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

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do

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