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Efficient Way to Kill Gophers
Efficient Way to Kill Gophers. Gophers are vegetarian burrowing vermin that have the ability to do considerable damage to plant roots, seeds, bulbs and more in your landscape, according to the University of Wisconsin Urban Horticulture website. Some people choose other methods to rid their landscape of gophers, but killing the pests is obviously...
Gophers are vegetarian burrowing vermin that have the ability to do considerable damage to plant roots, seeds, bulbs and more in your landscape, according to the University of Wisconsin Urban Horticulture website. Some people choose other methods to rid their landscape of gophers, but killing the pests is obviously the permanent solution. There are a number of ways to eradicate the gopher population in your area.
Traps
Locate the gopher tunnel and set traps to kill the rodents, according to Garden-Counseloe-Lawn-Care.com.
Find the exit runway where the gopher comes to the surface and follow the direction of the hole down to find the main tunnel. Dig out the dirt to gain access to the main tunnel and place one of several types of traps available in the tunnel.
Improve your chances by placing two traps back-to-back in the tunnel to be sure the gopher doesn’t come at it from the wrong way. The traps available are the Macabee twisted wire types that squeeze the gopher to death, box traps that pin the gopher inside and black hole traps that strangle the gopher with a noose-type mechanism when they pass through it.
Other means of killing gophers include gassers. These are sticks of gas that will kill the gophers when the toxin is breathed in. Use several gassers at once in all parts of the tunnel structure to increase the odds. There is no residual effect, so if the gopher isn’t home, it will not work. Gassers tend to work about half the time.
Poisons
The majority of gopher poisons are strychnine based. Consider choosing one that isn’t. These types of poisons are not recommended because of the damage the poison can do to predators who eat the poisoned gopher, according to the University of Wisconsin Urban Horticulture website.
Use a less toxic substance, such as warfarin for gopher control in place of strychnine-based poisons. Animals not targeted by the poisoning will fare much better using this alternative.
Serious Infestation
If you have a serious gopher infestation, you may not be able to handle it yourself. Do not hesitate to call professional exterminators to get rid of your gopher problem if there are too many for you to handle. Use the above techniques for control after the exterminator knocks down the population.
You may choose to use zinc phosphide for a safe treatment in severe cases as well. Hook a zinc phosphide dispenser to a tractor to dispense the substance into the ground over a large area, according to the University of Wisconsin Urban Horticulture website.
