We had an old Massey Ferguson tractor that had a manual choke and we would hook up 3 inch flexible hose to the tractor muffler, pull out the choke and put the smoke to him. We would step back and could see exactly where his tunnels were by watching the smoke seep up through the ground. It was always amazing to see the complicated runs they made, how far they went and the many complex intersections.
In my opinion, by the time the gas mixture found it's way to where the little bugger actually lived, it would be too weak or not the right mixture to explode. And then you never know if you got him or not.
The only method I believe in is the trap. When he is in the trap and dead, you got him. Same with the moles we have here. All sorts of stupid concotions people sell to get rid of moles. But the only thing that I know that truly works is a trap. I get so obsessed with trapping the little buggers, I keep track of how many I kill every year with a grease pencil out on my fence. It's my wall of honor! My neighbors laugh at me, but I don't have any ugly mole hills any where on my 2 acres....or if I do, it's only for a day or two and then he is a grease mark on my fence! 
Brian
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Burrowing animals a problem
What's copper wool? Something like a Brillo scouring pad?
I built two different-style bat-houses, following authoritative instructions about design, materials, installation location, etc., to the letter. Not a single tenant in five years.
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Burrowing animals a problem
My father used to sit and watch for a mole run to show the soil lifting then sneak up on him and shoot into the ground with his twelve gauge. The neighbors were a bit wary of a ninety year old man shooting into the ground, but none of them called the cops. He dug up a couple to prove he got them.
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What's copper wool? Something like a Brillo scouring pad?I built two different-style bat-houses, following authoritative instructions about design, materials, installation location, etc., to the letter. Not a single tenant in five years.
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Yes, copper wool is just like steel wool except it's copper (or copper-brass) so it doesn't rust.
Like you, our bat house was built to the letter, painted black for our region, facing the right direction, and far from any tree branches or other things they don't like. Since bats like to roost in areas that have been used before I even bought some bat guano and spread it high up on the pole to attract them. Maybe I forgot the welcome mat.
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Maybe I forgot the welcome mat.
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That's exactly the problem Ken!!
Bats like 3 things in a nesting site; 1) a warm spot, 2) a safe spot, and 3) a spot near a good food source.
In your case you have bats, so there's food.
However, to nest in a warm spot, a bat house, even painted black, but out on a pole (in an effort to provide safety) will be too subject to drafts and cooling from the breeze. They will not use it, period, if it's drafty or cool. Try making a big wooden box, and inside the box put the bat house. This will protect them from the wind.
The best spot for a bat house is on the south face of a building and up under the eaves. Don't be afraid to put it on your house, they will nest in a nice box long before they will try to force a way into your house.
If you want the bats out of the attic, just blow them away, literally!!! Put a big barn vent fan at one end, and a grill at the other and blow a LOT of air through the attic. It will be cool and drafty and they will bugger off, and fast!!!
Best of luck.
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Burrowing animals a problem
Yep, the bat house is painted black and facing south but I'm sure it gets plenty of breeze. Building a big box around it sounds like it would cause a bird problem - either create a nesting site or a sounding board for woodpeckers (who I've already battled with once). Maybe extending the sides of the bat house down a few inches to add more wind protection would work?
Our house doesn't actually have an open attic - there are four gable ends but they're blocked off from each other and vented with ridge and mushroom vents. Not quite sure how to put a power vent on without it looking like a restaurant
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Gottcha!!
It might be a PITA to get power there, but there are powered vents that look just like the usual roof vents. See the link below.
In my experience it doesn't take much in the way of venting to make a better choice look like a MUCH better choice.
I suspect your best choice would be to paint the bat houses brown and put them right on the gable end themselves, then vent the attic to get them to move next door.
Just be sure to mount the bat house on a stand-off a little out off the house wall so that the bat guano drops to the ground instead of streaking down the wall.
Best of luck.
Link:
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Burrowing animals a problem
Thanks, Murf, I'll look into those. Power shouldn't be a problem, there's outlets and lights in every gable.
But I'd hire someone to install them. I'm too old and too chicken to work on a three story 12/12 roof
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Thanks, Murf, I'll look into those. Power shouldn't be a problem, there's outlets and lights in every gable.But I'd hire someone to install them. I'm too old and too chicken to work on a three story 12/12 roof |
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Or too wise..
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11-19-2008, 22:31 
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