 |
|
|
Arizona Cooperative Extension Home
: Counties: Yavapai County Home: Horticulture: Pocket Gopher Pages |
|
 Pocket Gopher Control  Introduction  Pocket gophers can cause significant damage in urban landscapes and agricultural settings. Gophers may be controlled with varying success by trapping, gassing, poisoning, flooding, cultural methods, use of repellents, and exclusion. It becomes more difficult to control gophers once they have developed a network of burrows in an area. Daily monitoring for new activity is critical to damage prevention and successful control To effectively control. While lethal methods can seem cruel, they are the most effective. It is also important to remember that gophers perform valuable functions in wildland ecosystems. They aerate and redistribute soil, incorporate organic matter, and inoculate soil with beneficial microorganisms. TrappingBuy at least two traps and use two feet of wire to tie them to a common stake. Traps should be set in pairs. Using a probe to find a main tunnel, excavate and expose the burrow. Set each trap and insert it well into the tunnel and cover the hole so that no light enters the tunnel. When gophers see light, they start pushing soil. This may trigger the trap without catching the gopher. Traps should be checked and reset daily until gophers are caught and no new mounds appear. Live Trapping Some gardeners are opposed to killing any unwanted garden visitors, so they resort to live trapping and releasing the animal in another location. Live trapping is not practical for use on gophers due to their burrowing habits. A few words of caution about live trapping of any nuisance wildlife: the released animal has been removed from familiar territory and food sources and may die as a result. In many cases, these animals die a more inhumane death than if a lethal trap had been used. Fumigants Gas cartridges are readily available from nurseries and hardware stores. Unfortunately, they are often not successful in treating pocket gophers. Unless the soil is moist, the gas diffuses into the soil rather than the burrow. Gophers also sense a change in the burrow system and can react by closing off that section of the burrow with soil. Car exhaust (carbon monoxide) has also been used to treat gophers and is reported to be effective. However, newer vehicles produce less carbon monoxide and are thereby less effective. An experimental method of fumigation is being tested by the author of this web page. Instructions for construction and use are available by clicking here: Experimental Device. Toxicants Toxicants (poison baits) are effective, but can also cause secondary poisoning of non-target species such as domestic cats and dogs or other indigenous predators. Generally this method of gopher control is not recommended for home landscapes. If baits are to be used, then using a bait placement tool should be used to properly locate the bait in the burrow. Toxicants are not effective when placed above ground and will have a high likelihood of killing non-target organisms. Flooding The use of flooding is generally not recommended in southwest urban landscapes. Water is often too expensive, can be destructive to the landscape, and control effectiveness is often limited. Topography and burrow configurations often allow gophers to escape drowning. Although flood irrigation is not used extensively in modern urban landscape situations, gophers will be less likely to inhabit areas where flood irrigation is used. Cultural Controls Cultural controls are those that discourage pocket gophers. These are most feasible for large areas in production agriculture and rely on habitat/food source modifications. Examples include weed control, flood irrigation, planting crop varieties that have fewer taproots, rotation of crops, and damage resistant plant varieties. Some of these could be effective in landscape situations. Natural predators, such as bull snakes, rattlesnakes, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, and raptors can also control pocket gophers but may not always be welcome guests in the garden. Repellents In concept, repellents are environmentally friendly, but are not nearly as reliable. For instance, some people claim to effectively control gophers by placing human hair, perfumed soaps, moth balls, or other materials in gopher burrows. The gopher will most likely push a soil plug into place and move on. The gopher purge plant, Euphorbia lathyris, has no proven direct effect on gophers. Exclusion The most reliable pocket gopher treatment for small areas is exclusion. This is achieved by digging a trench 24-36 inches deep, and building a barrier of sheet metal, concrete, or hardware cloth. Remember, the barrier should also extend at least 12 inches above ground. Problems with exclusion include excessively rocky soil and the occasional gopher that will dig under the barrier. |
| |||