Builders foam mole control!!!!!!!

[comanche 2,909]

Dear Dierdre

Ok so I fell for it when someone told me that the word "gullable " had been deleted from the dictionary but I feel there could be some truth in this .

Customer -school teacher at a "good " school - told me that they spent a lot of money stabilising their sports field after the mole tunnels had made it a health hazard . He described a machine that criss-crossed the whole field and was equiped with sensors attatched to foam-pumping probes that detected hollows and tunnels under the surface and automatically pumped them full of what sounds like builder's expanding foam !

Did a Google ( gettin better at using the interweb thingy ) and came up with builder's foam being used in the USA as a backyard fix for gophers or suchlike . I've seen things where such stuff is pumped into a short section of mole-run ,allowed to set and is then dug-up and cleaned -off to illustrate the design of a mole's tunnel system as a study aid .

So I asked the obvious questions ,"Was it actually one of those nasty rodenator tunnel -busters ?"

" Did they trap the moles first ?"

" Are you sure it was'nt some relic of n old Illegal Cymag pump ?"

 

 

No ,the guy was not only adament that it was a foam pump but assures me that the pitches are now firm and mole -free. Maybe some device used by big proffesional Golf courses or soccer pitches ? So anyone else heard of this ??????

Or has April !st just come late for me.

Edited April 11, 2009 by comanche

[bignoel 14]

would it not cause the grass to discolour ? think you may of had your leg pulled foam filled lawn .rodenator would clear the tunnels and cave them in if enougth propane was used .

[comanche 2,909]

would it not cause the grass to discolour ? think you may of had your leg pulled foam filled lawn .rodenator would clear the tunnels and cave them in if enougth propane was used .

Yep , I asked about the quality of the pitches after treatment but he swore it was fine .

I obviously sounded like disbelieving so n so because he did agree to find out more for me when the school holidays end .

 

Another problem I would have thought ,would have been foam bubbling -up out of the ground where the mole hills had been ...

 

Maybe the operator was doing something a bit dodgy and "spun " the foam story to make it sound more acceptable ?.

 

Trouble is there is a grain of truth in it all as i know that such things have been done as part of studies into the mole's tunnel system .

 

Mind you , I've just put my favourite pair of combat trousers on and they seem a little short .

Edited April 11, 2009 by comanche

[bignoel 14]

good old jeyes fluid in the entrance to each hole leaveing the holes open doe's the trick

[shepp 2,285]

I don't like the idea of that expanding foam crap being pumped into the ground.

Would take hundreds of years to break down and leach chemicals into the ground while it does.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

good old jeyes fluid in the entrance to each hole leaveing the holes open doe's the trick

 

 

Noel,...have you got shares in Jeyes Fluid

[bignoel 14]

yeah 1% lol lol .no but honest it works

[badgeroy 3]

I would have thought that because the foam takes a while to expand it wouldnt be able to expand along the tunnel quick enough and would expand upwards and lift the turf, i maybe wrong ?

[Matt 160]

I remember years ago, someone on the TV pumping foam into a system of mole tunnels and then carefully digging it all out. Fascinating stuff.

 

I've never heard of it being used to control moles though, and I suspect that you are either having your leg pulled, or someone has 'blasted' the pitch and then rolled it.

 

Noel, Jeyes fluid doesn't work - I'm sure I'm not the only pro trapper on here that has seen lots of jobs where it has failed - it's also illegal, because it's not an approved repellent.

[comanche 2,909]

I remember years ago, someone on the TV pumping foam into a system of mole tunnels and then carefully digging it all out. Fascinating stuff.

 

I've never heard of it being used to control moles though, and I suspect that you are either having your leg pulled, or someone has 'blasted' the pitch and then rolled it.

 

Noel, Jeyes fluid doesn't work - I'm sure I'm not the only pro trapper on here that has seen lots of jobs where it has failed - it's also illegal, because it's not an approved repellent.

I'm keeping quiet on the Jeyes fluid debate but there are things that can be applied very successfully . Like hell am I going to give details . As Matt says there are legal considerations for a start even before you get onto environmental concerns . Oh no , you won't hear it from me .

Support your local mole-catcher !

 

Matt the Rat . I fear you could be right about the leg -pulling .Woke-up today and found that I am now well over 7 feet tall ! .

You've heard of the foam being used for studying the tunnels as well though .

One guy at least in America has put up a post about using the stuff to fill "chipmunk "burrows in his yard but even he admits to having mushrooms of foam solidified on the surface where it has oozed out of the ground .

I too suspect some sort of "spin " on the tunnelbuster theory. Checked out a couple of Sport's Pitch and Groundcare sites and found no mention

of foam or even a similar method . Did spot someone giving advice on how to beat the "flushing of burrows " rule on Rodentator use though .

Anyway ,I'm sure the teacher who told me about the supposed foam attack was in earnest,albeit a little mistaken but he has promised to find out more . If anything ineresting turns -up I shall bore you all with details . Cheers

Edited April 12, 2009 by comanche