Bulletin 340] • CONTROL OF THE POCKET GOPHER 



343 



Mr. H. A. Hyde, a progfessive nurseryman of Watsonville, states 

 that the following method has solved a serious gopher problem in his 

 nursery. Dried prunes are soaked for 1 to 2 hours in water and then 

 left to drain. An incision is then made in one end of each prune and 

 from 1 to 11/2 grains of strychnine inserted into the slit. A few 

 drops of anise oil are placed as a lure on the other end of the prune, 

 which is then placed well back in a fresh gopher run in the usual 

 manner. The anise oil is smelled by the gophers at some distance 

 and appears to be very attractive to them. The use of anise oil as a 

 lure to rodents in general is well known. 



Fig. 2. — a. Best place to set traps or leave poisoned baits, in the main run 

 which is always kept open by the gopher. 5. Lateral run, usually partly plugged 

 ■svitli dirt, leading to the surface mound c. 



2. TRAPPING 



Almost any kind of a trap will catch gophers sometimes, a few 

 kinds will catch them most of the time, but we have yet to see the trap 

 that will catch every gopher every time. Among experienced farmers 

 throughout the state there seems to be a decided preference for a 

 gopher trap of the Macabee type (fig. 3a). After a practical test in 

 the field, extending over several years, the ' ' catching average ' ' of this 

 style of trap has been found to equal or surpass that of any other trap 

 that the writer has been able to secure. Its cheapness, compactness, 

 and reliability place it at the head of the list. 



Any form of explosive trap, or "gopher-gun," is not recommended 

 because of the degree of danger which attends its use. 



