Moles, voles, gophers???

chad.symington

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trap.jpg
Knock all the mounds flat, when a new one appears probe until you find the hole, dig out, insert this trap, remove dead gopher.
 


Up Y'oars

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Not easy to do, Chad, when the mounds are in the middle of the lawn. Digging all of those holes will make your yard look like Caddyshack! If it's outside of the area and you don't care what happens, other than getting rid of the moles, the contraption would do just fine.

Garden hose & water won't kill unless you flood the place and run your rural water bill up $500!
 

Yoby

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Can someone tell me if these are moles or voles?
20200430_121317.jpg
 

chad.symington

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You don't dig the holes just kick the pocket gopher mounds flat with your foot. When a new mound appears you know that's the active hole then set the trap there. It's really easy to do.
 

Up Y'oars

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Yoby, don't know what the hell is going on there. Moles don't mess up things above ground, they just mound their hole locations and remain below ground until night time. Striped gophers leave open holes, as your picture shows, but I've never seen them make such a mess like that. Voles are above ground but they usually leave paths in the grass line and not make such a mess either.

Of the three freakin' vermin I'd guess the striped gopher over the other two. That's a MESS!
 


Yoby

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The striped gophers are down the lot a ways. This is either moles or voles. The open dirt is where my dogs has been trying to get to them (digging). I can't walk through my yard without compressing their tunnels every other step.

I have to go full war on these bastards, just don't know how to actually go after them. Like I said, last summer I would try to gas them with the lawn more. Letting it sit there for a good 30min to an hr. Had little effect. Tried traps like were mentioned with a stake (never caught one in my yard, but a couple hundred on my uncles land). I have increased the amount of lime I put down thinking they wouldn't like the way it burns... It just keeps getting worse.

Yoby, don't know what the hell is going on there. Moles don't mess up things above ground, they just mound their hole locations and remain below ground until night time. Striped gophers leave open holes, as your picture shows, but I've never seen them make such a mess like that. Voles are above ground but they usually leave paths in the grass line and not make such a mess either.

Of the three freakin' vermin I'd guess the striped gopher over the other two. That's a MESS!
 

skywalker

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The mounds in the picture that 7MM posted are from moles. I bought trap like the one pictured by Chad from Runnings a couple of years ago. I use a wire to poke in the dirt until I find the hole. Then clear away the dirt and stuff the trap in it. I have only had 3 ever in my yard. I have caught all 3 within an hour of setting the trap. My neighbor exposed the hole and sat on a chair with a pellet gun and it took about 15 minutes for the little guy to show itself.
 

Xero

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Pocket gophers are a pain. I use a steel probe to poke around the outside of the mounds. It's easy to feel when you find a tunnel. Dig it and put the trap in the tunnel and cover your hole with a board. Usually catch them in an hour or so if you get the right tunnel. I use a couple of traps to increase my chances. Sometimes there are multiple tunnels. Good youtiube videos on catching pocket gophers. That's how I learned.
 

Dirty

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The mounds in the picture that 7MM posted are from moles. I bought trap like the one pictured by Chad from Runnings a couple of years ago. I use a wire to poke in the dirt until I find the hole. Then clear away the dirt and stuff the trap in it. I have only had 3 ever in my yard. I have caught all 3 within an hour of setting the trap. My neighbor exposed the hole and sat on a chair with a pellet gun and it took about 15 minutes for the little guy to show itself.


What makes you say moles and not pocket gophers?

I’ve trapped both, but only pocket gophers in ND. Mole hills are almost perfectly round. Pocket gophers have the asymmetrical, irregular shape of the mounds in his picture. Without seeing them In person I’d say pocket gopher...99% sure. Moles basically don't exist in ND. I'm sure there are a few but they are on the edge of their range in MN and southern SD. Oddly enough, I have seen Virginia opossum in ND and they aren't supposed to be here either so I guess you never know!
 
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tikkalover

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Stripped gophers leave just a hole with very little dirt around it. I believe Voles do just the holes also but you usually see their trails in the grass, especially right after the snow melts.
cache.php

Poisoned this little bastage in my garden last summer. Never knew it was around until it started chewing on my cucumbers.


My vote is still for moles doing that. All though according to my wife, I have been wrong before. ;:;boozer
 
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Dirty

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Tikka, you are correct about voles and striped gophers. Striped gophers (thirteen lined ground squirrels) and pocket gophers are two entirely different critters. My neighbor calls striped gophers by the name pocket gophers all the time. It may be a nick name for stripeys, but actual pocket gophers live almost exclusively underground and cause the series of dirt mounds that piss everyone off. They are ugly as sin also. Pocket gophers mounds can be seen lining ditches just about everywhere in ND. They love a weedy yard, pasture, ditch or crop Land. They absolutely love clover and alfalfa.

Moles eat earthworms and grubs, etc. and from what I understand are almost non-existent in ND.
 
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MathewsZman

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Stripped gophers leave just a hole with very little dirt around it. I believe Voles do just the holes also but you usually see their trails in the grass, especially right after the snow melts.
cache.php

Poisoned this little bastage in my garden last summer. Never knew it was around until it started chewing on my cucumbers.


My vote is still for moles doing that. All though according to my wife, I have been wrong before. ;:;boozer

That's a vole . They will make a round pile of dirt. You can get pour on poison at Ace hardware that is pet And human friendly. Have them all over the Black Hills at the cabin and it works!
 

skywalker

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Dirty, you are right. I typed in mole, but should have typed pocket gopher, as you stated moles are not common in North Dakota.
 

Prairie Doggin'

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Thought your vole was a short-tailed shrew for a minute, but I think the nose is a little more round on closer inspection. I seem to see more shrews in my area. Hate those bastards, too.

Saw it replaced "vole" with "bike" in my original post. Thank you, autocorrect.
 
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Dirty

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Dirty, you are right. I typed in mole, but should have typed pocket gopher, as you stated moles are not common in North Dakota.


That's definitely an easy thing to do. Moles seem to be what comes to mind most of the time when a big pile of dirt without a hole shows up. They are definitely more "famous" than a pocket gopher for whatever reason. To be perfectly honest, the first time I actually trapped one of those little bastards (pocket gopher) I didn't have the slightest idea what it was. I hadn't personally seen a mole or pocket gopher at that time and all I knew was I had something really ugly in my trap. I can only assume that happens to a lot of people the first time they see one or the other and it probably adds to the confusion between the two. I remember thinking moles must be some smart critters because no matter what I used...mole baits, mole traps, etc. I couldn't catch one and they always just buried everything I tried in dirt. Finally someone told me it may be a pocket gopher and let me borrow one of their scissor traps. It took about 15 minutes with that thing in the ground and the game was over. I still had no idea what I was looking at but found out later it was indeed a pocket gopher. I had heard of pocket gophers before, but didn't know what one was. I had always assumed every brown dirt pile I had seen was the work of a mole. When I finally saw my first mole, I pretty much thought the same thing...what an ugly bastard! They do have what must be the softest fur on earth though I think.
 


espringers

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It's not the rodents I have never seen thats my problem. It's the holes the dogs dig trying to get them that is. China should soon see 2 psycho dogs on their doorstep.

- - - Updated - - -

Probably got pocket gophers the way it sounds
 

fireone

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I've discovered that in areas I've sprayed with 2-4D/dicamba, these dirt piles stop. Must be a repellent.

The herbicide kills the plants the gophers eat so they move on. If setting traps go to the last mound. Then there is usually only 1 tunnel, not an intersection of tunnels. If the trap is plugged with dirt the trap wasn't down the tunnel far enough. This trap works well.
old-reliable-gopher-trap.jpg


Extra info here: http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/gopher-traps.html
 

sierra1995

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The herbicide kills the plants the gophers eat so they move on. If setting traps go to the last mound. Then there is usually only 1 tunnel, not an intersection of tunnels. If the trap is plugged with dirt the trap wasn't down the tunnel far enough. This trap works well.
cache.php


Extra info here: http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/gopher-traps.html


This X2. Ive been using this style trap for a while with good success. i use an old arrow for a prob. Dig out a big chunk of sod, find the hole, clear it with a large spoon, insert trap and put the sod chunk back in place. Usually dead gopher the next day. I Have 50lb tip-up line tied to my traps with a loop on the open end. After putting the sod back in place i'll stick the arrow in the ground near the hole and have the trap tied off to it.
 

BrokenBackJack

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Back in the day if there was just one working in the yard we would take a close tined pitch fork or a potato fork and try and follow their tunnel. Usually ended up stabbing the bastage and end of problem. When you have close tines you have a better chance of stabbing the hombre.

- - - Updated - - -

I agree on the pocket gophers as being ugly. First time i ever saw one i thought it was a rodent from hell. Ugly mean bastages.
 

bdawgg24

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Regarding picture by Yoby in post 23 looks like same problem we had few years ago turned out to be a skunk digging for nightcrawlers, grubs, or whatever. Would always happen during the night, but he stayed to long one morning and I watched him doing it thru the scope, no problems since
 


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