Talk:Pocket gopher

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To anybody not clear on the concept, the WP standard for mammals is to use lowercase for families and uppercase for species. Stan 21:03, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

A couple of the links went bad and were removed. Found a new link on eNature.com to add. Dwheaton

LEAVE THE **** TAXOBOX LIME GREEN!!!!!!!! 216.24.11.105 22:39, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I'm happy now. (I'm a hippie, too, but that's not the point.) 216.24.11.105 22:40, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Personally I feel very sad with the fact that there are such unethical and inhuman ways of killing these creatures. Are these methods needed to cover such a subject? Thank u

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I have removed the following from the "Behaviour" section since it seemed to be "original research" and also not to be very encyclopaedic:

Two interesting observations from catching a gopher and keeping it in a dirt-filled aquarium for a few weeks: (a) The gopher did not require water, deriving all its moisture needs from the vegetation I supplied. (b) When closing up its hole, the gopher would push an "armload" of dirt into the mouth of the hole. The second, and up to 10 subsequent loads, were tamped in place by the gopher's nose and forepaws, with an action reminiscent of a woodpecker, and violent enough to shake the entire aquarium. Apparently instinct tells the gopher that he has to plug his tunnel solidly, to protect against predators that might be able to push through a less substantial barrier.

seglea 04:47, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

I am also concerned about the sections on gopher control. I suspect these refer not to Geomyidae as such, but to the colloquial sense of "gopher" which includes many ground squirrels. Can anyone with expert knowledge comment? seglea 04:47, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Trapping Section

The section on trapping is not encyclopedic. It should describe the techniques used, not give practical instructions.

Oddly enough, I am having pocket gopher problems in our yard right now. Filling the tunnels with propane and oxygen sounds like a fun thing, though it would probably destroy our trees' roots. Is there place where this information, if valid, could go? If so, I can remove the section and place a series of links, perhaps, to a relevent location. Is there a wiki that would be able to house it? Adunaic layman 05:29, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Most people interested in the pest management section have a gopher problem and practical instructions are more beneficial than something "encyclopedic"--Heilige rm 02:11, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

I expanded the poisoning section and added concussion, which is the propane oxygen method. It is a legit method. Look up rodenator.com. I have a client who owns a device and uses it in his orange grove.

Poisoning gophers with strychnine in the Palo Verde valley at the Colorado River (CA, AZ) had a devastating effect on the barn owl population. Owl (raptor)rehab groups agreed to help repopulate the area if farmers would cease using strychnine. Look up strychnine and how animals die from it--not pretty. So the other methods don't sound so bad. --pechaney 04:54, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

I was an exterminator for 5 years and specialized in exclusively gopher extermination for a year and a half. I saw a sales video from a company advertising a device that used the propane concussion method. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my entire life. It sends a flamming ball of death throughout the tunnel. This is the ultimate "shock and awe".--Heilige rm 02:18, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Be that as it may, the section currently asserts that killing animals with explosive is banned in some jurisdictions, but then goes on to say that the concussion method doesn't count as killing animals with explosives anyway. If the latter is true (and there's no citation for it), then why have the sentence there at all? That's like saying that it's illegal to kill gophers by beating them with mallets - it may well be, but if nobody does this, why mention it? In particular, do all relevant jurisdictions agree that the concussion method doesn't count as using explosives, and, if so, do any of them ban it on other grounds? Anaxial (talk) 20:44, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Appearance

Hi, a few more pictures would be great - and can someone state how big they are? For a European like me, the statement 'moderately large' (first para.) is meaningless! Thanks guys Du 07:47, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

I've added a few words about the length of the animals, to add to the info on weight already present. Anaxial (talk) 18:45, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Gophers are the size of a small rat. They weigh about a half a pound (I think something like .25 Kilograms.) They have small ears, don't see well, are furry and have 2 very long incision teeth that can grow 6 inches a year. They have a very short tail.

Redirection

Who redirected "Gopher holes"? That's ALSO the name of underground living in Coober Pedy, SA, Australia, and needs its own page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.90.147.221 (talk) 16:07, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

God I hate gopher "pest" control

So sad... gophers are so cool, and people just have no sense of childlike wonder. They kill a Winnie the Pooh character. No souls. 67.246.204.84 (talk) 01:42, 12 June 2009 (UTC)