Rodent Question?

[Rivernut]

Black mounds of dirt along my fenceline. Started at the neighbors, now my place. Have never seen gophers, just shrews and chipmunks. Been in house 5 yrs., first time this has happened. Any thoughts short of dynamite would be greatly appreciated!

[Steve Foss]

Check those black mounds and see if there's a spot where a small hole has been plugged with more dirt. If so, you have the Plains pocket gopher (pocket gophers are the only ground rodents with the word "gopher" in their names). They are subterranian, so you won't see them above ground. They are about the size of ground squirrels (ground squirrels spend a lot of time above ground, and are called gophers by most people, which is not correct).

Check the Minnesota Extension Service's Web site for how to get rid of them and any other rodents.

[Steve Foss]

Here's what the extension service Web site had to offer:

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Controlling Pocket Gophers

Pocket gophers are a nuisance on many farms due to the mounds of soil they make in fields. Mounds and runways cause potential damage to livestock, machinery and reduction of crop yields. Pocket gophers can be legally controlled, and in most counties carry a bounty. Check with your township officer or city hall for more information on collecting gopher bounties.

Control methods are more effective during the spring and fall when pocket gophers are most active. This activity can be noted by the presence of fresh mounds of soil.

Traps and poisoned baits are the most practical methods of control. On small areas where a few animals are involved, trapping or hand baiting is effective. Gopher traps and baits are available at most farm supply or lawn and garden section of your favorite hardware store. When handling gopher traps, be sure to wear gloves for safety reasons and to reduce the presence of human scents. The presence of human scents in a gopher run can lead to an empty trap.

Hand baiting involves dropping poisonous baits into the underground runways. One pound of bait can treat many acres. On large and heavily infested areas, a tractor-drawn machine called a burrow builder is used to make artificial burrows and automatically drop baits into them.

When using a burrow builder, make artificial burrows twenty feet apart across the field at the same depth as the natural burrows. The machines drop poisoned bait mechanically at nine to twelve inch intervals in the artificial burrow. One pound will treat one acre.

On smaller acreages, to hand bait remove the earth plug from the lateral tunnel of a fresh mound of dirt. Insert a tablespoonful of poisoned bait into the main runway with a long handled spoon. Cover the opening to exclude light and loose dirt. The main runway can also be located by probing with a stick or metal rod about 8-18 inches back from the plug mark in the ground.

When the runway is found, enlarge the hole, put in the bait and cover as before. Scrape over mounds and after 48 hours retreat those runs showing signs of new activity. One pound of poisoned bait will treat five or more acres.

For extensive handbaiting, purchased or homemade probes made of 3/4 inch pipe welded to a blunt point and cut to 34 inches in length make the job easier and quicker. A foot rest can be made 16 inches from the end.

Gopher baits/poisons are classified as "restricted use" pesticides when purchased in larger than 1 lb containers. To purchase the larger quantities you will need a private pesicide applicators licence. Always read and follow label directions before using any pesticide.

[harvey lee]

The poison pellets can be very effective.A friend of mine had a real problem in his hay fields a few years back and used the pellets with the tractor and burrow machine.It was not long after that his problem was under control.

[Rivernut]

Thanks a lot for all the info guys. I really appreciate it.