Gophers

GreyDot · 06-20-2008, 11:08 AM

We are being over-run by the little stinkers! They are so bold that if you stand near a hole, they will come up right at your feet and just stare at you. Flooding the holes has no effect - had a hose running into one for two hours, and the water didn't surface ANYWHERE. The colonies are massive. Our BO can't put down poison, because of the barn cats, dogs and horses - and smoke bombs haven't worked at all. Until last fall, the colony seemed to be only at the back of the property and around the arena. A few months ago, there was a hole that appeared in the arena. Our BO had no choice but to put some poison in there and pack it full of dirt. Fortunately, no horses stepped in the hole before we found it. There are now holes in a couple of the pastures. The only remedy I've found so far is stuffing manure balls down the holes... the gophers don't seem to like that much. Yesterday, I hacked off-property, but when riding between our fence and the irrigation ditch, the ground literally collapsed under my horse's hooves in some places - the dang gophers have dug it out so much!

Has anyone dealt with gophers successfully? They are, technically, 'round-tailed ground squirrels', not really gophers, and could be considered cute... if it weren't for the fact that they are obnoxious little pains in the butt!

A couple of days ago, I was driving near the barn, and one ran out in front of my car - and sat there and washed its face while I honked at it to get out of the way! Should have run the little bugger over, but just didn't have the heart...

Here's what ours look like:

ToveroMom · 06-20-2008, 10:17 PM

From gardening with Gary
Gophers
Melody writes~ Do you have any idea how to successfully get rid of these pests, gophers? Our lawn is a mess with new holes almost every day. We have tried traps, gopher bombs, other traps anyone suggests, but nothing seems to work what......

A. Moles, squirrels, gophers, rats and mice hate the aroma of peppermint. If you plant mint around your home chances are you will never see one for any length of time. If you place a small amount of oil of peppermint on a cotton ball and drop it down a gopher hole you will never see the varmint again.

Usual control procedures involve traps, tunnel collapses, smoke bombs, rodenticides, using raised beds, and owl nests. Do a web search for 'Gopher Control' for suppliers of these products.

I deleted some extraneous stuff
Worth a shot I guess and cheap fix if it is true
I can loan you my insane terrier to go down after them..he hates any rodents.
BUT you would have to promise to keep him

**seerfarm** · 06-20-2008, 10:33 PM

I have a rodent chasin Spitz(American Eskimo) and a Chihuahua that is vivious with rodents to add as well to TMom's Terrier!

GreyDot · 06-20-2008, 10:40 PM

TMom and SeerFarm, be careful what you offer, or your dogs might just end up being invited Chez GreyDot

The oil of peppermint sounds like a reasonable thing to try - safe, too. We'll only be out a bale of cotton and a 55 Gal drum of oil, with all the holes we have, but it's either that or sitting around with a .22 all day long

! The little buggers are so bold, they actually taunt the cats who are there for the sole purpose of Gopher Patrol - the gophers keep peeking out of neighbouring holes, so the cats rarely grab them. I wonder whether maybe spraying some peppermint around the general area might help, too?

ToveroMom · 06-20-2008, 10:43 PM

I am poking holes in the box as we speak....

rm185western · 06-20-2008, 10:43 PM

Things are getting so bad here that I have even stopped being horrified at this solution

http://www.gophinator.com/

I might seriously consider it

GreyDot · 06-20-2008, 10:47 PM

The little stinkers we've got are so tough, I bet they'd be out there huffing ammonia from The Gophinator, and getting the munchies from it

RM185Western, should we just take turns sending TMom's terrier back & forth? That would be one fat doggie

She even has the box all ready for him, see?

Slim Pikkens · 06-21-2008, 08:49 AM

In Alberta these little dogs like to dig holes in sloping land. A fellow bot a weasel and turned it loose. Weasels kill. It wasn't long before there wasn't a dog. Nature's way tho, during very hard rain storms the dog holes allow rain down to depths it otherwise wouldn't get to.

jjsimsez · 06-21-2008, 08:55 AM

at the farm it was my dads fav hobby to sit by the tree and wait for them to pop up and pow no more chipmunk.or coon or woodchuck.sigh was sad but no more holes either.

pasomystic · 06-21-2008, 10:11 AM

Get a good terrier and a ferret--they can team up and go hunting to their hearts content.
Around here, other than poison [which is used far too much still] they just sit and shoot, a couple of hrs a night on some farms.

CountryMama · 06-26-2008, 05:03 PM

Good luck and God Bless....you'll need both on your side to get rid of gophers. Especially if they're already that extensive. Have a barn BBQ and invite anyone that can hold a .22 or pellet gun.
There's actually a fundraiser contest here every year to see who can kill the most gophers in a day

.....yes I live in Redneckville, USA.

bitgirl_95 · 06-26-2008, 05:15 PM

i think that little gophers cute but they can be little pests

GreyDot · 06-26-2008, 05:24 PM

I've recommended the peppermint oil to our BO, so she'll see about getting some. We now have a new invader - MUSHROOMS. They're sprouting everywhere. Maybe they're poisonous, and the gophers will eat them...

The barn BBQ sounds good - and it's not like there's a shortage of targets! But what do you do with all those dead gophers?

ToveroMom · 06-26-2008, 06:02 PM

GreyDot-what do you think you BarBQue ?

**gbarmranch** · 06-26-2008, 06:41 PM

GreyDot · 06-26-2008, 06:46 PM

ARRRRGHGHGHG!!!! <running around room spitting and shuddering>

I guess if you roast their tails crispy, you get a gopher-on-a-stick? (Would a frozen gopher be a gopher-sicle?

)

reiningfan · 06-26-2008, 07:11 PM

Oh, yuck. Thanks for putting those images in my head

One guy out here poured gas down the holes, then lit them. Not very humane. Plus, one ran burning out of it's hole and set his pasture on fire. His kids were telling everyone about at a big trail ride, while he was trying to shush them. It was cruel, but I guess he'd just had enough.
My friend's dad was poisoning his gophers and their dog ate some. She lived, but barely.
Isn't anhydrous ammonia used as fertilizer? And explosive?

rm185western · 06-26-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reiningfan

Oh, yuck. Thanks for putting those images in my head

One guy out here poured gas down the holes, then lit them. Not very humane. Plus, one ran burning out of it's hole and set his pasture on fire. His kids were telling everyone about at a big trail ride, while he was trying to shush them. It was cruel, but I guess he'd just had enough.
My friend's dad was poisoning his gophers and their dog ate some. She lived, but barely.
Isn't anhydrous ammonia used as fertilizer? And explosive?

YUP, anhydrous is a fertilizer, so you would get nice green lines through your pasture.

It's nasty stuff to handle though, I don't know how explosive it is.

I got allowed out with a .22 today for the first time, the men were amazed I actually hit a few, I've now been upgraded to Gopher Shooter. I wasn't sure if I could actually live shoot, but I'm so mad at the amount of damage we have got, and the amount of holes they have made in my pasture, I found I could see it through.

GreyDot · 06-26-2008, 09:34 PM

Well, as a chemist I can tell you ammonia is not explosive, but when mixed with acid, it will generate water, salt and a LOT of heat - and that's where the explosions happen. It is very volatile and interacts badly with several things, including your brain stem. You don't want to be smelling that stuff, it will actually make you pass out. I can just imagine the little green trails, though - the entire state of AZ will be laced with them LOL

There are people here who do nothing else except exterminate gophers for a living - but you can never get rid of them completely unless you put down concrete, so it's a losing battle.

rm185western, wanna come over for a BBQ?

Ferronsgranny · 06-26-2008, 09:55 PM

Please, please,please let me send you my shepard mix dog. She will dig a hole to China for amouse. She has aerated all my trees and nearly dug about 6 inches all around my central airconditioning unit over a stupid mouse. She usually gets them too. Between her and my cat I have no rodents around my house anymore. Now they are digging up the barn. No rodents will be left around my place.

06-20-2008, 11:08 AM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	Gophers We are being over-run by the little stinkers! They are so bold that if you stand near a hole, they will come up right at your feet and just stare at you. Flooding the holes has no effect - had a hose running into one for two hours, and the water didn't surface ANYWHERE. The colonies are massive. Our BO can't put down poison, because of the barn cats, dogs and horses - and smoke bombs haven't worked at all. Until last fall, the colony seemed to be only at the back of the property and around the arena. A few months ago, there was a hole that appeared in the arena. Our BO had no choice but to put some poison in there and pack it full of dirt. Fortunately, no horses stepped in the hole before we found it. There are now holes in a couple of the pastures. The only remedy I've found so far is stuffing manure balls down the holes... the gophers don't seem to like that much. Yesterday, I hacked off-property, but when riding between our fence and the irrigation ditch, the ground literally collapsed under my horse's hooves in some places - the dang gophers have dug it out so much! Has anyone dealt with gophers successfully? They are, technically, 'round-tailed ground squirrels', not really gophers, and could be considered cute... if it weren't for the fact that they are obnoxious little pains in the butt! A couple of days ago, I was driving near the barn, and one ran out in front of my car - and sat there and washed its face while I honked at it to get out of the way! Should have run the little bugger over, but just didn't have the heart... Here's what ours look like: __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration Last edited by GreyDot : 06-20-2008 at 11:20 AM.

06-20-2008, 10:17 PM
ToveroMom Pasture Pet Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cleveland TX Posts: 15,299	From gardening with Gary Gophers Melody writes~ Do you have any idea how to successfully get rid of these pests, gophers? Our lawn is a mess with new holes almost every day. We have tried traps, gopher bombs, other traps anyone suggests, but nothing seems to work what...... A. Moles, squirrels, gophers, rats and mice hate the aroma of peppermint. If you plant mint around your home chances are you will never see one for any length of time. If you place a small amount of oil of peppermint on a cotton ball and drop it down a gopher hole you will never see the varmint again. Usual control procedures involve traps, tunnel collapses, smoke bombs, rodenticides, using raised beds, and owl nests. Do a web search for 'Gopher Control' for suppliers of these products. I deleted some extraneous stuff Worth a shot I guess and cheap fix if it is true I can loan you my insane terrier to go down after them..he hates any rodents. BUT you would have to promise to keep him __________________ "In America,anyone can be President. That is one of the chances you take" Adlai Stevenson

06-20-2008, 10:33 PM
seerfarm Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Portal, Ga Posts: 7,824	I have a rodent chasin Spitz(American Eskimo) and a Chihuahua that is vivious with rodents to add as well to TMom's Terrier! __________________ The man who questions opinions is wise. The man who quarrels with facts is a fool.

06-20-2008, 10:40 PM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	TMom and SeerFarm, be careful what you offer, or your dogs might just end up being invited Chez GreyDot The oil of peppermint sounds like a reasonable thing to try - safe, too. We'll only be out a bale of cotton and a 55 Gal drum of oil, with all the holes we have, but it's either that or sitting around with a .22 all day long ! The little buggers are so bold, they actually taunt the cats who are there for the sole purpose of Gopher Patrol - the gophers keep peeking out of neighbouring holes, so the cats rarely grab them. I wonder whether maybe spraying some peppermint around the general area might help, too? __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration

06-20-2008, 10:43 PM
ToveroMom Pasture Pet Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cleveland TX Posts: 15,299	I am poking holes in the box as we speak.... __________________ "In America,anyone can be President. That is one of the chances you take" Adlai Stevenson

06-20-2008, 10:43 PM
rm185western Greenbroke Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Saskatchewan,Canada Posts: 3,653	Things are getting so bad here that I have even stopped being horrified at this solution http://www.gophinator.com/ I might seriously consider it __________________ ________________________________ Okay, who put a stop payment on my reality check?

06-20-2008, 10:47 PM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	The little stinkers we've got are so tough, I bet they'd be out there huffing ammonia from The Gophinator, and getting the munchies from it RM185Western, should we just take turns sending TMom's terrier back & forth? That would be one fat doggie She even has the box all ready for him, see? __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration

06-21-2008, 08:49 AM
Slim Pikkens Started Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,948	In Alberta these little dogs like to dig holes in sloping land. A fellow bot a weasel and turned it loose. Weasels kill. It wasn't long before there wasn't a dog. Nature's way tho, during very hard rain storms the dog holes allow rain down to depths it otherwise wouldn't get to.

06-21-2008, 08:55 AM
jjsimsez Weanling Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: indiana Posts: 378	at the farm it was my dads fav hobby to sit by the tree and wait for them to pop up and pow no more chipmunk.or coon or woodchuck.sigh was sad but no more holes either.

06-21-2008, 10:11 AM
pasomystic Long Yearling Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Alberta Posts: 1,470	Get a good terrier and a ferret--they can team up and go hunting to their hearts content. Around here, other than poison [which is used far too much still] they just sit and shoot, a couple of hrs a night on some farms. __________________ We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are.

06-26-2008, 06:41 PM
gbarmranch Administrator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 29,229	__________________ Quality FoundationQuarter Horses http://home.earthlink.net/~vpgann Minds are like parachutes – they only function when open – Thomas Dewar

06-26-2008, 05:03 PM
CountryMama Yearling Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Montana Posts: 577	Good luck and God Bless....you'll need both on your side to get rid of gophers. Especially if they're already that extensive. Have a barn BBQ and invite anyone that can hold a .22 or pellet gun. There's actually a fundraiser contest here every year to see who can kill the most gophers in a day.....yes I live in Redneckville, USA. __________________ Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, sausage in one hand, beer in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!" --Unknown--

06-26-2008, 05:15 PM
bitgirl_95 Weanling Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 497	i think that little gophers cute but they can be little pests __________________ Merry Christmas!

06-26-2008, 05:24 PM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	I've recommended the peppermint oil to our BO, so she'll see about getting some. We now have a new invader - MUSHROOMS. They're sprouting everywhere. Maybe they're poisonous, and the gophers will eat them... The barn BBQ sounds good - and it's not like there's a shortage of targets! But what do you do with all those dead gophers? __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration

06-26-2008, 06:02 PM
ToveroMom Pasture Pet Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cleveland TX Posts: 15,299	GreyDot-what do you think you BarBQue ? __________________ "In America,anyone can be President. That is one of the chances you take" Adlai Stevenson

06-26-2008, 06:46 PM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	ARRRRGHGHGHG!!!! <running around room spitting and shuddering> I guess if you roast their tails crispy, you get a gopher-on-a-stick? (Would a frozen gopher be a gopher-sicle? ) __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration

06-26-2008, 07:11 PM
reiningfan Yearling Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Western Manitoba, Canada Posts: 516	Oh, yuck. Thanks for putting those images in my head One guy out here poured gas down the holes, then lit them. Not very humane. Plus, one ran burning out of it's hole and set his pasture on fire. His kids were telling everyone about at a big trail ride, while he was trying to shush them. It was cruel, but I guess he'd just had enough. My friend's dad was poisoning his gophers and their dog ate some. She lived, but barely. Isn't anhydrous ammonia used as fertilizer? And explosive?

06-26-2008, 09:34 PM
GreyDot Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Between AZ and OH Posts: 2,295	Well, as a chemist I can tell you ammonia is not explosive, but when mixed with acid, it will generate water, salt and a LOT of heat - and that's where the explosions happen. It is very volatile and interacts badly with several things, including your brain stem. You don't want to be smelling that stuff, it will actually make you pass out. I can just imagine the little green trails, though - the entire state of AZ will be laced with them LOL There are people here who do nothing else except exterminate gophers for a living - but you can never get rid of them completely unless you put down concrete, so it's a losing battle. rm185western, wanna come over for a BBQ? __________________ ...There is nothing to be done till a horse's head is settled. ~William Cavendish Stuipid CAN be fixed... you just have to hit it hard enough! ~A rare moment of inspiration

06-26-2008, 09:55 PM
Ferronsgranny Started Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Big Creek, MS Posts: 2,045	Please, please,please let me send you my shepard mix dog. She will dig a hole to China for amouse. She has aerated all my trees and nearly dug about 6 inches all around my central airconditioning unit over a stupid mouse. She usually gets them too. Between her and my cat I have no rodents around my house anymore. Now they are digging up the barn. No rodents will be left around my place. __________________ Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.