Burrow blasters,and jumping on the mole catching bandwagon

[logun 91]

Burrow blasters may only legally be used in UNOCCUPIED tunnel systems after a clearance treatment has been completed. However whats to say thers no other animals using the tunnels like weasels, mice, voles etc. They are a horrendous invention that should never have been allowed for use in th UK.

 

Yes and the use of alley phos gas is a much better way to die??

 

No dig intended, but defra and natural england reccomend the use of gas to vacate occupied runs before blasting.

And we all know how successfull that method is!!

 

I have one of these devices and yes i use it, For the removal of tunnel systems.

I trap more than my fair share of moles, using traditioanl teqhniques and have done for a good number of years. Molecatching makes up probably % of my work.

The tunnel blaster adds to the service i offer, some want it some dont but by the time it comes into use i will have already made my wage trapping out first.

Yes i agree it can be open to abuse but its here and like it or not these devices will continue to be uesd.

 

It will be a long time before i see a return in the cash outlayed for this device, to be honest i may never.

 

It will certainly not replace molecatching and any fly by nights which pop up hoping to make a living using one of these devices wont last long.The proof is always in the pudding.

 

 

At no point did i say ali phos a good way to control moles. I NEVER use it as it does not work that well, i use traps and get the body in the trap which is handy to prove it's dead!

 

I can't see the point in collapsing mole runs, the gophor tunnels they are designed for maybe but not moles.

[Foxy09 3]

They do have there advantages but thats a horse im not backing on here with all the prejudice. Each to their own.

As to the clients who dont want it, they dont get it. It is not a service that gets thrust upon somebody.

 

Logun, if you were using the device within accordance of the guidelines and had gassed/trapped and kept records whats the issue?

(other than the inconvenience).

 

You would think that being a user of these devices you would like to put forward what you feel are the advantages to try and give others a better understanding and therefor possibly end some prejudices. But since you do not feel the need to share i will have a stab in the dark for you. You give a client a price for Mole trapping and you give the client a price for Mole trapping with "burrow collapsing" to stop "re-infestation"??? Im guessing the customers who do not take it are the ones who have either used this "benefit" before or ones which are completely clueless and take everything you say at face value. To put it bluntly the only advantage is to your pocket. pure and simple.

[moxy 617]

Rattatack you didnt make no reference to ali phos, its just a point i thought i would highlight, appologies if it got your back up.

 

Right then, flogging a dead horse, here we go;

 

After giving some thought and looking into the various devices on the market we decided to purchase one of the tunnel collapsing macines, with a clear idea of what we were hoping to achive.

 

We have not advertised and told the world we have a tunnel blaster nor have we pushed this service upon any client.

 

We took delivery of the device in october of last year for use in problem areas (moles) on our own land, with the view to trying it out on other areas around the farm, ie rat runs.

 

The moles were trapped out as they are every year(and have been since 1956) and we collapsed as many runs as it was possible to find, yes with the hope of "no re-infestation".

As to the success of the device, we will just have to wait and see. It will be more than likely that these opperations will have to be carried out time and again in order to achieve our aim. So be it, time will tell.

On a certain area of the farm which is prone to moles time and again, after collapsing the runs in december there have been no signs of re-infestation to date.

 

We have used our device on two other farms with a look to achiveing results in the long term. These farms were willing to try this method with the understanding that it may not work, no claims of success have been made niether have any promises!

 

Word of mouth within the farming community will either be the making or undoing of this device. As to clueless farmers? They arent daft!

 

So in the long term our device and methods may work, however there is also the likeleyhood that it wont and as i have already said i am optomistic that we will see a return on our purchase.

£1600 for the device and £150 a year for gasses its a fair wedge.

 

Now the bit your all wanting to read, the cons.

 

Since our purchase in october we have had 2 further replacements of our device, the engineering on these machines is shocking! and the customer service is lousy.

The gas hoses are flimsy and they kink and block the flow of gas very easily.

The gas doesent flow and penetrate deep enough within the tunnel system in a first attempt, despite the manufacturers claims. What generally happens is you create a gas pocket and end up with a localised explosion, rather than a well distributed one.

If the ground is wet you dont get collapse just sods flying.

The warranty on the machine doesent cover it for personal gain for use in pest control.

 

These machines are no use on shallow runs and its very time consuming locating the deeper runs, why you would be using this device logun on a pristine lawn i will never know

In fairness if i am honest they have very limited use for the control of moles.

As to the benefits of this device within the mole control industry it will remain to be seen but we are trying and it may prove to be a usefull tool but it no way supasses the manufacturers claims and yes will be open to abuse.So far it has worked for us but as i say the results may be short lived.

 

Hope this satisfies you foxy, and in future please dont surmise for me.

[ratattack 111]

Rattatack you didnt make no reference to ali phos, its just a point i thought i would highlight, appologies if it got your back up.

 

Right then, flogging a dead horse, here we go;

 

After giving some thought and looking into the various devices on the market we decided to purchase one of the tunnel collapsing macines, with a clear idea of what we were hoping to achive.

 

We have not advertised and told the world we have a tunnel blaster nor have we pushed this service upon any client.

 

We took delivery of the device in october of last year for use in problem areas (moles) on our own land, with the view to trying it out on other areas around the farm, ie rat runs.

 

The moles were trapped out as they are every year(and have been since 1956) and we collapsed as many runs as it was possible to find, yes with the hope of "no re-infestation".

As to the success of the device, we will just have to wait and see. It will be more than likely that these opperations will have to be carried out time and again in order to achieve our aim. So be it, time will tell.

On a certain area of the farm which is prone to moles time and again, after collapsing the runs in december there have been no signs of re-infestation to date.

 

We have used our device on two other farms with a look to achiveing results in the long term. These farms were willing to try this method with the understanding that it may not work, no claims of success have been made niether have any promises!

 

Word of mouth within the farming community will either be the making or undoing of this device. As to clueless farmers? They arent daft!

 

So in the long term our device and methods may work, however there is also the likeleyhood that it wont and as i have already said i am optomistic that we will see a return on our purchase.

£1600 for the device and £150 a year for gasses its a fair wedge.

 

Now the bit your all wanting to read, the cons.

 

Since our purchase in october we have had 2 further replacements of our device, the engineering on these machines is shocking! and the customer service is lousy.

The gas hoses are flimsy and they kink and block the flow of gas very easily.

The gas doesent flow and penetrate deep enough within the tunnel system in a first attempt, despite the manufacturers claims. What generally happens is you create a gas pocket and end up with a localised explosion, rather than a well distributed one.

If the ground is wet you dont get collapse just sods flying.

The warranty on the machine doesent cover it for personal gain for use in pest control.

 

These machines are no use on shallow runs and its very time consuming locating the deeper runs, why you would be using this device logun on a pristine lawn i will never know

In fairness if i am honest they have very limited use for the control of moles.

As to the benefits of this device within the mole control industry it will remain to be seen but we are trying and it may prove to be a usefull tool but it no way supasses the manufacturers claims and yes will be open to abuse.So far it has worked for us but as i say the results may be short lived.

 

Hope this satisfies you foxy, and in future please dont surmise for me.

 

 

No offence taken or intended mate.

 

seems to be more cons than pros with those blasters then.

[moxy 617]

I guess so,but they do have there uses, provided the conditions are A1 and your unit works

[Ideation 8,216]

Those burrow blasters are f*****g evil, you will agree when you see someone use it on inhabited rabbit/rat runs.

[Foxy09 3]

So to summarise you use the device to stop re-infestation by collapsing the burrows ok ive got that much. So that would be along the idea of a mole or moles would be discouraged on entering a piece of land because there are no mole runs there?

A clever mole or maybe just your average mole actually might find it much easier to burrow through soil which has been freshly blown up, just a thought.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Foxy09

[moxy 617]

Perhaps so, or they might continue to follow the drain lines or even travel above ground, who knows.

Hopefully the results will speak for themselves.

[morton 5,368]

If a yorkshire lad puts that amount of outlay out,he won't rest easy until he's clawed it back.

[TOMO 26,222]

a gamekeeper freind of mine went to a demo of one of these by a rep,,, 7 other farmers were there.

to cut a long story short,,, by the end of the morning 2 rats had bolted, from difrent burrows after the explosion,,, and the very last burrow of the day ,,, a fox bolted, again after the explosion the rep said dont wory it will be dead soon my mate said to me the fox was running full tilt and no way was it going to die,,, wich he was pleased about.... also after all this blasting the guy was running round filling in the entrance holes.. my mate questioned this saying isnt this machine supposed to collaps the burrow.

 

no body there bought one

[logun 91]

a gamekeeper freind of mine went to a demo of one of these by a rep,,, 7 other farmers were there.

to cut a long story short,,, by the end of the morning 2 rats had bolted, from difrent burrows after the explosion,,, and the very last burrow of the day ,,, a fox bolted, again after the explosion the rep said dont wory it will be dead soon my mate said to me the fox was running full tilt and no way was it going to die,,, wich he was pleased about.... also after all this blasting the guy was running round filling in the entrance holes.. my mate questioned this saying isnt this machine supposed to collaps the burrow.

 

no body there bought one