Philosophies vary when it comes to methods of gopher control, gopher trapping and removal. There are some who hold to home remedies like filling up all of the holes of a gopher network with water, waiting with shovels to knock the gophers’ heads off when they surface. There are others who go the electronic route, putting sound devices into the tunnels that simulate gopher distress signals, hoping that the sounds will send the gophers into someone else’s property.
There is also the chemical solution to the problem – primarily handled with baits and poisons. There are several ways you can put the bait down into the gopher tunnel network. You can use a handheld probe to stick the bait down into the tunnel, you can insert a tube into the tunnel and then send the bait down through it, and you can even build your own extensions onto the end of a gopher tunnel to slide the bait in without making the rodents suspicious. Some companies offer more sophisticated tubes with a hand-crank device that lets you slowly drop the bait down the tube. The gophers are supposed to find it, eat it, and take it to the nest. These products tend to promise results within one or two weeks.
There are some risks to putting down baits. If your pets get into them, it can be hazardous to your health. Most bait company websites, though, indicate what antidote your pet’s veterinarian should administer in case or poisoning. If your pet eats a gopher that was killed with a Jaguar or d-CON bait, you will want to get it to the vet immediately for treatment.
There are also some poison pellets that you can use to get rid of your gopher infestation. Generally, the instructions for these products will tell you to spread the pellets around the network mounds or down into the tunnels themselves, and some of them come with a tool that you can use to slide the poison into the tunnel without caving it in, or leaving evidence of human interference. Most of these products, though, contain specific warnings against use if you have pets or children who will be around the area, because of the dangers of pets or children encountering the pellets, or pets eating the dead gophers.
Here’s the bottom line, though – you’re trying to get rid of a network of harmful pests. Any solution is likely to leave some effect behind, and so if you can keep your pets and children away from the affected areas, then poisons and baits can be one of the most powerful gopher removal methods out there.
