Whatever they are they are building mounds in my yard. Looks like a volcano, 18"-24" around at the base, about 1 foot ht. with a 1"-2" hole at the top. What is the best way to kill them? Thanks for the help, they're driving me crazy!

https://gopherhawk.com/

They work.

Sounds like gophers, rather than ground squirrels. Questions to consider first. Is it a smaller space? The electronics/ultrasound works well for those areas, like enclosed yards. In a big area, like a field, they will just move away and start over again. Do you have pets or kids to worry about? Poisons are the most effective, but need to watch for accidental pick up. AMDRO makes a really effective gasser which will kill them and prevent their return. Nice side effect is if you have lots of gophers, you will find snakes there too. Getting rid of prey will reduce snakes.

What he said.
Learn to locate the tunnel and these will eradicate them quickly. No digging, just locate the tunnel with the provided tool, open it up with the second part of the tool and insert and set the trap.

Could you just start a garden hose in the hole to get them to relocate?

Nothing that I have tried beats this stuff.


Mole and Gopher underground bait

Pocket Gophers, they’re everywhere here and have fought them my whole life. Best method to get rid of them is trapping them with standard gopher traps. Depending on where each mound is located in the tunnel system there will be 1, 2, or sometimes 3 tunnels under that mound. Trickiest part of it is finding the tunnels. I use one of those skinny green bamboo garden stakes to find the tunnels. You want to dig them out ONLY big enough to insert the set trap. If you dig out too much they will almost always go around it and fill it back in. Set a trap in every tunnel. Use 4’ of piano wire (metal leader line we use offshore fishing) to secure the trap to a bamboo stick that you stick in the ground near the mound (make an eye on the end to slide on & off). Don’t use string or twine because they’ll bite it and you’ll lose your trap. They can’t stand for their tunnels to be open and normally respond pretty quick, but I always give them at least an hour, sometimes two. If you go on a trapping mission and stay on them you can kill the whole colony.

I’ve taught all of my kids how to trap them and I used to pay them $5/gopher.

The traps used to be $4-5 each, I bought another half dozen earlier this year and those little traps are now $15 each!

Or if you have kids or are bored you can open up the tunnels, grab a chair & a pellet gun, and pop them when they come to close in the hole. Did that a lot as a kid.

I don’t use poison because of pets that love to dig them up and eat them.

Doesn’t work.

I’ve seen smaller prairie dog burrows than that.

Thanks for the input guys. I ordered the gopher hawk. Being retired and living at the lake I get a lot of cocktail time on the back porch. Should be added fun to watch for the trap to spring. I've tried to wait them out with my Gamo but obviously my reflexes have slowed some. Thanks again all!

My ex-wife's uncle used to sit out on his front porch with a .22 rifle and a beer, shooting gophers in the head when they would pop their heads up from the burrows. He would get 2 or 3 every Saturday. I think his record was 6.

The Gopher Hawk is probably a much better idea.

These work great.

I hate the craters my dogs leave behind thinking they can dig them up more than I hate the gophers.

Thanks! - Gonna have to try this....