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Site Specific Pocket Gopher Management

Site Specific Pocket Gopher Management. Matthew Edmonds. Why the need for gopher management?. Gopher Biology. Mounds 1 Gopher + 1 Year = 200 Mounds One per tunnel generally Up to three litters per year Feed on: Roots, Seeds, Stems, Tubers, Leaves, and Bulbs

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Site Specific Pocket Gopher Management

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  1. Site Specific Pocket Gopher Management Matthew Edmonds

  2. Why the need for gopher management?

  3. Gopher Biology • Mounds • 1 Gopher + 1 Year = 200 Mounds • One per tunnel generally • Up to three litters per year • Feed on: Roots, Seeds, Stems, Tubers, Leaves, and Bulbs • Alfalfa, clover, garden crops, Fruit trees, etc.

  4. Benefits • Contribute to the formation and conditioning of soil • Increase soil fertility • Increase water infiltration • Increase soil aeration • Decrease soil compaction

  5. Negatives • Forage • At density of 32 per acre • 20%-50% reduction • Alfalfa • Native grass

  6. Negatives • Dulled or plugged mowing machinery • Mechanical breakdowns • Damages to buried cable, irrigation pipe, and trees

  7. When to manage Gophers? • Identification of Problem • Pose economic significance? • Eating crops or interfering with farming activities? • To what degree? • Density • When is there too many?

  8. Control Methods • Depend on $$$$ • Time • Determination

  9. Control Methods • Traps • Toxicants • Repellants • Machinery

  10. Traps • Effective with continuous effort • Labor intensive over large areas • Gophinator 6 pack @ $42

  11. Bait • Use applicator to put pellets into tunnels • Poison - Strychnine • 1 to 2 lbs. per acre • 10lbs. @ $50

  12. Burrow Builder • Makes artificial burrows • Drops bait in formed tunnel • Recommended for large areas • 10 acres per hour using 2-3 lbs. of bait • $1200-$3000

  13. Repellants • Granular form • Spread over area • One pound per 1000 square feet • Makes area unpleasant for gopher • 6 lbs. @ $26

  14. Electronics • Uses sound, vibration, or signals • Batteries or Solar • 1 @ $20-$40 • Effectiveness?

  15. Plowing • Disturbs soil – prevents major infestation • Negatives • No-till farming • Perennial crops

  16. Fumigation and Explosives • Smoke or gas usually not effective • Gophers seal off tunnel Varmint Getter • 95%Oxygen and 5%Propane • 1 @ $1295-$1495

  17. Damage Prevention • Exclusion • Typically used in yards and gardens • ¼ to ½ inch hardware clothe • Buried 2 feet into the ground • Expensive and labor intensive

  18. Damage Prevention • Cultural methods and Habitat Modification • Crop Varieties • Crop Rotation • Grain Buffer Strips • Flood Irrigation

  19. Early Detection • Control is: • Easier • Less expensive • Less time consuming

  20. Site Specific Management? • How is this related? • Goal • Increase return on investment by minimizing risk • What is the risk of too many gophers? • Nebraska- $10 million in damage per year

  21. Questions?

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