34 RODENTS OF IOWA 



In Iowa, wherever bounty has been paid on these animals, it has 

 been at the option of the boards of supervisors and there has 

 been no uniformity in the matter of the amounts offered or in 

 the evidence required for payment of bounty. As a result, fraudu- 

 lent means have been employed in some instances to secure bounty 

 money and a considerable amount of the county funds has often 

 been diverted for such payment without securing adequate returns 

 for the amount expended. Not one of the counties visited during 

 the prosecution of this work pays a bounty upon the striped sper- 

 mophile, although some counties have paid in past years. As illus- 

 trating the point under discussion we may take Lyon county as a 

 typical example. In 1914, $2132.66 was paid out for all bounties. 

 During the two months March and April of that year, $1684.00 of 

 the above amount was paid out in bounty on the striped spermo- 

 phile and Franklin's spermophile at five and ten cents each re- 

 spectively. According to the county auditor the bounty on both 

 these animals has been discontinued, because it caused too great 

 a drain upon the county funds in proportion to the amount of 

 benefit derived. 



While spermophiles do render some assistance to the farmer, 

 as has been indicated above, ways and means must be devised for 

 combating them w^hen the numbers become excessive and crops are 

 damag-ed to a serious extent. However, a wholesale destruction 

 of the animals is not advisable and if serious damage is not done 

 they should be spared for the good which they do. In many lo- 

 calities this damage is very great and would be still greater if 

 some methods of control were not employed. In many places 

 which have been visited various control measures have been used 

 to which the Ijounty offered upon the animals is supplementary. 

 Among the effective and economical means for destroying these 

 animals may be mentioned fire tirms, traps, poisoning, and fumi- 

 gation. 



Under .certain conditions where the animals are not too numer- 

 ous or w^ary, small areas such as meadows and pastures may be 

 freed from spermophiles by shooting; but they soon become so 

 shy that it is difficult to secure them in this way and more eco- 

 nomical and efficient methods must be substituted. 



Trapping is slow but has the advantage in being sure, simple 

 and safe and spermophiles are easily taken in this way. For or- 

 dinary purposes the No. steel trap with the spring under the pan 



