What About Gophers, Voles & Moles?

Last week, John and Trisha went to the Eco-Farm Conference in Pacific Grove. They came back with lots of useful information and some gopher traps. “The Farm Pest Animal Control Without Poisons” presentation by Thomas Wittman, from Gophers Limited, was a crash course on moles, voles and gophers and how to deal with them in an effectively green way. Check out www.gopherslimited.com for excellent videos on controlling moles, voles and gophers.

Since the Burrow Blocker is designed for ground squirrel control, John is always on the lookout for a way to deal with gophers, moles and voles. When John got back from the conference, he went out at the ranch with his grandsons, and set a few cinch traps from Gophers Limited. In less than an hour, they had caught a gopher.

Another way to deal with too many rodents, is to encourage natural predators to take care of them. Did you know that an owl family can eat more than 1,000 rodents per year? That’s a lot of gophers, voles and mice. Since owls are nocturnal, they miss the ground squirrels because they are in their burrows at night. For more information on the benefits of owls and putting up an owl nesting box, visit: www.hungryowl.org

We found out from Thomas that we need to remove the perch from our owl box. The perch, just allows other predators to eat the nestlings. Now I just need to find a volunteer to climb up there and fix it.

Comments

Is it a Ground Squirrel or a Gopher?

Do you know the difference between a Gr ound Squirrel and a Gopher ? If you are battling burrowing rodents on your property, after awhile you might just start channeling Carl Spackler, Bill Murray's character in the movie, Caddyshack. Remember when Sandy McFiddish, the head groundskeeper of the golf course told Carl, in his rich Scottish accent, "Carl, I want you to kill all the golfers on the golf course."? Carl replied, " Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers they'll lock me up and throw away the key." Sandy yelled, " Not golfers, you great fool! Gophers, rodents! THE LITTLE BROWN, FURRY THINGS!" Carl replied, "We can do that. We don't even need a reason." Remember that destructive dancing gopher in Caddyshack? (Be patient...it has a long intro.) Most of the people that visit this blog, do have a reason. They want those destructive diggers to just stop destroying ...

Home Remedies for Ground Squirrels

People like to share with me their "Do It Yourself" Remedies for Ground Squirrels. Here are a few that I've recently heard. I can't guarantee if they work, but they're at least creative! Home Remedies for Ground Squirrels & Prairie Dogs GUM - Not ordinary gum, but Bazooka Bubble Gum. You know, the hard squares of gum that as a kid almost broke your jaw on the first bite? Once a week, this guy's neighbor puts 1 square of Bazooka gum in every ground squirrel hole on his property. He has almost 100 holes, so I doubt if he takes the time to read the comics wrapping each gum square. The neighbor says it works well at eliminating the young ones because they can't digest the gum. According to an expert, Jim Knight, a Montana State Extension Wildlife Specialist . "Bubble gum might sometimes clog a ground squirrel's intestines or burst its stomach, but no one has conducted scientific studies on its overall effectiveness. It's hardl...

The Best Way to Fill a Ground Squirrel Hole

Ground squirrel holes! They can destroy beautiful landscaping and make athletic fields and pastures hazardous. Ground squirrel holes are much more than an unsightly nuisance, they can cause serious injuries. How do you get rid of ground squirrel holes? Often people grab a shovel and start pushing the dirt surrounding the hole back in. That's usually not enough dirt on the outside, so they get more dirt and keep shoveling it in until it looks full. Surprise! The next day the hole is back. After trying dirt, rocks are often the next choice. Again, the next day, the hole is often back. Why doesn't filling in ground squirrel holes using a shovel work? Shoveling in the holes is often unsuccessful, because the ground squirrel is hiding in a lower portion of the tunnel system and they dig their way out. What is the best way to fill ground squirrel holes? The Burrow Blocker machine is a fast, easy, and effective way of filling in ground squirrel holes.The patented ma...

Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog Solutions

Search This Blog