Pocket Gophers!

At least that's what I think they are! They're those little critters that create mounds of dirt and a maze of tunnels in the yard. I've finally figured out how to EXTERMINATE them!

Our yard has been plagued by pocket gophers for several years. My wife has tried to poison them repeatedly with no success. A couple of months ago I bought The Underground Exterminator. That was a waste of time and money. That is a device you slip on the exhaust of your vehicle and attach a garden hose. You then uncover their tunnel and pump exhaust fumes into the tunnel. I tried that three times from 30 - 60 minutes but it had no effect. The way you can see if you killed them is if they plug up the hole to their tunnel. After each gas treatment they had the hole plugged within an hour.

One day we saw digging in progress in the back yard. I loaded a shot shell into my 9mm Glock and slipped outside and let him have it. I didn't know if I hit him as there wasn't a carcass. However, he never filled the hole in and no more mounds appeared in the back yard.

A second time I saw dirt flying in the side yard. This time I blasted him with a 9mm shot shell but I guess I missed as he filled the hole in soon afterward. I decided I needed more fire power!

I purchased a box of 12 gauge shotgun shells with #8 shot. A few days ago my wife came in saying she saw dirt moving in a mound in the side yard. I loaded my 12 gauge with the #8 shot and headed out. By the time I got there though the digging had stopped. So, I uncovered the entrance to the tunnel and waited. Finally after 15 - 20 minutes he came to fill in the hole and I let him have it. Again, I couldn't find a carcass but the hole remained open.

Yesterday a new mound appeared in another part of the side yard. I uncovered the entrance hole and waited with my 12 gauge. After 25 minutes he finally started filling it in. BOOM! Another one bites the dust! No carcass again but no sign of the hole being filled.

After years maybe we can finally get rid of these pests! The hardest part is being patient enough to wait for them to appear to fill in their hole. Hopefully one of these days I'll recover a carcass to see just what these things look like!