moles pocket gophers voles - Integrated Plant Protection Center

MOLES
POCKET GOPHERS
VOLES
BEHAVORIAL & ECOLOGICAL
CONSIDERATIONS
for
VERTEBRATE PEST MANAGEMENT
JAY PAXSON
EXTENSION EDUCATOR
NEVADA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
ELKO, NEVADA
Recognize this critter?
Or this one?
Has this method ever worked for you?
Or this one?
Look familiar?
Carl Spackler tries talking to the
animals… (it didn’t work for him either)
Inspired IPM ( = Integrated Pest Management)
(Step 1)
Wired “C-4” Bunny
Inspired IPM
(Step 2)
Inspired IPM
(Step 3)
Extreme IPM
Play is temporarily suspended for…
Very Extreme IPM
NOT the look you want on your
customer’s faces…
…or on the faces of the
good folks who work here:
-OR-
A FEW THOUGHTS
ON PEST CONTROL
Positive identification of your pest
species is crucial when selecting
appropriate & effective management
strategies from a host of options. This is
important regardless of the type of pest
involved–fungus, weed, insect, bird, or
mammal. A thorough knowledge of the
biology & habits of each pest is
necessary; the more you know about the
pest, the better able you will be to manage
it effectively.
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS
ON PEST CONTROL
Often pests are not readily seen;
identification must be inferred from less
tangible ‘sign’, e.g., damage, tracks, scat,
mounds, & other indicators of its
presence.
BE OBSERVANT * BE INNOVATIVE
BE THOROUGH * ALWAYS BE SAFE
KNOW YOUR PEST
IDENTIFICATION
„
ESSENTIAL TO SAFE & EFFECTIVE CONTROL
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CAN BE DIFFICULT– ESPECIALLY FOR
FOSSORIAL SPECIES
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KNOW THE “SIGN” THAT THE VARIOUS
SPECIES MAKE
MOLES
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Evenly conical mounds
without a visible plug
Fine-textured “tailings”
Tailings usually moist &
occur on moist sites
Mounds will occasionally
show soil “packets”
Surface runs that look
like “veins” under grass
POCKET GOPHERS
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Dune-, fan-, or beanshaped mounds with a
visible plug
Coarse-textured
“tailings”
Tailings range from
slightly moist to very dry
Mounds usually occur on
drier sites
Older mounds can
become circular with a
central depressed plug
VOLES (AKA Meadow Mice)
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Wide-open holes: ½”
to 1½” (typically
~quarter-sized)
Closely cropped
“landings” around
active holes
Above ground–
closely cropped runs
shrouded under
vegetation & run from
one hole to the next
VOLES Cont.
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Small collections of
mouse-sized
droppings and grass
clippings at openings
& along runs
Occur in habitats
having considerable
vegetative cover
Pacific Northwest Mole Species
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Townsend’s mole - Scapanus townsendii
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Coast mole - Scapanus orarius
aka ‘Pacific Mole’
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Broad-handed mole - Scapanus latimanus
aka ‘Broad-footed mole’
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Shrew-mole - Neurotrichius gibsii
The Primary Troublemakers
Townsend’s Mole & Coast Mole
COAST MOLE
TOWNSEND’S MOLE
Townsend’s Mole (Scapanus townsendii)
Townsend’s Mole
DISTRIBUTION
Coast or Pacific Mole (Scapanus orarius)
Coast Mole
DISTRIBUTION
Broad-handed mole (Scapanus latimanus)
„
Broad-handed mole
DISTRIBUTION
Shrew-mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii)
Smallest mole in North America
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Shrew-mole
DISTRIBUTION
Mole skull & dentition
Ideal for worms, etc., poor for bulbs, corms, roots
INTERESTING MOLE FACTS
Moles are not rodents– Insectivores
„ Moles do not hibernate
„ Moles are very solitary, except briefly
during the breeding season (late winter)
„ Moles are active day & night
„ Researchers believe moles have an
excellent sense of smell
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PRACTICAL MOLE MANAGEMENT
In summer– don’t irrigate
„ Toleration– live & let live… if you can
„ Trapping (except in Washington)
„ Deep tillage (not a good urban solution)
„
COMMON MOLE TRAPS
OUT O’ SIGHT or ‘SCISSOR’
MOLPRO
NO-MOL
CINCH
HARPOON
NASH CHOKER
A FEW MOLE TRAPSETS
MARGINALLY PRACTICAL MOLE
MANAGEMENT
Mole baits
„ Live traps
„ Burning sulfur
„ Aluminum phosphide (RUP)
„ Smoke or gas cartridges
„ Exclusion
„ Shooting
„ Margin trenching
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IMPRACTICAL MOLE MANAGEMENT
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Insecticides– none are registered for mole or
earthworm control
Fungicides- none are registered for earthworm
control
Mothballs– not registered
“Ultrasonic” devices, beepers, buzzers, etc.
Chewing gum (e.g., Juicy Fruit)
Castor oil products
?
??
?
?
??
??
OFF-THE-DEEP-END
MOLE MANAGEMENT
„
Petroleum products– grease, gasoline,
tar, creosote; windmills; bottles with
bottoms removed; razor blades; broken
glass; flooding; rose canes; vehicle
exhausts; human hair; electrocution;
soaps; bleach; lye; castor beans; “mole
plant”; dead fish; boiling water; road
flares and many more too numerous to
mention…
POCKET GOPHERS
RODEX’S LOGO
POCKET GOPHERS of the WILLAMETTE
VALLEY
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Camas pocket gopher (Thomomys
bulbivorus); 2nd largest gopher in the world
Old-timers said “big as cats”; they were right
„ Native Americans used them for food
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Mountain pocket gopher (Thomomys
monticola) on the margins of the valleys &
beyond
GOPHER “SIGN”
GOPHER “SIGN” Cont.
MIXED SIGNALS
Gopher Sign vs. Mole Sign
MIXED SIGNALS
Gopher Sign vs. Mole Sign Cont.
“BIG AS CATS”
GOPHER FACTS
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Gophers are rodents– Geomyidae
External pouches for carrying food
Lips close behind the teeth... keeps soil out
Poor eyesight
Excellent tactile senses– vibrissae
Strict herbivores
Extremely territorial
Mima mounds are believed linked to gophers
PRACTICAL GOPHER MANAGEMENT
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Toleration
Control of tap-rooted weeds
Baits
Burrow builders
Trapping
Fumigants
Tillage
Rodenator Pro or Rodex 4000- oxygen/propane
blasters
Burning agricultural sulfur
Vargon
COMMON GOPHER TRAPS
EXAMPLES of GOPHER TRAPSETS
IMPRACTICAL GOPHER
MANAGEMENT
Exclusion, protective cages
„ Smoke or gas cartridges
„ Shooting
„ “Gopher guns”
„ Vehicle exhaust
„ Development of adjacent predator habitat
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BURROW BUILDERS
BAITING WITH BURROW BUILDERS
When to Consider Using a Burrow
Builder
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Large fields
High density gopher
population
Cost/benefit analysis
Hand baiting was
considered
Effects of your
application can be
monitored for several
days
Few large rocks
Rodenator Pro / Rodex 4000
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Propane/Oxygen
injector
No pesticides
Effective on moles,
gophers, ground
squirrels, prairie
dogs
Not for use near
structures
~$1890
Not for use or sale in
Colorado
Rodenator Pro Accessory Kit
Rodenator Pro in Action
VOLES– Meadow Mice
VOLES– Meadow Mice Cont.
Vole Facts
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Voles do not hibernate
Voles are active 24-7-365
The Oregon vole is semi-fossorial & uses
existing mole / gopher tunnels
Voles live only 2-16 months
Voles are related to lemmings. Voles are one of
the most prolific mammals on earth.
Voles can have as many as 17 litters in a single
year with a 21-day gestation period
Vole Facts, Cont.
Voles are prey to every known predator
„ Female voles can breed at 3 weeks of age
„ Litters range from 1 to 11
„ In urban landscapes, loss of plantsbulbs, corms, & tubers etc, can often be
attributed to vole activity, not moles
„ Voles are rarely seen
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Recognizing Vole Damage
Tooth marks
are
~1/16” wide
Recognizing Vole Damage
Recognizing Vole Damage
turf & alfalfa
Recognizing Vole Damage
Junipers
Practical Vole Monitoring
--The Apple Sign Test-„
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IPM– “Apple Sign Test”
Monitor using 1-foot
square shingles,
plywood, or other board,
paint to blend with
surroundings
Scatter shingles along
field margins where voles
might intrude; best if
placed over an existing
hole
Practical Vole Monitoring, Cont.
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Shape the material to form a slight dome, 3-4”
above the surface
Leave undisturbed for 5-days, then place 1/2”
cube of apple under each shingle
Check after 24-hours; if apple is removed or
eaten, note a “+” for the location; leave shingle
in-place for future monitoring
When monitoring is complete, begin treatments
where “+” was noted
Conduct the monitoring in fall & spring and 2130 days after each rodenticide application
Practical Vole Monitoring, Cont.
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Trapping for positive
identification
Try this trapset
design using a snaptrap baited with a
small piece of apple
Trap must be placed
at a right angle
(perpendicular) to the
run
Practical Vole Management
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Toleration
Elimination of vegetative cover
Cultivation
Baiting
Snap traps
Fostering the development of nearby predator
habitat
Habitat Modification- Voles
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Reduce vegetative cover
Reduce or remove mulches & ground cover
near trunks of trees
Cultivation
Enhance nearby predator habitat
BAITING
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Bait-of-choice for voles is
zinc phosphide or “ZP”
Read the label !!!
ZP is extremely toxic;
most formulations are
RUPs
Avoid killing non-target
species by careful bait
placement
Best bait formulation is
zinc phosphide on oilimpregnated rolled oats–
has some waterproof
qualities
Quintox available for
organic growers
Baiting cont.
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Place bait down into
burrow opening
Do not broadcast on the
surface unless allowed
by the label
If label permits, retreat
after 3 days
Backfill holes after 3
more days
If back-fill material is
kicked out of holes,
retreat those holes again
Repeat as necessary;
repeat only as permitted
by label
TRAPPING
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Use small snap traps,
standard or “pro” type
Bait with apple slices or
peanut butter & rolled oat
mixture
Not practical for
commercial settings
Very time consuming
Requires many traps
Pin down trap
Do not live trap— cannot
relocate (ODFW)
Impractical Vole Management
Repellents
„ Shooting
„ Fumigants
„ Beepers, buzzers, clackers, “ultrasonics”
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Lee, Nevada
Ruby Mountains, Nevada
Contact Info:
Jay Paxson
Extension Educator
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
701 Walnut Street
Elko, NV 89801
775 738-4722 (Direct)
775 738-7291 (Office)
[email protected]