Pocket Gopher Management
Noe I will
today
talk to go for the one of nature's greatest earth movers Terry him better
than the garbage in urs
hi I might ask him vertebrate pest management specialist with Washington
State University
during the next few minutes we're going to see what Gophers look right
where and how they live and when they become a problem
how they can be effectively controlled pocket gophers are not always a problem
or do they become a past in natural environment
pocket gophers are useful in reducing soil erosion
in a reading the soil to great depths the extensive girl systems allow water
to penetrate far below the soil surface
the deeper soils are continuously makes them brought to the surface
where they are deposited is dark crescent shape or a horseshoe-shaped
mounds mount along with dead plants
are indicators that pocket gophers are active
in a specific area all pocket gophers have start bodies
are short legged half-blood heads prominent yellow incisor or front chief
and large deep for line cheek pouches on the side to their face in which they can
carry food
go for spend most of their time beneath the soil surface and are generally
active all year
they do on occasion forage above ground particularly around the borough opening
where they can quickly escape if they are threatened me also my grade above
ground in the fall to New Territories
when their current habitat has become too crowded well which would become
scares
pocket gophers also migrate and develop new burrow systems because they are
solitary animals
the only time that more than one animal is found in one burrow systems during
breeding season
generally once in the northern United States and Canada and two or three times
in the southern US and Mexico
and when young are being raised by the female males are chased away by the
female soon after the parade
as i indicated several species a pocket gophers are widely distributed
throughout the United States
in studies where the animals are watched in class chambers
Gophers were able to dig three feet of tunneling loose soil
in about minutes
the natural conditions these animals media can occupy as much as eight
hundred feet of tunnels on perot's
one time
most burrows are two to three inches in diameter parallel to the ground
and depending on the type of soil can be found at different depths
shallow feeding burrows are sometimes found two to four inches beneath the
soil surface
nests and food caches are generally Doug
eight-inches' saucers in colder climates
where the top to inches on the soil might freeze
deep winter nests and food caches will be built to inches below the
surface
win Gophers become a problem
or past three types who control measures can be used
either biological mechanical or chemical biological control
is a long term solution that includes predator management and habitat
modification
nature's own control agents predators
can be encouraged by changing some other habitat in the affected area
quickly grown fence rows in hedges can be grown along the feeble borders
to encourage weasels foxes skunks coyotes
and many other four-legged carnivores trees
in which birds of prey such as hawks and owls can nest in roost
can be planted and preserved where France rose in trees cannot be quickly
grown
or where they might interfere with the growing crop perching polls and nesting
boxes can be directed to help attract the birds to the site
another often overlooked control method that uses a simple biological principal
is for its removal the simple process of eliminating the animals food source with
either a plow
herbicides or crop rotation is often enough to eliminate a problem
government so however often requires immediate attention particularly where
high value crops ornamental
runner ornamental are involved when this is the case
direct control procedures become appropriate and effective
if a few basic concepts are followed go for it or the most effective in the fall
after the first heavy rains and wanna go for their most active
spring control can also be attempted
if the population is small and there's a slight chance
ivory invasion summer weather control program for doing a counterproductive
and lecithin to cook by a climate the target area should be smaller
so the entire population be treated one time and if necessary
pre-treated third the appropriate technology
should be selected for the fis and intensity the population
finding the Gophers is easy all you have to do is find a fresh mound and dig a
hole at the open end to the horseshoe
but the holes are open
a variety of control methods can be used the birth with him a Geisha
exhaust from diesel or leaded gasoline engines can be used to fumigate a
borough system
it is however time-consuming and may not kill many of the animals if you have not
closed up
all of the holes a less time consuming but
expensive method used to use gas cartridges like the one here
again all the exits must be close so that the gas doesn't escape
humans are only effective in tightly compacted wet soil such as clay or clay
loam with the gas can escape from the borough system
gassed tablets are slow or acting
tablets are placed into each borough covered with water to activate them and
dry soil
and then sealed into the chamber with wanted paper and dirt
wanted paper keeps the Gopher from pushing the tablets outer borough when
they find them
none other gases are affected in loose dry sandy or sandy loam soils
gas is used in the soils will rapidly spread into the surrounding soil
and not throughout the tunnel system where it's the most effective
a more effective control method particularly on small populations are
traps
traps can be used when we have only a few animals to catch
or are concerned about other animals that might be affected by the use of
chemicals such as the ones we just talked about
the right trap practice and look patients however are required
traps used for rats mice and larger mammals
do not work with Gophers the Gopher must be caught in their burrows were space is
limited
to effective gopher traps are the box
and the Maccabi both abuse trap should be placed in the main burrows six to
eight inches below the ground with the Gophers most active each day
each trap should be placed well back into the whole
and then secured to a steak with wire chain so that it cannot be pulled into
the borough by a dying animal
or carried off by a scavenger trap should be checked and reset two or three
times a day
until all the animals have been caught if you are not sure about your success
leave the holes
open for a day and then recheck them if the holes have been closed
go for is still alive well and living off the land
or the population
becomes quite large tapping be camp very time consuming
when this occurred member all turns a possible while the most common
Jan affected our boys Bates
G one typeof baits are waxed green bars treated with anti-coagulant chemicals
that have been developed and tested
to Western universities beat bars are a safe and easy to use method designed
when there are too many animals to trap
and wear cute or highly toxic Bates cannot or do not want to be used
after the bars have been placed into the bros and covered with soil
they become a semi-permanent bait station that will last for several
months
or until the wax that holds the block together slips away
and the bar dissolves babe article filmed over
a short period time Germany seven to days beat bars like these carrots are
moved to the nest or food cash by the Gophers where they become a short term
reservoir of poison bait for any animal that moves into the borough system
after the current resident has been killed the treated area should be
checked every two weeks
and where activity rikers new bait bars inserted into the tunnel
the way it really go for the use poison bait answer to a whole or with a
machine and said the hole with a shovel
a sharp Marauder probe can be inserted
at the open horse you enter the mount and tell
the runway is brown once the
runways been found the probe was pulled out turned over
reinserted rotated slightly and large the whole
a teaspoon obeyed is then dropped into the borough
and the whole gently close to the cloud of dirt or leaves
if not properly close the Gopher attracted by the fresh air and sunlight
will plug up the hole and in the process cover the bait
another way to treat Gophers is to use a bit dispenser
after debate has been dropped into the bros never stop on the whole like I'm
doing here
the loose soil from the whole will cover the bait and the Gopher will not find
them
the most common go for Bates are strychnine treated oats barley corn and
Milo
control can generally be accomplished in to hours
anti-coagulant treated grain and pelletized baits are also available
they are also very effective if used properly but take longer
and sometimes require multiple applications before the animals can be
controlled
as with all anti-coagulant chemicals registered for agricultural use
the targeted species must feed on the treated Bates continuously for several
days
often five to seven or more before they die berle building machines are designed
to place lethal quantities of one-and-a-half to two pounds abroad at
aside per acre beneath the soil surface
artificial tunnels are generally placed a - to -foot
intervals to intersect active burrow systems Calder cuts through the saw dan
rutz in front of a plow share and slotted torpedo
to Packer wheels compact the soil behind a plow share and over the torpedo
while measuring treated grain through a spring activate a trapdoor
treated grains in supply tanker dropped into the hollow tube behind the PLO
share
and into the slot a torpedo where there left for the Gopher to feed on
borough builders can be effective for large and extensive populations if the
following steps are taken
first check the soil moisture conditions are just right when the soil holds
together without crumbling or dripping water
soils that are too dry or two wet will not build good artificial tunnels
second find the average depth
love natural Bros Wii if either a probe or shovel
then set the Dept the torpedo by adjusting the height to the Packer
wheels
so that the artificial tunnels will be at the same depth as the borough's
next scepter Coulter deeper than the torpedo
if this isn't set properly like this machine
a large trench filled with broken roots rather than a clean title will be plowed
through the soil
finally adjust the spring-loaded metering gained so that the right amount
of data supplied with each revolution at the Packer we'll
strychnine treated grain Bates generally work best
anti-coagulant reed green Bates may also be effective
pelletized Bates should be avoided this machine it has been very important
modifications made to it
as we've seen on the orderly are machined they had strayed shanks which
gave us some problems
this one has a shank that has been billed out and longer angle
the to has been extended and also has a beacon the bottom
the other important modification is that has
to spring systems the first is a spring-loaded Coulter that allows it to
ride over rocks in large routes without breaking
the leading edge into plowshares has also been changed
this forces the uncut roots up to the top so that they do not ball up and
destroy the artificial tunnel
the third modification has been to replace the shear pin with the tractor
club this that unlocks when the torpedo hits a stationary object
all these modifications have increased the efficiency of the borough builder
particularly in rocky soils and forests like any method
the machine application abroad and asides has its advantages
and disadvantages the major advantages that lethal amount to return to sites
can be efficiently placed
at the proper depth over a large area in a relatively short period of time
the major disadvantage
is that these machines may promote go for infestations if they're not used
properly
in any control program few populations are completely exterminated
most control programs are successful if the number of animals are reduced by
eighty-five percent or more when bro builders who used to like in this
orchard on the left
onto the colonies are connected by the artificial tunnels
animals that have not been killed during the treatment can quickly invade the
open burrow systems through the artificial tunnels
invading animals from untreated border populations can also
re in fast the treated shield through the artificial tunnels that can last as
long as two or three years
within a short period the entire site can be completely reinvested
and the process repeated to modifications can be used to keep this
from happening
one is to insert beat bars in the artificial tunnels to kill any invading
animals
another is to pull the brawl builder how to the ground between infested areas or
in large infestations
every to feet if done properly and moist soils the torpedo will slide
how to the ground after the Packer wheels have stopped turning
so that no poison grains are exposed to other animals
this should not be done in dry soils because the tunnels will collapse
or the torpedo will rip out the last few feet and expose the bait
finally after you think you work is done check it out
each area should be monitored for survivors and immigrants
before walking away from a treated mound kick it over
new mount should be treated as soon as they appear and not left until next year
colonies had a chance to grow
during the last few minutes you've had a chance to see would go first look like
where and how they live and why it's important as one of the world's greatest
excavators
you've also seen how biological approaches such as habitat management
can be used to achieve long-term results you have also been introduced to a
variety of direct management techniques
these have been fumigants using carbon monoxide gas cartridges and tablets
traps bait stations direct beating
with probes and dispensers and borough building machines
all these management practices and techniques require patience and
perseverance
with time however they will provide you with effective control
the hope that these heads have been helped
don't
do
do
