Dan Curtin
Agricultural Biologist/Standards Specialist
Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Pocket Gopher
Legal Status
 Control Measures
 Services and Products available through the
Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and the
U.C. Cooperative Extension

Legal Status
Pocket Gophers are classified as nongame
mammals by the California Fish and Game
Code.
 Nongame animals which are found to be
injuring growing crops or other property
may be taken at any time in any legal
manner by the owner or tenant of the
property.

Control Measures

Strychnine
 Hand Bait
 Burrow Builder

Trapping


Wire Traps
 Cinch Trap
 Macabee
Box Traps


Guardian
Black Hole
Control Measures Continued



Exclusion
 Barriers
Poisonous gases
 Aluminum Phosphide
Propane Gun
Trap Types
Cinch
Macabee
Blackhole
Capture Efficiency
45
40
35
30
Blackhole
Macabee
Cinch
25
20
15
10
5
0
1st Qtr
Information courtesy of: Michael J. Pipas, George H Matscke, and Geraldine R. McCann USDA National Wildlife Research Center.
Evaluation Of The Efficiency Of Three Types Of Traps For Capturing Pocket Gophers.
Trapping

Wire or Box Traps
 Best to place two traps in opposite
directions in main runways
 Or place one trap in lateral runway
 Or both
Strychnine Hand Bait

Good control for:
 Small outbreaks
 Garden areas
Procedure for Hand Baiting

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
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Locate main runways between mounds with a rod or stick
with pointed tip
Once runway is located, bore hole out with rod or stick
Insert the hand probe or use a teaspoon to drop bait
through a funnel into runway
Cover opening with dirt or rock to eliminate light
Monitor area for activity (look for fresh mounds)
Readminister bait as necessary
Burrow Builder
Best time to use a Burrow Builder
When there is sufficient soil
moisture to hold a tunnel
because:


Too wet:
Take a chance of getting your machine
stuck

Bait gets wet which makes it less
effective

Mud sticks to torpedo and blocks bait


Too dry:
Difficult to get torpedo into the ground

Tunnels will collapse and bury the bait

Hints for a successful Burrow
Builder application




Set the “torpedo” the same
depth as the main runways of
the gophers or a little deeper
Angle of “torpedo” should be
parallel with the surface of the
ground
Raise Burrow Builder out of
ground before turning corners
Don’t backup with Burrow
Builder in ground or roll
backwards downhill (will plug
torpedo with soil)
More Helpful Hints



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If you have an overhead irrigation system you can
create the soil moisture you need
Only treat the area where the infestation is
occurring (may artificially spread gophers)
Adjust tractor speed to apply the required label
amount of bait per acre (2 pounds per acre)
Use Caution to avoid dropping bait above ground
where non target species can consume it
Interesting facts



Gophers are herbivores
 forbs (broadleaf herbs)
 grasses
 shrubs
 trees
Voles (meadow mice) are
herbivores
 clover
 alfalfa
Moles are insectivores
 primarily worms
*Pictures taken from the University of California Integrated Pest Management Website
Know your opponent*Gopher Mound


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Gopher mounds are generally
crescent shaped and have the
plug toward the flatter side of
the crescent.
Moles make a mound which is
more round in shape resembling
a small volcano and the plug is
more in the center.
Voles (meadow mice) make
small holes in the ground with
no mound and create runways
in the vegetation.
*Pictures taken from the University of California Integrated Pest Management Website
*Mole Mound
*Vole Burrows
Wild Turkeys
Meleagris gallopavo
Wild Turkey Legal Status
Classified as an upland game bird by the
California Fish and Game Code
 Can be harvested during regular hunting
seasons and:



January 2005: Added to the list of animals for which one can
request a depredation permit.
Depredation permits are issued through the California Department
of Fish and Game.
Turkey Damage
Suspected Turkey Damage
Good Sources of Information from
the U.C. Cooperative Extension
Wonderful Publications
U.C. Cooperative Extension
Website http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/
UCCE Sonoma County
133 Aviation Blvd.
U.C. Integrated Pest Management
Website http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 565 - 2621
Services available through the Agricultural
Commissioner’s Office
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We carry Diphacinone Bait for vertebrate pest control.
Our Diphacinone Baits are listed for use on rats, mice,
voles (meadow mice), ground squirrels, jack rabbits, and
muskrats.
We sell Strychnine treated grain for gopher control.
We also have bait stations for rats and mice and helpful
brochures about different vertebrate pests and control
measures.
Words of Caution



Always read and follow label directions
Don’t use the product unless the pest you are
attempting to control is on the label.
Pick up any strychnine bait that spills on the
ground where non target species can find it.
 (Above ground use has been illegal since 1989)
Thank You
Durned
gophers
anyhow!
Dan Curtin
Agricultural Biologists/Standards Specialist