Peanut bird feeders (re-enforced) a quality air rifle, a steady aim allied with a good eye should sort them out.
even with a pcp, good silencer, generation 4 cobra ir sight for darkness ( techy overkill but hey ho ) or the leopold for daytime and with a full suburban/treeline gillie suit there could be issues with that approach
i was considering " the nut cellar of doom " as one sneaky option, another was "something nasty in a tube" high up a tree where it would not be seen by folk.
ps having been robbed by a squizzer i recon Camembert is a pretty good bait as well as the nut based options.
shoot em at a bait station would be easy but the stealth involved to do it "privately" and risks of the full ARU/chopper response if the stealth failed just are not worth it.
i spose i could have a chat with the local firearms officer but i'm sure they would agree that shooting em was not on in that location even though it could be done safely with a buffalo gun, it could cause alarm and distress to delicate suburban folk even using a pea shooter.
That's the trouble isn't it Dpack. We find an air rifle out of the bedroom window quite effective, and not likely to be visible to delicate neighbours.
Bodger, are those traps more effective than the ones usually used in the UK? I have never had to bother with moles as we are on solid chalk, and even they don't burrow through that. We have them in the valley in the woods as the ground is heaving with worms and quite deep loose soil.
They are quite a bit more idiot proof than the Duffus and pincer type traps. and are extremely useful when you come across a three way junction. You simply stick one down each tunnel. You can't do that with the other traps.
They should be a lot cheaper over in France but this is the guy that I use.
They say that there's no fool like an old fool and to prove the point, I'll tell you what I did this afternoon.
Armed with my newly delivered putanges, I headed off across the fields to set my first ever traps of this design. I've done my home work and watched several video clips, so I was quite confident that I knew how to set them. What could possibly go wrong? In one of the videos, the guy had suggested taking a coloured spray to mark the grass where the traps had been placed. "That's a good idea" I thought, so before trekking off, I grabbed one of the marker cans that I use to mark my pigs.
I got to my first spot and set the first two putanges to perfection and then promptly sprayed the grass green !
as i read that i was half expecting some sort of comedy self trapping at least that was painless . good job you were not instructed to do it after dark for some reason of moley behaviour.
Marionb
Joined: 27 Aug 2006 Posts: 5267 Location: Mid-Wales
I would imagine you can see the paint from a greater distance than the pig under muddy conditions. We use pink, red or orange as we mainly mark trees, although green is sometimes used, but it is a very bright green.
Bungo
Joined: 21 Dec 2011 Posts: 354 Location: Wye Valley
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 17 9:31 am Post subject:
I use a stick to indicate where my traps are , cheaper and more green than a spray , or am I missing something ?
NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4618 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 17 1:31 pm Post subject:
Depends how prone you are to trip and impale yourself?
Sounds as if you need to have a stern word with the geese. Perhaps the green marker on the ground is better as they won't eat that.
Marionb
Joined: 27 Aug 2006 Posts: 5267 Location: Mid-Wales
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 17 10:41 am Post subject:
Have you caught any moles with the new traps yet, Bodger?
gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 2201 Location: Llanfyllin area
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 17 10:53 am Post subject:
Bodger, you must have left some slight mess on the surface to have a clue? Alternatives for the future- one is to leave a pile of fertiliser in a ring round the site of intended execution, another is to photograph or record it on the phone using a landmark in the background, and a friend to do the photo, and as a last resort plough the field with a strong magnet! Will keep you out of mischief for a while!