On Aug 28, 6:17 am, "Ivan Vegvary" wrote:

...

. I once tried to get rid of gophers by letting propane
into their tunnel. I simply place a hose in their hole and opened the
propane bottle valve. Left it on for about 10 minutes then lit it with a
match. Got an initial small 'whoosh' upon lighting and it subsequently
burned for about 5-6 minutes. I got a small flame at my point of entry and
at two other remote sites (10-15 foot radius). Certainly no explosion and
plenty of time for the gopher(s) to get away.

Even if I come up with an explosive mixture, won't these critters simply
move on because of the odor? They'll probably be gone before I have a
chance to strike a match.


Why did you light it? The propane displaced the
oxygen in the hole so that if you had simply kicked
some dirt over the top the little buggers would have
asphyxiated. You could probably throw some dry ice
down the holes and cover them for a similar effect.

Propane is oderless to people. Dunno about gophers
but I doubt that many have had the hazardous atmosphere
training needed to recognize the hazard and evacuate.

There used to be a sort of gas grenade sold for killing
burrowing animals. These were chemical balls with
a wick. You'd light one, throw it down the hole and
cover it. ISTR they produced cyanide gas.

--

FF