Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog Solutions

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 b...

Chunky California Ground Squirrel - skipping hibernation and stealing food from the chickens. What happened to ground squirrels hibernating? We've all heard and maybe even read that California ground squirrels hibernate in the winter. Lately, it looks like the ground squirrels didn't get the memo to go underground and take a hiatus from their daily digging and destruction. Makes me wonder if those jittery squirrels discovered the magical powers of coffee? In Southern California, caffeine isn't the reason for all of ground squirrel activity - December is the beginning of mating season. That means, unless you do something about all of those ground squirrels, soon you'll have even more of the them to deal with.  Ground squirrels are out in the winter for different reasons. In higher elevations and colder areas, they are more likely to hibernate. In Northern California, the male ground squirrels, hibernate a month earlier than the females and young. The...

What kind of damage do ground squirrels' chewing and digging cause? 1.  Destroy Irrigation Ground Squirrel Water Fountains make for a costly and time consuming day. Whether they are thirsty or just like to to chew, either way ground squirrels wreak havoc on irrigation systems. Water is wasted, erosion occurs and the trees or crops don't get the water they need to grow. Mark Trost with Squirrel Busters, discovered this "water fountain"in an almond orchard he was treating with his Burrow Blocker. Mark provides ground squirrel control service in the Madera, CA area. 2.   Holes...lots of holes. Mention ground squirrel damage and that's the first thing people complain about - holes. It goes far beyond messing up landscaping, which is also a costly problem. Holes are a safety hazard and a liability at parks, farms, and schools.  3.  Erosion/Levy Safety Issues Ground squirrels digging along canals and levies are a disaster wait...

Property riddled with holes? Thinking of shoveling a scoop of dirt in each hole is the answer? Think again.  Know what inhabits the hole before attempting to destroy it. Digging away like Pepper in the above video, is what not to do. Start by educating yourself on the endangered and protected animals in your area. Check with your local Agricultural Commissioner's Office and for helpful info, read my blog post: " What Lives in that Hole? " Still Not Sure What's in that Hole?  1 Easy Way to Find Out is to Set Up a Video Camera! Last month, Mike and Daniel provided Burrow Blocker ground squirrel control service at a solar field in the Central Valley of California. They saw a large hole, possibly a den and wanted to verify the inhabitants before filling it with slurry from the Burrow Blocker machine . Mike and Daniel thought it might be a coyote den, so they set up a motion-activated video camera to. Check out the results: Did you see the wil...

For Hay Growers, ground squirrels and prairie dogs impose frustrating, costly, and dangerous situations. Here are 4 reasons that make nice farmers hate ground squirrels: 1 .   A Bumper Crop of Ground Squirrels is Not the Goal Have you ever heard of anyone with a ground squirrel farm? There are too many farms that look like they are raising burrowing rodents. Predators like hawks, snakes and coyotes might think it's a good idea for a restaurant, but farmers don't have a use for them. If the area predators can't keep them under control, over-populations of ground squirrels and prairie dogs mean lots of hungry rodents devouring the hay. Besides eating away profits, these rodents pose a health risk to humans through the spread of disease, such as the plague. 2.  Ground Squirrel Mounds Dull the Cutting Blades When ground squirrels and prairie dogs dig burrows, they bring soil and rock to the surface. The end result is mounds of dirt near the burrow openings. The longe...

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...

Let's talk about sex...ground squirrel reproduction that is.  The ground squirrel mating style is officially called: polygynandrous. That means they are promiscuous litter critters that mate with up to 4 others.  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 has a litter of 1-15. Yes, you read it right...up to 15 ground squirrels! Fortunately for us and the female, they usually have 7-8 and only one litter per year. Now is the time to prepare for the new wave of destructive diggers. After 6 weeks of growing up in their burrow, the litters are starting to emerge from their nests.  Young Ground Squirrels begin to burrow as early as 8 weeks. The young look like miniature lighter colored versions of the adults. They stay near the nest until about 6 months of age. Then young ground squirrels will move into old...