Goofy for Gophers

[calzephyr]

I don't know if I'm going to be embarking on some Caddyshackesque capers or just head out to Home Depot for some spray foam. There's a small ground squirrel living under our step.

Most of the ground squirrels live in the field and the church a few blocks away and I knew there were a couple in the neighbourhood because of their high pitched little calls. I caught my neighbour prowling in the front yard one day a few years ago and apparently the gopher was in his yard. I think that gopher went away (hopefully in a natural way).

I spotted the little guy yesterday and today. There were these impossible to get rid of dandelions in the crack between the step and the sidewalk, but he took care of them by digging three holes! All this activity is pretty new. I filled one of the holes with white rocks and by the time I got back yesterday, it had been cleared. Oh boy...

Comments

[equusmaximus.livejournal.com]

As I've mentioned in my own LJ, we're being plagued with "infestation level" numbers of gophers. I'm going to use a couple (or more) "Gopher Destroyers" on them. They look like big firecrackers, and I think there are four or five of them in a pack. Not sure if you can get them at Rona or Home Depot, but I know you can get them at the UFA store near Chinook Centre.

You basically fill in all the holes you can find, leaving one open. Light the fuse, stuff it down the hole, and fill in the hole. In theory, no more gophers.

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! Hopefully it won't get that bad. I know the field near us, which has been designated a future parking lot, is chock full of them. I read on a wildlife website that when something is living under your step, give it a few weeks in case it's raising a litter. In theory, according to this website, the critters will abandon the den. But you know, critters don't have much of a penchant for human rules!

[silvermare.livejournal.com]

Eeek! Sounds like your authority over your property is being challenged.

My ex-fiance had a special fondness for ground squirrels. He would share his french fries with them. I'm not sure it was the healthiest thing for them to eat, but oh well. He would get downright scary when anyone threatened a ground squirrel, and oh trust me, he wasn't exactly the non-violent type! Of course, he also takes things to the opposite extreme. He let them completely overrun his property, along with the semi-feral cattle, stray dogs, and anything else that wandered along. But, I guess when you live in an alkaline high desert (in other words, nothing grows anyway) you can afford to be so lenient. LOL!

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Man, is it ever! Last year I was paranoid about the mouse I saw in the bird feeder. Everything comes to our yard - thanks to the sparrows spilling seeds, the pigeons are back :-D Maybe it means something that my birthday is also the feast day for St. Francis!

Wow, that's amazing about your ex! Usually ranchers get quite upset about a cow breaking its leg in a gopher hole. But you're right - what else can you cultivate there?

[silvermare.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! What a coincidence! Especially given your affinity with birds.

Bill wasn't a rancher. He was just another mechanic. He just happened to live on a small acreage. Land is really cheap in rural Nevada. He just really liked animals. Since he's not a rancher and knows nothing about ranching, I don't think it ever even occurred to him that a cow or steer might break its leg in a burrow.

[minimalismo.livejournal.com]

I bought a nasty-looking green metal trap from Home Hardware that is spring loaded... you put it in the hole and it pinches the gopher. Then it dies slowly. Poor thing. I don't use it anymore... now our dog catches them!

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Eeek! I hope I'm not reincarnated as a gopher on your farm!