142 MISC. PUBLICATION 4 3 4, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



with a handful of grass. When it is possible to determine the several 

 mounds belonging to the same gopher system, set traps at only two or 

 three or them. Whenever a fresh mound appears, immediately set a 

 trap at it. 



Pocket gophers may also be poisoned with a grain bait prepared as 

 described for ground squirrels, save that wheat may be substituted for 

 oats, and in Texas, milo may be used. If the grain bait is ineffective, a 

 vegetable bait, such as sweetpotatoes or carrots, may be prepared, by 

 cutting 16 quarts of the vegetable into pieces }{ by % by 1% inches and 

 dusting evenly with 1 ounce of powdered strychnine alkaloid in a 

 shaker-top can. 



With a regular pocket gopher probe, find the underground runway 

 by probing first 6 or 8 inches away from the mound on the side that 

 shows where it was plugged ; then drop through the probe hole one piece 

 of the vegetable bait or a teaspoonful of the grain bait. Close the 

 hole with something, being careful that dirt does not fall in and cover 

 the bait. Endeavor to treat each system in about three places. It is 

 a good policy to level off the mounds and check for fresh ones to deter- 

 mine effectiveness of the work. 



RABBITS 



The most troublesome rabbits are several species of the jack rabbit 

 (Lepus) and the cottontail {Sylvilagus) . The snowshoe rabbit has 

 caused some damage in North Dakota in nurseries close to heavy 

 brush and timber cover. Rabbit damage, which occurs mostly in 

 winter and late spring when other food is scarce, consists in girdling 

 of the bark or cutting off the tops of the seedlings. In some nurseries 

 it has been quite a serious problem. 



Rabbit damage can be prevented or minimized by protecting the 

 nursery and heel-in beds with woven-wire fence. In the Dakotas, 

 however, fencing has not been especially successful in nurseries, since 

 the snow drifting over the fences has allowed the rabbits free entrance. 



Cottontails and snowshoe rabbits have been successfully reduced in 

 numbers by snaring and trapping, especially in brushy or timbered 

 areas adjoining the nursery, and in runways in the nursery itself. These 

 two species have a rather small daily migration radius, often less 

 than one-quarter to one-half mile, and if the area adjacent to the 

 nursery can be rid of the pests occasionally by snaring, trapping, and 

 hunting, not much damage will occur. 



Jack rabbits have a daily migration radius of several miles, and if 

 hunting is resorted to, a large area must be covered to get adequate 

 protection for the nursery itself. Very often they are hunted in 

 drives in which 50 to 100 men participate. Systematic hunting by a 

 few men, however, will do much to keep the pests in control around 

 a nursery. 



A number of poison baits have been found effective in rabbit control. 



In spring and summer, jack rabbits will take poisoned salt which is 

 mixed in the proportion of 3 pounds of salt, 1 pound of alfalfa meal, and 

 1 ounce of strychnine alkaloid. The material is thoroughly mixed, 

 dampened with water, and placed in a hole bored into a 4-inch length 

 of 2 by 4, the hole being 1 K inches in diameter and % inch deep. When 

 the poison mixture has hardened, the wood blocks are placed around 

 the nursery and in the tree rows. Extreme care should be taken that 

 livestock does not get at the salt. 



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