The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1920-09-14
pocket GOPHERS
ARE DESTRUCTIVE.
PESTS ON FARMS
Cooperative Community
Effort, However, May
be Used to Effectively
Kill Them.
By w. E. CROUCH.

Pocket gophers are a serious pest
in many localities in Idaho, by caus-
ing losses to agriculture in many
ways. They eat growing grain and
cover much of it with soil In digging
burrows, they cause loss of hay by
throwing up mounds which prevent
close moving. and injure much mach
inery. Their burrows admit surface
water and help it to wash out deep
gullies on sloping land. By burrow-
ing into dams and entertainments of
irrigation canals they cause costly
breaks. The animals ruin gardens and
injure field crops. In addition, they
kill trees in orchards by gnawing off
the roots
Two practical methods of killing
pocket. gophers are trapping and
poisoning. The trapping method is
slow. but very effective on small areas,
or where only few gophers are pres
ent. The poisoning method is the
better plan on large fields and for
cooperative work on adjacent farms.
In irrigated districts, where water is
available, flooding the land will drive
the animals out of their burrows, and
they may be killed by men and dogs.
1ICPax0tAOu Vi 1Ol0Ou
Method No. 51.-Clean and cut up
into cubes about "a inch square. car
rots. parsnips. sugar beets. or sweet
potatoes. Sift l-8 ounce of powdered
strychnine -alkaloid, and 1872 ounce
of powdered saccharine, mixed togeth-
err, over three quarts of these cubes.
stirring to distribute the poison evenly.
Allow the poisoned bait to stand for
an hour. so that all excess moisture
has disappeared. Bats allowed to
dry in this manner will not collect
dirt as they are dropped into the rum
ways. Mix this bait as needed, for
better results are obtained when the
bait is fresh and it will sometimes
mold in four or five days.
Method No. Mix one tablespoon
full of gloss starch in just enough cold
water to dissolve it, and stir u pint
of boiling water to make thin, clear
paste. Mix one ounce of powdered
strychnine alkaloid with one ounce Of
paste to a smooth creamy mass free
of Jumps. Stir in IA pint of corn
syrup, and one tablespoonful of glycer-
inc. and finally l-8 ounce Of saccharine.
Apply to IL quarts of clean oats or
wheat and mix thoroughly to coat each
kernel. Bait mixed according to this
method is effective for several years,
as it will. not lose its strength for
years after being mixed.
The runways, which are usually four
to eight inches beneath the surface.
can be located by means of a probe
made of any strong material an inch
in diameter and about 48 inches long,
bluntly pointed on one end. A foot
rest aids in probing in hard soils. By
forcing down the probe near gopher
workings or a foot or two of fresh
mounds. the open tunnel can be felt as
the point breaks into it. About two
bats Of the carrots, parsnips. ETC..
or one teaspoonful of the poisoned
oats or wheat is dropped into the run,
and the probe holes closed with leaves,
grass or straw. One soon becomes
expert in locating the runs and a man
can treat 800 to 500 gopher workings
in a day. Bats need be placed at
only two points in each separate sys-
tenn of 10 to 80 mounds. which is us
ually the home of single gopher.
Experience has shown that bats
placed fairly in the open runs usually
kill the gopher. Do not expect to get
all the gophers by one treatment.
The first treatment should be followed
in about a week with another treat
ment. and sometimes a third treat
ment, the following week treating only
the fresh workings.
Cooperation Essential
In the control of the pocket gopher
or any other injurious rodent it is
important that an area of considerable
size be treated at approximately the
same time. Any farmer may by care
and industry, free his own premises
of pocket gophers but he is helpless
to prevent an early reinfcstation un-
less he can secure the active co-opera-
ton of his neighbors. Only by unity
of effort can an entire county or com
munity be freed of gophers. By
combining to hire labor and purchase
poison. the cost of treatment may he
materially reduced. and when perman-
ent results are considered there can be
no question of the economy of such
cooperation Cooperative work IN
the control of pocket gophers is being
carried on this fall in Canyon county
under authority of the county COM
missioners acting under provisions oil
the Idaho rodent law which gives the
commissioners the authority to hire
labor and purchase poison to exter.
inmate injurious rodents. the cost oi
this work being paid by the county
and charged against the land treated il
the form of taxes. This work in Can
yon county is being conducted in CO.
operation with the Canyon count,
farm bureau. University of Idaho ex
tension division. and the United
States biological Survey. insuring ex
pert SUPERVISION, economv in cost. ant
a definite plan of work which ne
doubt will result eventually in per
manent relief from the pocket gophel
pest.
The Pennsylvania Dutch have thei
own way Of saying things. and gen
orally they manage to make thei
meaning clear although sometirnes /,