CENTRAL BUTTE, Sask. – They are rarely seen, but the evidence they’ve been there is all over the field.
The dirt mounds created by industrious pocket gophers, which many people call moles, cost farmers time and money.
But a retired Nebraska farmer says the situation isn’t hopeless.
“Control is there, but people have to do it and do it right,” said Elton Weich. “It’s not that difficult.”
Weich demonstrated his methods in an irrigated hay field near Lake Diefenbaker last week.
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He recommends levelling the ground first, with either a truck-mounted burrow leveler like the one he has developed or harrows, a rod weeder or a float.
This won’t hurt the crop, and it’s easy to see where the fresh digging occurs.
Control should start three days after the field has been smoothed.
Weich prefers to hand bait each new mound because it’s cheaper and faster than trapping.
He probes at a 45-degree angle to find the entry tunnel to the main burrow system, places the bait into the main burrow, plugs the tunnel and levels the mound.
Weich uses a zinc phosphide bait, called Burrow Oat Bait. Zinc phosphide creates a gas in the pocket gopher’s stomach and causes the animal to asphyxiate.
This type of control must be done over a number of years to keep pocket gophers in check. And farmers need to take the time to do it.
“You have to continue to monitor your fields,” Weich said. “You can do a 100-acre alfalfa field in the time it takes to change the oil in your tractor or mow the lawn.”
Those who expect to completely eliminate the pest will be disappointed.
“That’s not being very realistic,” Weich said. “But you can get the numbers down to where you can control them very easily.”
He likens pocket gophers to weeds. If you spray the weeds they die, but they come back the next year.
Control should begin as soon as the frost is out of the ground each spring.
The rodents are often found in shelterbelts, fencelines and road allowances where there is more protection, so the mounds in those border areas should be baited too.
Weich recommends baiting after the first and second hay cuts, taking note of problem areas, and again in the fall.
He has spent the last seven years controlling pocket gophers for other farmers.
“I had nothing but alfalfa for 25 years and I thought I knew all there was to know about pocket gophers.”
But different environments and different soils can affect the rodents. For example, they are susceptible to heat and will dig deeper in hotter climates to get cooler.
Weich looks after about 4,000 acres and charges between $2 and $9 an acre, depending on the size of the pocket gopher population in a field.
He said farmers should remember there isn’t a pocket gopher for every mound.
“I’ve seen a pocket gopher throw up seven mounds overnight.”
Another produced 43 mounds in 10 days.
Weich said research has shown an adult can push four tonnes of dirt in a year.
