Gophers

I'd loan you my dogs!!  They've done a pretty good job in my backyard, catching them.
 
Those smoker things work pretty well if you plug up the other openings.  Gophers seem to be particularly bad in our area this year.  Caught one in our feed room in a mousetrap!

We had an epidemic when I was in AZ. I didn't mind living with them. But others thought it was their personal mision in life to kill them all and make everyone miserable in the process.

I us to use moth balls around my hay. DO NOT use the the bombs. It is harmful for your horses. Really the only thing safe for your horses is to trap the buggers. They have spific gopher traps. But they may be rat traps. The snap there necks. In order to use then you need to shove the traps down into the hole so your horse doesn't mess with them and it gets the gopher. Your VERY lucky if you onely have one or two. But you need to get on top of this FAST! They make lots of babies. Also the holes could potentially be dangerous for your horse if they happened to be able to get any body parts into one.  (silly I know but it was an issue)
Good luck.

Darn spell check wont fix my words!

I know I am a goofball, but when I read this all I could think about was bill murray in caddyshack "but Sandy If i kill all the golfers they'll lock me up and throw away the key" Kevin 

[quote=gabhainn]

I know I am a goofball, but when I read this all I could think about was bill murray in caddyshack "but Sandy If i kill all the golfers they'll lock me up and throw away the key" Kevin  
  
 







[8D][8D][8D][8D][8D][8D]
 
We went back and left the little bugger one hole to get in and out of and hopefully he will just use that one and be happy and not dig anymore!! We found one hole that was straight down...not good!!! I just wish they would move to the empty field across the street!!!

I just wish they would move to the empty field across the street!!!

LOLOLOL... why would they move when they have a perfectly good field where they are!? They never bothered me much. But I also wasn't opposed to killing them either. Looks like you probably are. I'm sure you know this. But they won't go away on their own. They will only multiply. And I am not overexagerating. Good luck. And I would love an update on this.

with ground mole  you can put sticks of juicy fruit gum in the openings in the ground
the moles eat the gum and it plugs them up and they die.
 
with groundhogs   take a piece of garden hose and put it down the hole  then plug
the opening around the hose,   using a funnel in the end of the hose pour a half gallon of bleach into the garden hose  and then a qt of ammonia into the hose.  pull the hose out and plug that hole too.
 
this makes a poisonious gas and will kill groundhogs in the hole.   it should work with
goffers .
 
then come back and fill the holes in good.
 
 

Shiver- I am not opposed to killing them..I just don't have the heart to do it...as much as I hate them. lol We do have the luck of traffic though. It is on a road that is quite busy and I seen here a couple of weeks back that one of his friends, hopefully the mate, got smucked. lol So maybe he is just living on borrowed time! I can wish , right?
SecondChance- I had the bleach part right...just forgot the amonia.[8|] I am just afraid that if it don't kill them, then they will just make new holes and I wont know where those are at. I am always up for making some evil chemical potion.[]
I will have to try to remember to take my camera over tomorrow and get some pics of their holes. Seems every where they dug, they have 3 escape routes. lol

maybe try and get ahold of some smoke bombs.   that should show
were the exits are at.
 
 
 

[quote=SecondChance]

maybe try and get ahold of some smoke bombs.   that should show
were the exits are at.




Then I will be sure to have some one take a video of me hauling booty across the pasture and standing on top of the gate in case they come out!! lol

I highly suggest that before you make any bombs or explode anything, caddy shack style, you look either on the package or on the internet to see if it is harmful to horses. 

I have been down this road! Believe me I have!!!! All the bombs we researched where safe for humans but poisonous to livestock. One stupid guy used one anyway. And we had a horse get pretty sick from it. Had to call the vet out and everything. 

Also think about if you bomb them they will smell as they rot. Seriously the traps are the safest way to go.

Hum.. I bet I could dig up some of the crazy things that people did fighting about this. the vet told the one group to put a little ground flag so the horses would know it was there... huh.. so the spray painted the holes..( no joke) orange so the horses could "see them". The other person got so angry that she went around and spray painted everything!! That the horses could run into. "beucse the vet said if it is orange the horse could see them." Ex, the swing set. The fences, the sheds. It really got way out of hand.

Moral of the story. use the traps. Or hire some teen to put some BB pellets into them. But the traps are way eaier.

[quote=dangergurl]

Shiver- I am not opposed to killing them..I just don't have the heart to do it.
 
 
I DO!!!!! I'd rather have a dead little pain int he butt then a loved horse with a broken leg from falling in a hole! **has 20 gage**  >

I hear you Dixie... but everyone has their limits I guess.

There are many gopher repellant products on the market.  Why not try one before resorting to killing them. Frankly, I am surprised that people are so quick to want to kill them.  How about trying to relocate them first? 
Here's one link to get you started: http://www.gardenfun.com/gardening-pest-control.html