How To Get Rid of Ground Squirrel Holes

It looks simple. There is a ground squirrel hole. Just start shoveling dirt in it and soon the hole will be gone. Some athletic fields are so riddled with dangerous holes, they bring in tons of dirt and use bobcats to fill the holes.

Surprise! Before the next day, most of the holes reappear! Fill it again and the same thing happens. Those ground squirrels are persistent little diggers.

Why doesn't filling in ground squirrel holes using a shovel work?

Shoveling in the holes is often unsuccessful, because the hole is topped off with dirt. The ground squirrel is hiding in a lower portion of the tunnel system and they dig their way out as soon as you leave the area.

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 machine pumps a slurry of sand and water into the hole. The water is absorbed into the soil and all that remains is the sand. The burrows and tunnels are completely filled from the bottom up.

Mike & Pepper using the Burrow Blocker machine to fill a ground squirrel hole.

Here's a video of the Burrow Blocker in action:

Paw print in sand, ground squirrel hole eradication

The water is absorbed into the soil and all that is left is the sand.
This filled hole has Pepper's paw of approval!

Getting rid of ground squirrel holes is a form of habitat modification. By completing filling the hole, the ground squirrel's underground condo containing its stored food and bedding is gone. It's a simple IPM Solution that gets rid of the dangers of the hole and the ground squirrel at the same time.

Call (925) 634-9204 or email me if you have any questions on how to get rid ground squirrels & prairie dogs and their holes using green solutions.

Better yet, come visit me in person. If you need CA DPR continuing education units, I'll be speaking at the following PAPA Seminars:

2/7/18 - Petaluma

2/15/18 - Stockton

3/14/18 - Sacramento

3/27/18 - Fresno

3/28/18 - Victorville

4/11/18 - Salinas

4/18/18 - San Leandro

~Lisa

What Lives in that Hole?

Admit it. Holes can be mysterious. When we see a hole, we wonder what lurks below. Even Alice found the rabbit hole intriguing. Maybe it's because we know that there is more than meets the eye. It may not be Wonderland, but ground squirrel burrows can be 6 feet deep and 35 feet long. They have multiple entrances and have nursery, food and sleep chambers. A kit fox's home often has a key hole shaped entrance. A badger's entrance is often shaped like the letter D and gophers can make a crescent, C-shaped mound. If only all holes could be identified with a letter from the alphabet at their entrance! HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S IN THAT HOLE? Unless you are some nature TV host getting paid the big bucks, it's not such a good idea to just stick your hand in the hole to reach for whatever is inside. 1. OBSERVATION - Start by getting a comfy lawn chair, a cool drink and sitting back and relaxing awhile. Observe who g...

Ground Squirrel Control Remedies Can Make You Nutty

Are ground squirrels making you a little nutty? What crazy methods have you tried to control them? Before we created the Burrow Blocker, our ranch was over run by ground squirrels. We were so desperate for solutions that we tried almost everything to get their population under control. Since we didn't want to risk poisoning our dogs, cats or other wildlife with pesticides, we tended to get pretty creative. Here are a few crazy things that we've tried: Wrigley's Gum - I'm not sure why it had to be Wrigley's gum but we heard it worked, so we tried it. First we put the sticks of gum in the holes and a few weeks later, when the ground squirrels were as plentiful as ever, we thought maybe we should have chewed it first. We had lots of holes and lots of gum and our jaws got tired pretty quickly. All we ended up with was fresh breath and gum stuck to our shoes...and still too many ground squirrels. Water - The next idea was to just fl...

Ground Squirrel Dogs

Dogs love to hunt for ground squirrels. Below, is one of our squirrel hunters from the ranch. Actually, Pepper is more of squirrel chaser and not much of a catcher. We rarely have squirrels at the ranch, so Pepper doesn't get much practice. Here she is sitting on her buddy, Brutus, in the duck blind. (Don't tell Mike, but his great duck hunting dog is really a cuddly lap dog - even in the duck blind.) Dogs really can help with ground squirrel control. Jack Russell Terriers, Rat Terriers or pretty much any dog that is feisty enough will make an excellent squirrel hunter. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and patience to get those digging rodents. Unfortunately, when a large property is ridden with hundreds of holes, the task becomes pretty much impossible for a dog. Of course, it doesn't mean that the dog won't love trying! When our dogs go up on the hill, they are on high alert for ground squirrels. Sometimes they get lucky and a neighboring squirr...

Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog Solutions

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