Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog Solutions

Everyone is experiencing stress during this COVID-19 Pandemic - even the rodents! No, they aren't freaking out because they have to wear little masks and shelter place. The problem is that we humans are not following our usual routines and they miss us. The ground squirrel's rodent relative and fellow pest, the rat, is on the move during this time of COVID-19. Rodents often rely on human food for survival and with restaurants closed and people staying home, rats and other rodents are challenged with finding new sou rces of food. Their usual dumpster buffets and trash can food carts are empty. It's gotten so bad for with the rats, that the CDC - Center for Disease Control, has issued a warning about aggressive rats seeking out food. For more ravenous rat info, check out the videos below: This video from Inside Edition has their "Rat Patrol" Reporters showing rats out in full force: Like their relative, the rat, ground squirrels haven't been obeying the Shelter ...

Can you spot the ground squirrel hole? Ground squirrel and prairie dog holes can  make walking or  running  across a field, a dangerous game.  Adults and children have sprained and even broken their ankles in  ground squirrel and prairie dog holes. Imagine playing soccer on this field...keep your eye on the ball and watch for holes! Soccer tournaments, baseball games, and other athletic events have been cancelled on school fields because the officials refused to allow their athletes to play under such dangerous conditions. It's much more than a financial  liability, it's an obligation to keep playing fields safe. Burrow Blocker  is the one-step effective green method that safety-minded schools, universities, cities, counties, businesses, and ranchers use to eliminate ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and their holes.  CREATE AN IPM PLAN TO STOP GROUND SQUIRRELS Lisa can help you...

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...

A Little Lesson on Ground Squirrel Reproduction To better understand the pending ground squirrel boom, we need to talk about sex...ground squirrel reproduction that is. Their mating system is officially called: polygynandrous. That means they are promiscuous litter critters that mate with up to 4 others. If you were wondering why you haven't seen them on their dates, it's because they copulate underground.  W hen ground squirrels emerge from hibernation the first thing on their mind is sex. Is it surprising that the males emerge a few weeks earlier than the females? They just can't wait. This is their big chance because the females only produce one litter per year. (I've heard from a few biologists that they sometimes mate again if they lose their litter, but I can't find that in writing.) In California, breeding season runs from December - April. The further south, the sooner the ground squirrels start breeding. After 25-30 days gestation, the female ha...

A Ground Squirrel Explosion?!! This is the time of year that we start getting desperate calls for help. It seems like overnight, orchards, fields, parks and yards are overrun with ground squirrels. To better understand the situation we need to talk about sex...ground squirrel reproduction that is. Their mating system is officially called: polygynandrous. That means they are promiscuous litter critters that mate with up to 4 others. If you were wondering why you haven't seen them on their dates, it's because they copulate underground.  When ground squirrels emerge from hibernation the first thing on their mind is sex. Is it surprising that the males emerge a few weeks earlier than the females? They just can't wait.  This is their big chance because the females only produce one litter per year. (I've heard from a few biologists that they sometimes mate again if they lose their litter, but I can't find that in writing.) In California, breeding season runs fro...

Ground Squirrel Control Never Takes a Holiday   Rocky, the Ground Squirrel Hunter, working in the Burrow Blocker office. Did you notice that ground squirrels are still busy destroying crops, landscaping, and causing other costly problems?  At Burrow Blocker, we have been inundated with calls and emails from people struggling to eradicate the ground squirrels on their property. It's December already! Don't these devouring, diggers ever sleep?   Someone needs to let the California Ground Squirrels know that the nature books and websites say that they hibernate for several months of the year. Some ground squirrels, like the Piute, in Idaho and Wyoming, hibernate for around 8 months. Actually, they often go from summer estivation, straight to hibernation. Why can't it be like that here? On second thought, I've talked to people in Idaho with ground squirrel problems. For only being awake 4 months a year, they create...