Livestock
Anyone have tricks that are not too time consuming to manage gophers in pasture? Here is a summary of advice I've had the past year:
-Trapping with the cinch traps can work, but is very time consuming
-A propane/O2 igniter that is supposed to create a shock wave and kill them didn't really work for me last year
-Some people mentioned putting bubble gum in the holes as when they eat it they can't digest and will rupture intestine?
-There are devices that will capture your Pickup exhaust gas, cool it, compress it and then you can inject into the holes to suffocate them?
-injecting poison pellets into the ground in hopes they find and eat them...
-Last person I talked to mentioned attracting great horn owls to your property as they will keep populations in check...
Those are all the ideas I've heard, managing hundreds of acres of alfalfa and don't have time to set cinch traps, "keep a gun" in the truck shoot them when seen, and the propane igniter didn't work. Seems like it might take 2 years or more to attract owls.
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As an Australian reading this, all I can see is Caddy Shack the movie . I understand it is a huge issue for you guys and we simply have no reference point for it over here. All the best
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Find a supplier that sells NH3 valves, hoses, gloves and goggles, and purchase gloves, goggles, two 1 1/4" npt angled hose end valves with 1 3/4" female acme-saftey couplers.
Also you will need a 1 1/4"x 30' transfer hose rated for anhydrous ammonia. Fasten 1 1/4" npt X 1 3/4" acme valve/saftey coulpler assemby to each end of the 30' transfer hose.
Load your new hose assembly in pickup and ...
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I haven't tried yet but have talked with some large producers that simply apply anhydrous to the field just like they were growing corn there (lessor rate). you get the N from it and it kills the gophers. Some of them mentioned rolling afterward to push the furrow closed. others said it is minimal and washes in with the rain.
If you have the ability to irrigate, Flooding them out buy any means possible is a good place to start. We do this with our center pivots in the spring and late fall as well as in the normal irrigation cycles throughout the year. Then we use several of the H&M PERC machines (compressed CO2) Year round if possible to keep them under control.
You can check these machines out at H&M gopher control....