Project #5: Moles on Parade*
* (Apologies to Rage Against the Machine)
This little bugger, or actually this late little bugger, I've decided to call "Satan." It was making a huge mess of my backyard. It was 7.5 inches long and weighed 5 oz. Is that a record?
After trying three different types of trap, "gopher gassers" (which are a ripoff -- only 2% rodenticide), and a good old-fashioned pitchfork, I finally got 'im! The harpoon trap recommended by the Purdue University Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory was the key. (A good thing, too, as I was contemplating the construction of a doomsday device consisting of an IR pair wired to trigger a .410 shotgun shell... .)
I hope this was the only one, but from what I've read it's unlikely. This one didn't appear to be female; I'm not sure whether to be relieved or worried.
Late-breaking update: It's been three weeks now with no mole-related activity. I guess Satan was a loner... .
Even later-breaking update: Another one moved in. I named it "Beelzebub" -- posthumously, of course.