AFE120312

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE! BATTLE RIVER SHORT LINE FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE » PAGE 37

CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL SAFETY WEEK FEATURES » PAGE 50

UFA TURN-KEY BUILDINGS See p.11

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VO L U M E 9, N U M B E R 6

MARCH 12, 2012

Poison bait is not the only answer to gopher problems RIMFIRE POWER  As long as an infestation is not severe, Grandpa’s old .22

can control the gophers as effectively as strychnine BY SHERI MONK

AF STAFF | PINCHER CREEK

T

he days are getting longer, the sun feels warmer and the gophers are emerging from their sleepy winter slumber. After nearly eight months underground without feeding, one would think the gophers’ first priority would be food, but it’s perhaps no coincidence they emerge around Valentine’s Day. “It’s difficult to poison the males when they first come out. They’re living on body fat and they’re fighting for territory until the females come out,” says Phil Merrill, an inspector with Alberta Agriculture. The lovely ladies arrive above ground two weeks after the males, and their appetites are put on the back burner in favour of a little spring romance. “As soon as they are bred and become pregnant they really have a high demand for food and that’s the time to bait,” Merrill says. “Mid-March until green-up is the time that we suggest you do the best by baiting. If you spend a weekend at the end of March doing your baiting, you will kill three times as many as if you do it in May.” The young begin to emerge in May, which greatly increases the

SEE GOPHER  page 6

Coyotes are very successful at gopher hunting. Care must be taken not to inadvertently poison them as well, if baiting.

PHOTO: BRIAN MCMILLEN

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2/2/12 12:28 PM


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