Can you get close enough to them to dispatch them with a compound bow or crossbow? Regards Jeff
Oh Yeah! When they are busy digging, you can slowly walk right up to within 15 or 20 feet of them before they begin to move away. Last night, I walked around the yard about 10:30, before I went to bed, and found another doing its thing. This time I had my 9mm Ruger with me, as a .22 is almost to small to pop them with one shot. The 9mm did the trick with one shot. This morning, I walked around the perimeter of the yard, and found their "hotel" right at the edge of the forest. They had a hole dug that was about a foot in diameter, and dirt spread all over the place from creating their Nest. I gathered a bunch of twigs and sticks, filled the hole with dry wood, dumped a pint of diesel fuel on the sticks and lit it. I watched closely for any smoke escaping nearby, in case they had a "back door". I saw nothing, so after letting it burn, I got the tractor and landscape rake, and filled in the "cavern", and mashed the tunnel down...it stretched for about 12 to 15 feet. These pests are rather large...about the size of a small dog, and weigh 10 to 15 pounds. Hopefully, if they were home taking their daytime nap, the smoke, and diesel fuel asphyxiated them, and mashing their tunnel with the tractor should have collapsed their home. I'll find out over the next few nights if this does the trick.
About the only thing I found on the Internet that was of potential value was to spread gobs of mothballs or ammonia all over the area. However, since I keep almost 2 acres mowed, it would probably cost a couple thousand dollars to get enough odor causing chemicals spread to chase them off....and then filling the entire area with toxic fumes. Getting rid of earthworms and grubs would be equally fruitless and costly.
Living in the boondocks has its challenges, but I would rather have to contend with critters invading the garden and yard, than putting up with the Human Scum that fills the daily news reports in most of the cities.