Gophers can be a destructive nuisance to folks that grow hay or raise livestock, and the springtime is a great time to address them too.

Gopher burrowing can cause damage to equipment and livestock injuries. They cause damage to crops and wreck gardens by eating plant roots and vegetation. Over the last few weeks, especially on the sandy soil types we have here in parts of Austin County, significant issues are popping up. The mounds and tunnel systems cause significant issues in a pasture if they are not controlled. These mounds are rough on equipment too.

Gophers spend most of their solitary lives below ground. A single gopher can burrow a tunnel system that extends as long as 800 feet, covers an acre, and ranges in depth from a few inches to several feet deep. Most landowners/homeowners who do not have a hungry cat on retainer, should choose eradication measures to address gopher problems.

The strategies to address gophers in hay pastures differ slightly from the ones that a homeowner would use, due to size and scale of the area involved. The homeowner with gopher issues can use Macabee traps or pesticides, with pesticides being the most effective method to use. In a pasture situation, pesticide application is the best method of control. Although there are many choices for poison baits (Zinc phosphide pellets, Strychnine-treated grain, or Diphacinone), most producers will use a Diphacinone-based product that is applied to rice, peanuts or sorghum.

Although there are various methods to apply pesticide, no applicator license is usually required to utilize products used on gophers, but users should be mindful to keep the product away from other wildlife and grazing livestock. The product needs to be placed in the tunnel system for effectiveness and to prevent birds and other animals from consuming the poison. Bait injection equipment, such as a burrow builder, can mechanically apply the product and place it at the proper depth.

Homeowners should find the newest mound or series of mounds in the burrow. Locate the main runway by probing the soil with a bluntly pointed probe – such as a piece of rebar or shovel handle – six to eight inches from the mound on the side where a horseshoe-like depression is found. Do not probe too deep, or your bait placement will be below the floor of the tunnel.

After locating the main runway, remove the probe and insert the recommended doses of bait. Close the opening with grass or paper and cover with dirt to keep out light and air, and to avoid covering the bait with soil. Place the bait near each end of the main runway and at one or more locations in the central part of the tunnel system.

Pasture and hayland producers should use burrow builders to create artificial burrows and dispense bait underground. It can be pulled back and forth across a field to make a series of parallel burrows. Burrows should be made at 25- to 30-foot intervals along the contour of the land. If gopher pressure is moderate to light, burrows at 40- to 50-foot intervals will work. Always follow the bait label directions. Gophers will explore the artificial burrow and find the bait. The soil must have adequate moisture for plowing and to effectively construct the burrows.

Dealing with gophers can be tricky, as they are rarely seen, but the mounds and tunnels are a good indicator of their malevolent presence. They are most certainly a pest that can take persistence and multiple applications in different locations to be controlled successfully.

Good luck!

For additional information, contact Brad Kieschnick at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field office in Bellville at 979-865-3139 x3.