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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
I've researched the pocket gophers cause I've been battling them for 2 years. They are evil creatures that will have you shooting at them from a bathroom window wearing only your underware in no time. My wife just starred at with that look they have of "What the hell are you doing?"
I've used the sleeper hold traps and did get one with that. But the gophers are really wiley. They used to bury my traps after shoving them further down the tunnel. I tied string/small rope to them so I could retrieve the trap. But I had to tear up more yard to dug up the burried traps.
Smoke bombs don't work. My gophers were clean gophers so they'd take the empty smoke bomb back up to the surface so I could dispose of it.
Here is a link to the Rodenator. It's the ultimate gopher killing tool. I got really close to spending the money for it!! Oh so close!!
I did use poisoned food for the ones closest to the house. I made a gopher feeder out of a funnel and plastic tubing. I dug out the tunnel and inserted the tube so the food would be down in the tunnel. I then carefully closed the tunnel back up. I haven't had any activity in the two spots I tried this. I haven't had time to feed the rest of the gophers.
Google "pocket gophers" and you'll come up with other links. Iowa State and UC Davis offer tips on "management" of the problem. I'll post more links.
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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
Pocket gopher info from UC Davis
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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
From Nebraska.
I hate these rodents. I know how mad they will drive you. My dog has killed at least 4 that I know of. Also 2 moles. I'll post the mole story some other time. Hint - never whack a mole with a shovel if you don't want to wear the guts.
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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
Murf, the pitchfork traps work good for moles. I've got pocket gophers who holes are typically 12-24 inches below the surface. My dog kills moles no problem. They don't stand a chance against her psychotic need to kill. She struggles with the gophers due to the depth of their holes and their extensive tunnel network. They spend the majority of their time undergound.
I tried the exhaust trick. Didn't faze them. True pocket gophers are used to living in low oxygen. Using water on pocket gophers is hard due to their extensive tunnel network. If you look at the research done, the tunnel systems can cover an incredible area.
The traps I used had two interlaced fingers that came apart called a Macabee trap. They are triggered by a plate when a gopher moves through a tunnel and they rotate about 90 degrees in impale the gopher in the sides. I've only gotten one gopher with this method.
The best method I found was the poison. It's about $5 and basically is poison impregnated food. If you have mounds with no clear hole, then you have pocket gophers. They plug the end of the hole. You can use a skinny rod to poke around the dirt mound or just clear away the dirt and you'll see the plug. Use the rod to poke through the plug and find the hold direction. Then you can dig that up to place traps or food. You'll need to follow that short tunnel as it's a branch to the main tunnel. The main tunnel is where you want to place the trap or poison.
They are very warry critter that are very sensitive to having their holes messed with. If you mess with a section and you didn't kill them, they'll just block it off and never use it again. Of course, that means they need new tunnels, further driving you towards madness.
I can appreciate Hardwood's dad. If I had the D4 bulldozer I've agreed to buy from my wife's uncle back in December, I'd have torn up the entire 8 acres of land that is not in CRP. The yard would have been toast and the wife mad, but the gophers would have been dead.
The link is to the Iowa State extension office gopher info. It shows how their tunnel systems work and how their mounding system works. Study your enemy. Know how he thinks. It also includes several traps at least one of which you can make yourself. Good luck. The weather is nice tonight so I think I'll go feed some gophers.
Here gopher gopher!! Free food!!
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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
Remember, gophers are satan's minions. They are devious and hard to kill. Good luck.
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Pocket Gophers Gone Wild
Murf, that would be a site to see!! I thought my dog was psychotic about killing rodents. Geez. Course, she almost got the neightbors cat. The cat never came back after that incident. Maybe I should get a Jack Russell... But I already have to hook up the loader on the 4310 and go around this weekend and fill in the potholes the dog has dug going after gophers. I don't know what I'd do with two dogs that do that.
My other dog is a black lab. He's not the brightest student on the special bus. He killed a rock once. That rock wasn't going anywhere. He guarded that rock for at least 30 minutes just in case it moved again.
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