GardenBanter.co.uk - Gopher Update

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That freaking gopher is doing so much damage. I filed the hole with water
today to try and drown the sucker, water started coming out everywhere. I
thought the ground was going to drop.
The gopher is winning. I have a few more things I am going to try next week.

On May 26, 11:54�pm, "SteveB" toquerville,utah@zionvistas wrote:
"aluckyguess" wrote in message

...

That freaking gopher is doing so much damage. I filed the hole with water
today to try and drown the sucker, water started coming out everywhere. I
thought the ground was going to drop.
The gopher is winning. I have a few more things I am going to try next
week.

I came home after six days in the hospital to find gophers had moved in to
the tunnels left after I blasted the last ones out with my home made
Rodenator. �(seewww.rodenator.com) �So, I dug and dug and dug, making it
look like a scene from European WW I. �But I did find a tunnel. �I filled it
with 60 seconds of propane and pure O2. �Then I couldn't get it to detonate.
I added a little propane, then O2. �Did that a couple of times. �It finally
fired with a nice thump, indicating the explosion took place deep. �Those
are the best, as surface explosions sound like a .357 Magnum, and will blow
dirt and rocks into your face.

Gophers are a pain in the neck. �They are difficult to kill, and then if you
do, there's an OPEN sign in gopher language for the next one. �Water does
not work well often, and only wreaks havoc on your
garden/foundation/whatever. �Poisons are OK, but there's a danger there. �CO
from a lawnmower exhaust works pretty good if you get it in the right
tunnel. �A propane/O2 device works good, but they are expensive to either
build or buy. �And then you just have to use it over and over and over again
on every new juvenile delinquent gopher that comes along.

I have abandoned the idea of hiring out my device, and will use it only now
on my and neighbor's properties because you really need to provide it like a
monthly extermination service. �Once you kill the ones there, new ones move
right in, even with collapsed tunnels. �The costs of fuel and labor are only
a draw when matched to the fee one can charge. �I had many desperate people
call in on ads I placed locally. �However, the dangers of fire and accidents
is very high. �Two Canadians using the Rodenator set fire to twenty acres
and burned $200,000 worth of outbuildings recently. �They were fined $1500
each for their good intentioned work. �Fire can come out the other end of a
blast, so one needs to be cautious around buildings or dry vegetation. �I've
had secondary shots after a minute or so of the first, indicating a slow
moving fire underground.

I have heard of anhydrous ammonia being put into gopher tunnels, and that
works with a side benefit of fertilizing the surrounding soil. �It works,
but that stuff is nasty with a capital N.

Good luck.

Steve in SW Utah

Here's my expericnce:

We, and the surrounding houses, had a lot of gophers... until one of
our house cats (my wife had four) went feral. We put out a little
dish of cat food for her, just enough to keep her around, but now all
the
gophers are gone for the whole block. She must love the taste.

Buy or rent a cat and be sure to leave it out at night!

"aluckyguess" wrote in message
...
That freaking gopher is doing so much damage. I filed the hole with water
today to try and drown the sucker, water started coming out everywhere. I
thought the ground was going to drop.
The gopher is winning. I have a few more things I am going to try next
week.

I came home after six days in the hospital to find gophers had moved in to
the tunnels left after I blasted the last ones out with my home made
Rodenator. (see www.rodenator.com) So, I dug and dug and dug, making it
look like a scene from European WW I. But I did find a tunnel. I filled it
with 60 seconds of propane and pure O2. Then I couldn't get it to detonate.
I added a little propane, then O2. Did that a couple of times. It finally
fired with a nice thump, indicating the explosion took place deep. Those
are the best, as surface explosions sound like a .357 Magnum, and will blow
dirt and rocks into your face.

Gophers are a pain in the neck. They are difficult to kill, and then if you
do, there's an OPEN sign in gopher language for the next one. Water does
not work well often, and only wreaks havoc on your
garden/foundation/whatever. Poisons are OK, but there's a danger there. CO
from a lawnmower exhaust works pretty good if you get it in the right
tunnel. A propane/O2 device works good, but they are expensive to either
build or buy. And then you just have to use it over and over and over again
on every new juvenile delinquent gopher that comes along.

I have abandoned the idea of hiring out my device, and will use it only now
on my and neighbor's properties because you really need to provide it like a
monthly extermination service. Once you kill the ones there, new ones move
right in, even with collapsed tunnels. The costs of fuel and labor are only
a draw when matched to the fee one can charge. I had many desperate people
call in on ads I placed locally. However, the dangers of fire and accidents
is very high. Two Canadians using the Rodenator set fire to twenty acres
and burned $200,000 worth of outbuildings recently. They were fined $1500
each for their good intentioned work. Fire can come out the other end of a
blast, so one needs to be cautious around buildings or dry vegetation. I've
had secondary shots after a minute or so of the first, indicating a slow
moving fire underground.

I have heard of anhydrous ammonia being put into gopher tunnels, and that
works with a side benefit of fertilizing the surrounding soil. It works,
but that stuff is nasty with a capital N.

Good luck.

Steve in SW Utah

"www.locoworks.com" wrote in message
...
On May 26, 11:54?pm, "SteveB" toquerville,utah@zionvistas wrote:
"aluckyguess" wrote in message

...

That freaking gopher is doing so much damage. I filed the hole with
water
today to try and drown the sucker, water started coming out everywhere.
I
thought the ground was going to drop.
The gopher is winning. I have a few more things I am going to try next
week.

I came home after six days in the hospital to find gophers had moved in to
the tunnels left after I blasted the last ones out with my home made
Rodenator. ?(seewww.rodenator.com) ?So, I dug and dug and dug, making it
look like a scene from European WW I. ?But I did find a tunnel. ?I filled
it
with 60 seconds of propane and pure O2. ?Then I couldn't get it to
detonate.
I added a little propane, then O2. ?Did that a couple of times. ?It
finally
fired with a nice thump, indicating the explosion took place deep. ?Those
are the best, as surface explosions sound like a .357 Magnum, and will
blow
dirt and rocks into your face.

Gophers are a pain in the neck. ?They are difficult to kill, and then if
you
do, there's an OPEN sign in gopher language for the next one. ?Water does
not work well often, and only wreaks havoc on your
garden/foundation/whatever. ?Poisons are OK, but there's a danger there.
?CO
from a lawnmower exhaust works pretty good if you get it in the right
tunnel. ?A propane/O2 device works good, but they are expensive to either
build or buy. ?And then you just have to use it over and over and over
again
on every new juvenile delinquent gopher that comes along.

I have abandoned the idea of hiring out my device, and will use it only
now
on my and neighbor's properties because you really need to provide it like
a
monthly extermination service. ?Once you kill the ones there, new ones
move
right in, even with collapsed tunnels. ?The costs of fuel and labor are
only
a draw when matched to the fee one can charge. ?I had many desperate
people
call in on ads I placed locally. ?However, the dangers of fire and
accidents
is very high. ?Two Canadians using the Rodenator set fire to twenty acres
and burned $200,000 worth of outbuildings recently. ?They were fined $1500
each for their good intentioned work. ?Fire can come out the other end of
a
blast, so one needs to be cautious around buildings or dry vegetation.
?I've
had secondary shots after a minute or so of the first, indicating a slow
moving fire underground.

I have heard of anhydrous ammonia being put into gopher tunnels, and that
works with a side benefit of fertilizing the surrounding soil. ?It works,
but that stuff is nasty with a capital N.

Good luck.

Steve in SW Utah

Here's my expericnce:

We, and the surrounding houses, had a lot of gophers... until one of
our house cats (my wife had four) went feral. We put out a little
dish of cat food for her, just enough to keep her around, but now all
the
gophers are gone for the whole block. She must love the taste.

Buy or rent a cat and be sure to leave it out at night!

My Lab/Rott mix dog has gotten a couple. She sits and waits like a cat.

Steve

On May 27, 4:57�pm, phorbin wrote:

What about ferrets?

They use hunting ferrets to flush rabbits in Britain.

I've heard of hunting ferrets used on rats.

The question is, could they be used for gopher control?

The idea is for the predator to kill the prey, thus reducing the
number of gophers. Do the ferrets kill the rabbits? If so, there may
be hope for your approach.

On May 28, 6:52�am, phorbin wrote:
In article 254c406c-12c4-40b5-a3a0-8ed790555a17
@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com, says...

On May 27, 4:57?pm, phorbin wrote:

What about ferrets?

They use hunting ferrets to flush rabbits in Britain.

I've heard of hunting ferrets used on rats.

The question is, could they be used for gopher control?

The idea is for the predator to kill the prey, thus reducing the
number of gophers. �Do the ferrets kill the rabbits? �If so, there may
be hope for your approach.

According to one of the web sites I listed, sometimes.

�The idea is for the ferrets, (you use them in pairs) to flush the
rabbits and you trap them at their exits. There are nets designed for
the task.

If a ferret kills a rabbit, and they say they sometimes do, it stays
with the kill, eats and sleeps. Which means you're less one ferret if
you can't locate and dig it out or trap it later. They used to tie a
string or ribbon them and follow it to dig them out. Now they use radio
locators to find them.

Supposedly, ferrets can search pretty much anywhere and will explore a
warren quite thoroughly. My purpose, if I ever chose to try them would
be to exploit this ability and make the holes uninhabitable by constant,
random harrassment. I'd reduce the population by trapping the gophers at
their exits and dealing with them later. If it worked and according to
how well it worked, I'd spread the idea, and my developing expertyse
around.

Whether the purpose could be fulfilled is another question since I am
supposing and theorizing. I never thought seriously about ferrets as
working animals before seeing this thread.

Your method certainly has merit, but the cat solution is a lot less
effort.