Pocket Gophers cause damage to many things, including yards, gardens, crops, trees, large roots, irrigation systems, and well-kept turf grass. They also cause extensive damage to landscape and cause soil erosion.
Pocket Gophers are herbivorous and burrowing rodents that live the majority of their lives underground. They create a complicated burrowing system with various underground tunnels, anywhere from 200 to 2,000 square feet. Their burrow system includes “feeding tunnels” that can be anywhere from 6 to 12 inches deep from the ground.
It is important to treat for gophers in early spring before they reproduce and in late fall, just as food becomes scarce. Treating for gophers during these times of the year can help prevent mass infestations. Depending on climate, they can reproduce 1-3 litters per year. Gophers average 5-6 per litter and they live an average of 3 years.
There are many different methods to managing gophers. Using multiple solutions at once is beneficial in controlling and maintaining large infestations. One option is by use of poison baits. Wilco gopher baits are dispensed subsoil by use of an applicator and is both effective and efficient when controlling Pocket Gopher infestations.
The Wilco Gopher Bait Applicator is recommended for anyone with several acres or commercial use requiring extensive gopher control. This tool is a hand-operated probe that dispenses Wilco bait into the gopher’s natural runway, helping to prevent bait from coming into contact with birds, pets, and children. The Wilco Gopher Bait Applicator includes a 1 lb. jar of Wilco gopher bait, which can be screwed onto the probe itself.
Locate the runway…
Pocket Gophers create what looks like a horseshoe-shaped mound that is visible from the surface. Find a fresh mound and use the Wilco Gopher Bait Applicator to poke into the ground from the plug side of the mound. A sudden lack of resistance will occur, meaning the runway to the gopher’s tunnel has been struck. The tunnel can be located anywhere from 4 to 12 inches from the plug side of the fresh mound.
Dispense bait using the applicator…
Once you have located the runway with the probe, lift the applicator up 1-2 inches to be sure to dispense the bait into the runway and not under it. Simply pull the handle upward at the top of the applicator to dispense bait into the runway, subsoil. After placing the appropriate amount of bait, pull the applicator out of the ground and knock over the fresh gopher mound that has just been treated. Knocking over and smoothing the mound will be beneficial in noticing if new activity throughout the treated tunnel system exists the next day. If new mounds are pushed up the next day, simply do another round of bait placements throughout the tunnel systems, in and around the fresh mounds.
Be sure to use the appropriate amount of bait in each placement as directed on the label of the bait of choice. Follow label directions carefully and abide by all safety regulations. Click here to learn more.
