Gophers

The Gluedobbers have Gophers out at the field that are are really causing trouble. They make dirt piles all over the flying fields, and pile up dirt under the clubhouse and the bleachers.

Does anyone know an easy way to get rid of the little buggers?

LAST EDITED ON Nov-21-04 AT 09:43 PM (CST)
 
I tried to add a little humor on this forum in light of all the bitching we have had lately, some of mine own included. I deleted "dynamite" Happy now? Dee apparently wasn't so I took it off. His question was sincere and my responce was just your basic smart ##### type of answer.

Bill

Let me alter my question. Does anyone know a practical method of removing (or rendering non compos mentis) Gophers?

>Let me alter my question. Does anyone know a practical
>method of removing (or rendering non compos mentis) Gophers?

We have the same problem or had.......I also have a circle out behind my house....I've used the gopher bait that is sold at the exterminators. It is essentially a seed mixture with poison premixed in. You place it deep in the hole as far as you can. I have never heard of any dogs, etc getting poisoned in our area and I've used it for the last 2 years. Just make sure you place it as deep as you can in the hole. I used to have gophers and holes in my backyard (at least 20 holes and 5-6 gophers). The rodents got so brave that they were in our garden and under the deck and then started to come to the front door and under the step. Since using this product(its called 'Gopher be Gone'), I have not seen any gophers in our area for the last 2 years. So it must work.
At our flying site...the county also used the same product and the gopher population went down to almost non-existant.We also have a hot shot rifle dude in our club who has taken care of any strays.....

>.

One heluva edit, Bill. You left nothing but the final "." ROFLMAO

Anyone who has seen "Caddy Shack" knows that explosives are useless against the gopher.

Try this: http://www.pestcontrolsupplies.com/Gopher.htm

There are gophers out at the VSC. Maybe a different species because they don't seem to make dirt mounds. I don't know if you can get them any more, but I used to use mole bombs. They were lit and put down the hole and generated a dense smoke which suffocated the inhabitants of the hole.

Gopher traps are one way. Scrape off the mound of dirt and find the small hole that he's plugged with dirt. Probe around with your fingers and clear out the dirt so you have a clear view of the hole. As I recall (I haven't done this for years) the hole will be about 1 1/2" in diameter. Clean out the dirt plug in the hole (usually just a couple inches) and run the (set) trap down into the hole as far as you can. Attach the trap to a stake in the ground with a wire so the critter won't drag it back down the hole. Later, you can drag the carcass out once you've nailed the bugger.

I've never used poison gas bombs, but I guess they're availble. My favorate way of disposing of gophers was my father's method. He'd uncover the gopher hole (see above) and then take the garden hose and shove it into the hole at full blast! The gophers would exit their holes because of the flood. Dad used to whack them with a shovel and throw them to our dog. Proabably not polically correct these days.

>The Gluedobbers have Gophers out at the field that are are
>really causing trouble. They make dirt piles all over the
>flying fields, and pile up dirt under the clubhouse and the
>bleachers.
>
>Does anyone know an easy way to get rid of the little
>buggers?

They're persistent little buggers. There are several sites around here that have gopher and ground squirrel colonies, and no one has successfully gotten rid of them entirely. Best solution I've seen is to use "Gopher Purge*" or similar, and plug the holes that are in the circle with bricks. At least that way, you don't end up with so many twisted ankles (like the one I got at WAM Fund day a couple years ago).

They quickly become unafraid of people. Last time I was at the Alameda site, I saw one crawl into my toolbox.

Brett

* I love the newspaper ads for "Gopher Purge". It shows the gophers not just leaving but FLYING out of the ground as if shot from a cannon.

There is a guy that developed a high power vaccuum for just this purpose. Saw it on the discovery channel. Stick the hose over the hole and turn the vaccuum on and the little buggers come sucking up the hole. I used to work with another guy whose grandfather designed the original version of this machine that is used in the chicken industry. They suck the chicken outta the crate/truck and it takes em down to the holding room without brusing or killing the chicken, though they tend to be a bit flustered.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-21-04 AT 05:54 PM (CST)
 
There is a guy that developed a high power vaccuum for just this purpose. Saw it on the discovery channel. Stick the hose over the hole and turn the vaccuum on and the little buggers come sucking up the hole

Hmm-Heard of this device being used for prarie dogs but never for gophers. Supposedly sucks up dogs, sand, burrowing owls, rattlesnakes, everything into a big see through drum mounted on the truck so everything can be seen and sorted out. Probably a lot of openings for contents removal guys.

Had one of the best dog towns in the Texas panhandle(Darrozette?) ruined by this method. Several sections of dogs one year, almost none the next.

hmmm. If they get that "friendly", why not teach them to fly?

>Gopher traps are one way. Scrape off the mound of dirt and find the small hole that he's plugged with dirt. Probe around with your fingers and clear out the dirt so you have a clear view of the hole. As I recall (I haven't done this for years) the hole will be about 1 1/2" in diameter. Clean out the dirt plug in the hole (usually just a couple inches) and run the (set) trap down into the hole as far as you can. Attach the trap to a stake in the ground with a wire so the critter won't drag it back down the hole. Later, you can drag the carcass out once you've nailed the bugger

De:
The golf course uses these traps pretty much as described and I understand they work well.
As I have never been able to find the traps, I have used "Gopher Bait" which is are poisoned grain kernels. Probe betweed mounds with a probe(an old golf shaft works well) until you feel the tunnel which you will learn to feel when you hit one-usually about 1" or a little more in diameter. Cut out a wedge of turf like a big dixie cup down to the tunnel, put in a spoonfull of gopher bait and replace the plug. Do several spots if you can find the tunnels. In a few days you will likely find a dead gopher or two above ground and no more mounds(for awhile)
JIm

Gentlemen: thank you all for your input!

With moles, if you just step down the runs and wait until evening when they start to burrow again, you can watch them move right along. Then it's just a mater of a well shoved pitchfork. Kinda fun. I suppose it could work with a goffer, though the pull on the rod might be a bit harder.

Amusement parks use mallets, it's called Whack a Mole and it costs about $1.00 to play

At your next club contest instead of a balloon bust have a .........

Award points for biggest splatter measured from impact to most distance droplet. Best aircraft smash from a single strike. Points award for highest number and smallest pieces. Bonus points for a line decapitation without a ground strike.

Get creative. Have a prize for naming the event. Gopher Gut Buster Jamboree or such.

If those gophers were smart, they could just poke up and grab the down line!

Are gophers the same as woodchucks? I can't imagine something as big as those Indiana woodchucks making a 1 1/2" hole, or getting sucked out by a vacuum. Those things were about the size of a small dog, maybe 20 pounds.

Not nearly as big as a woodchuck. More like rat sized.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-22-04 AT 09:49 PM (CST)
 
>The Gluedobbers have Gophers out at the field that are are
>really causing trouble. They make dirt piles all over the
>flying fields, and pile up dirt under the clubhouse and the
>bleachers.
>
>Does anyone know an easy way to get rid of the little
>buggers?

This has been outlawd along with Carbon-Tec, But If you can find Chlordine dust it will kill ALL AND I DO MEAN ALL living things!

or you could use this
[photo not recovered: JTEatonGopherBaitPic.jpeg]
http://www.pestcontrolsupplies.com/JTEatonGopherBait.htm

Actually, if it were possible, I would negotiate with the Gophers. I don't really like killing animals.

That being said, If it's a choice between a good flying field and Gophers, the flying field wins.

I'll look around and see if I can find one of the traps I used to use at the previous site.

>[photo not recovered: JTEatonGopherBaitPic.jpeg]

Gosh, those do like Kit Kat bars, don't they?

(On a more serious note - be careful if kids are around..)