Spring. It’s the time of year when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of gophers, .22 calibre rifles and two percent liquid strychnine.
Farmers across the West have once again begun their annual springtime struggle with the Richardson’s ground squirrel, the pesky burrowing rodent that can destroy crops, damage pastures and turn freshly seeded fields into pockmarked battlegrounds.
In 2007, Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency issued a one-year emergency use registration for two percent liquid strychnine, granting farmers another weapon in their efforts to control the rodents.
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Registration has been extended in Saskatchewan and Alberta for another year, allowing producers to buy the poison from rural municipalities, counties or other authorized distributors until July 31.
In Saskatchewan, 171 municipalities are eligible to distribute liquid strychnine. Additional RMs that want to distribute the poison can contact Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Phil Merrill, an Alberta Agriculture pest inspector who specializes in gopher control, says liquid strychnine was a popular tool among Alberta producers in 2008.
Farmers bought roughly 5,000 cases of the product, he said.
“We got pretty good control in 2008,” Merrill said.
“This year, we are participating in the program again… but we’re not selling very much. We’re selling about half as much as we were last year.”
Oyen, Hanna, Two Hills, Vermilion and Wainwright are seeing significantly reduced gopher numbers in 2009 because of successful control efforts over the past two years.
In Saskatchewan, producers who buy liquid strychnine or other gopher poisons between Aug. 1, 2007 and Oct. 1, 2009 are eligible for a 50 percent refund through the province’s Gopher Control Rebate Program (www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Gopher-Rebate.)
In southwestern Saskatchewan, control efforts have yielded positive results in some areas but severe infestations are still evident.
George DeBruyne, a landowner from Mankota, Sask., said a .22 calibre shell offers the best control.
Last weekend, DeBruyne granted permission to a pair of hunters who wanted to spend an afternoon taking target practice on his pasture.
“They were here four hours and they shot over 2,000 gophers,” DeBruyne said.
“It (the number of gophers) is just terrible. You’ve got to see it to believe it. The ground was just moving with them. It’s been dry here for four years so you can’t expect much more.”
Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said his organization receives hundreds of calls each year from hunters looking for a chance to sharpen their shooting skills.
Crabbe refers callers to local RM offices, which direct hunters to heavily infested areas.
