Overview

Pocket gophers can be found in most states of the mainland U.S. and Canada but are primarily concentrated west of the Mississippi River. There are over 17 species of pocket gophers (genus Thomomys) in North America.

Rozol® Pocket Gopher Bait (PGB) is formulated on grain and approved for pocket gopher control on lawns, golf courses, alfalfa, rangeland, orchards, groves, and noncrop areas. Rozol PGB is available in two formulations: restricted use and general use.

  • Pocket Gopher

 

Pocket Gopher Damage-Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds

 

Damage

  • Pocket gophers can decrease irrigated alfalfa yields by up to 35%, and dryland yields by up to 46%.1
  • An active infestation can reduce forage capacity up to 49%.1
  • Pocket gophers can damage sloped drainage, underground utility cables, irrigation lines and drip tape, undermining foundations, levees, and roads leading to soil erosion, slope failure and “wash-outs,” as well as substantial water, crop and farm production losses.
  • Gopher mounds damage farm implements, slow harvesting and can injure livestock.
  • Gopher digging brings fresh seeds to the surface, facilitating infestations of noxious weeds, which may be toxic to livestock.
  • The high plains region suffers up to $30 million in annual losses due to pocket gophers.1
  • Pocket gophers consume tree roots and create air pockets causing the onset of root disease, stunting and reducing tree vigor and fruit yield.
  • Pocket gophers can cause major damage to athletic fields, lawns, parks and golf courses.

 

Rozol PGB Burrow Builder Formula

Rozol PGB Burrow Builder Formula when applied through a mechanical burrow builder, provides effective and economical control. Control is via preventative and curative bait applications in and around irrigated alfalfa fields, orchards and groves.

It is labeled for use through tractor-mounted, burrow-builder equipment that creates artificial burrows and places the bait below ground in those artificial tunnels. The label also permits hand baiting.

Rozol PGB Burrow Builder Formula applied as preventative perimeter treatments around crop borders, offers the advantage of intercepting gophers before they reach the interior of the field and cause damage. Burrow builder equipment can be used at speeds of 5-10 mph, allowing landowners to treat large acreages more quickly than other methods such as trapping or fumigants.

Restricted Use Pesticide

Rozol PGB Burrow Builder Formula (EPA Reg. #7173-244) is a Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) for use solely by certified pesticide applicators. It is approved for use in AR, AZ, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, KS, LA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI & WY. It is the responsibility of the user to read and follow all label directions.

Burrow Builder Verminator

Burrow Builder Application

  • Apply when soil moisture is sufficient to enable the formation of good artificial burrows.
  • Make artificial burrows at the same depth as natural burrows, perpendicular and about 20-30 feet apart.
  • Apply Rozol® Pocket Gopher Bait Burrow Builder Formula at 6-8 pounds per acre, picking up any spilled bait.
  • Make preventative perimeter treatments 3 times a year to stop gophers before they enter the field.
    • 3 rows, 20-30 feet apart.
    • 3 times per year: October-November, March-April, and June-August.
Burrow Builder Verminator illustration
Making an artificial burrow.
3x3 Perimter diagram
Preventative 3 x 3 perimeter treatments.
Gopher Mound and Tunnel Diagram
Curative in-field treatments.

Free Best Practices DVD

Request your free copy of Using Burrow Builders and Rozol Pocket Gopher Bait Burrow Builder Formula to Control Pocket Gophers

 

Best Practice DVD
 

Rozol PGB General Use Formula

Rozol Pocket Gopher Bait is also available labeled as a General Use Pesticide (GUP). Rozol PGB GUP is labeled for below-ground use only by hand or spot baiting with a spoon or bait probe. This product is most suitable for smaller curative applications, such as athletic fields, lawns, parks and golf courses.

General Use Application - Spoon

With a long-handled large spoon, carefully remove the plug on the flat side of the fan-shaped mound, on either side of the tunnel. Carefully insert 1/2 cup (3.4 ounces or 108 grams) of bait as far down the burrow as possible. Close the burrow opening, being careful not to cover the bait with soil.

Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds
Pocket Gopher Damage Mounds

General Use Application – Bait Probe

Using a bait probe or metal rod, probe 6-12 inches deep to locate the main tunnel. Drop 1/2 cup (3.4 ounces or 108 grams) into the tunnel and cover the hole so that no light enters the tunnel system.

Make 2-3 treatments per burrow system. Maintain a constant supply of bait in the burrow system for as long as there is gopher activity. Do not apply bait on the surface of the soil.

The right and wrong ways to use a probe for baiting gophers are shown below. Be sure that bait is in the main runway,  not in the laterals or imbedded in the bottom of the runway.

To find a bait application probes dealer, visit our Partners page.

Rozol Bait with Probe
Gopher Bait Probe
Rozol Bait with Probe

 

Gopher Chart

Sources

1University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, University of Nebraska-Lincoln