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DianaT - 11-9-2008 at 11:46 AM

At first we thought they might moles because that is what we found for the translation of topo, but they are our old familar enemy---GOPHERS. They call them topos here.

In the states the best way John ever found to get them out of our garden was to entice them up and shoot them with his 22 pistol---but no pistol in Baja.

Of course old fashion flooding just gives them a place to enjoy a swim. We brought down some smoke bombs---they just enjoyed a good smoke.

We have hesitated to use any poison because of the dogs--my aunt lost a dog who picked up and licked a poisoned rat. And there are no traps to be found in town.

John tried one of the local ways with no luck---fishing for topos --using a line, small hook and piece of potato. Mr. Gopher ate the hook. He also tried getting him to the surface and smash him with a shovel. The gopher saw him and I watched the little creep just close his door---and I know I also saw him smirk and make obsence gestures toward John. It is beginning to be all out war.

We will bring back some traps from the states, but I am curious as to how others have dealt with these little monsters in Baja.

We just planted several new palms and a good friend told us that the topos killed 7 new palms she planted.

So, more suggestions?

Thanks
Diane

Osprey - 11-9-2008 at 11:54 AM

They are tuzas and you trap em. Most vet/feed stores in baja carry tuza traps. Have the store clerk give you a quick demo. Everybody in our little village uses em. They work better than the magnesium pellets and I think the store clerks will tell you that.

vandenberg - 11-9-2008 at 11:55 AM

Watch "Caddyshack" with Bill Murray.
May give you some ideas. :saint:

Edguero - 11-9-2008 at 12:15 PM

Don't know if they work but I have seen these;

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnu...

toneart - 11-9-2008 at 12:35 PM

About 10 years ago I bought a rubber connector with a hose. It attaches to the tailpipe of your vehicle. It did the trick for me. I don't remember where I got it. I think it was a hardware store.

"used to be a good solution"

thebajarunner - 11-9-2008 at 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toneart
About 10 years ago I bought a rubber connector with a hose. It attaches to the tailpipe of your vehicle. It did the trick for me. I don't remember where I got it. I think it was a hardware store.

Tony,
That one does not work with the modern cars, because the emissions have really cleaned up, truly.

My favorite is the box traps, you need two so you can put them in each direction in the tunnel.

That way, when you catch him, you know you got him.

The smoke bombs work, sometimes.

I have a great home-made solution that works real well on the ground squirrels around here, and may work on the topos.

I save the empty plastic water 1/2 liter bottles,
pour about an inch of gas in the bottom, place it in the tunnel, with the open end facing outward (very important!)
Put some wadded up newspaper in front of the bottle, dump some gas on that, wait a moment, light a match from at least 6 feet and toss it in.

That plastic will burn for a really long time.
Whether the toxics in the plastic, or the oxygen being sucked out.... whatever, it works great.

Oh, by the way, this Spring I set our whole hillside on fire with this technique, so use a bit of better sense as to the surrounding fuel than I did.

And, it is fun, in a perverse sort of way.

(Prop. 2 probably discourages this...)

bajajudy - 11-9-2008 at 01:08 PM

We have tuzas too. The traps are too much for me.
Nope, drowning does not work. As I type, we have a major leak going down the road behind our house. A lot of water flowing.
Well, about half the volume goes into a tuza hole right beside the road on our side, it has been flowing into this hole for 3 days and so far the hole has not filled with water.
Yes I have called OOMSPA about the leak but they dont seem to care!

I guess the tuzas have joined our menagerie of misfits and lost animals.

Having major problems with mice now as we do every year at this time

Cypress - 11-9-2008 at 01:13 PM

Pour a half gallon of gasoline into the hole, then plug the hole. :spingrin:

That'll get their attention. :biggrin:

toneart - 11-9-2008 at 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thebajarunner

Quote:

Tony,
That one does not work with the modern cars, because the emissions have really cleaned up, truly.

Oh no! I guess if I ever need to check out, it is back to the Golden Gate Bridge. My gopher device was my ace in the hole. (pun intended)

BajaGringo - 11-9-2008 at 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thebajarunner
I have a great home-made solution that works real well on the ground squirrels around here, and may work on the topos.

I save the empty plastic water 1/2 liter bottles,
pour about an inch of gas in the bottom, place it in the tunnel, with the open end facing outward (very important!)
Put some wadded up newspaper in front of the bottle, dump some gas on that, wait a moment, light a match from at least 6 feet and toss it in.

That plastic will burn for a really long time.
Whether the toxics in the plastic, or the oxygen being sucked out.... whatever, it works great.

My dad would use a similar technique for gophers. The trick was getting the smoke into tunnels. What he would do is use a piece of old garden hose, tape over one end with saran wrap and fill it half-way with a 50/50 mix of gasoline and cooking oil. This configuration would allow him to work the mixture deep into the tunnel. He would place one at every opening and light them off. The saran wrap would melt and release the mixture even deeper into the tunnel. They would burn for quite a while and the problem would be solved every time. I remember he would always stand watch with a shovel in case a critter try to escape out an undiscovered hole.

Life can be cruel...

stimbo - 11-9-2008 at 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
Pour a half gallon of gasoline into the hole, then plug the hole. :spingrin:

That'll get their attention. :biggrin:

There's a macabre story to tell with your method. Apparently someone tried the same trick, pouring gasoline into the hole, igniting and covering the hole (s). Make sure you plug ALL the holes. In this instance, the gophers popped out, all with flaming fur and bodies. In their panic and scampering around, lit the field and yard on fire, then subsequently the house burned to the ground. :lol:

BajaGringo - 11-9-2008 at 01:27 PM

Ouch!!!

Lauriboats - 11-9-2008 at 01:49 PM

Hi Diane,
If you want I could check around some of the stores here in Mulege for some traps and bring them to you. I am sure that if you have tuzas we will too. Lauri

Cypress - 11-9-2008 at 01:51 PM

Don't light the gasoline, the fumes will do 'em in. :yes:

Bob and Susan - 11-9-2008 at 02:53 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etpHKueh6S0

BajaGuera - 11-9-2008 at 04:31 PM

Gum...just stick some Juicy Fruit in the holes. They eat it, can't digest it and die. Old trick I learned from my dad - it really works - no poison - no traps - no smoke. And we haven't found any carcasses either so no messy clean up.

Maria - 11-9-2008 at 05:04 PM

I bought gopher chasers. You stick them in the ground and they buzz every 20 seconds. My gophers made a "beeline" to the neighbor's house where he sat for hours with a gun waiting for them to surface. hehehe
( if you knew him you would be cheering for me)

I went out and bought more and slowly moved them closer and closer to the neighbor. Different ones cover different square footage. Eventually I forgot about gophers. THEN the batteries died and the buggers came back.

The only problem with these things is every time you pass by one when it buzzes you jump thinking it is a rattle snake. You think you'd get used to it knowing it is there-----but NOOOOOO you jump every time. No wonder the gophers move away.

Barry A. - 11-9-2008 at 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaGuera
Gum...just stick some Juicy Fruit in the holes. They eat it, can't digest it and die. Old trick I learned from my dad - it really works - no poison - no traps - no smoke. And we haven't found any carcasses either so no messy clean up.

OH--------MY----------Gawd!!!!! Think about it. :no:

Barry

But lighting the gas is 90% of the fun

thebajarunner - 11-9-2008 at 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
Don't light the gasoline, the fumes will do 'em in. :yes:

DianaT - 11-10-2008 at 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
They are tuzas and you trap em. Most vet/feed stores in baja carry tuza traps. Have the store clerk give you a quick demo. Everybody in our little village uses em. They work better than the magnesium pellets and I think the store clerks will tell you that.

Tuzas they are, but they call them topos around here---don´t know why, because they are definitely tuzas. There are a number of words that are different here, local usage.

Could not find traps in any of the stores here nor in Vizcaino. One man said he could order them. We did not try the feed place---didn´t think of that. Thanks. Seems the fishing method is very popular around here.
Lots of interesting suggestions. Thanks.

Diane

[Edited on 11-10-2008 by jdtrotter]

DianaT - 11-10-2008 at 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Edguero
Don't know if they work but I have seen these;

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnu...

Love this idea and will try it. These type things sure work to keep the mice etc out of the house. We had a problem with mice making themselves at home when we were gone, but no more---mouse poop on the front porch, but they do not enter.

Gasoline? Can´t imagine that is very good for the plants, especially if we light it on fire. Besides, I don´t think Laurieboats would appreciate the fire since the gophers main home is right next to her garage with a wood roof and we have no fire department. :lol:

Now we are off to buy some gum---not sure if they have juicyfruit around here---wonder if they are particular about flavor. :lol:

If we have to, we may even learn to play golf. :lol:

With all this help, we will win this war!

Thanks
Diane

[Edited on 11-10-2008 by jdtrotter]

Lindalou - 11-10-2008 at 12:42 PM

Had a big black 3 legged cat in the states that would sit behind tumble weeds in front of their holes for hours till one would come out and he would murder them! They never had any blood on them so I guess somehow he broke their necks, they were as big as he was. He would sometimes deliver them to the door.

Barbareno - 11-11-2008 at 06:11 AM

Diane let us know how you make out. Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

I can just see you and John in full combat clothes on.

What was that other movie with Bill Murray when he said "Hello Wabbit"?

Let us know if you need us to bring down some Juicy Fruit.

Barb

DianaT - 11-11-2008 at 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Barbareno
Diane let us know how you make out. Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

I can just see you and John in full combat clothes on.

What was that other movie with Bill Murray when he said "Hello Wabbit"?

Let us know if you need us to bring down some Juicy Fruit.

Barb

We found a large pack of Juicy Fruit in town, but we had to leave Bahia Asuncion sooner than expected. And before we left, Mr. Gopher would not open one of his doors----I think he does not like John very much, or maybe he has indigestion from the fish hook he ate!

So, we left the gum with Jaime and Elide (who will be your neighbors) and asked Elide to keep her eyes open when she waters for us and if Mr. Gopher opens a door, greet him with what we hope will be his final meal.

Actually, most of the gum we gave to their kids --- just saved a few for Mr. Gopher. They hope it works because another gopher who lives in your neighborhood recently ate the roots and killed their seven small palm trees----so it is war.

So we will return with new combat fatigues and a truck full of weapons. :yes:

See ya in BA

Diane

Pescador - 11-13-2008 at 11:16 AM

Air rifles are legal in Mexico and one of the more powerful units will certainly do in the gophers. My friend told me the topes refer to the mounds while tuzas refer to the gophers.

DianaT - 11-13-2008 at 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pescador
Air rifles are legal in Mexico and one of the more powerful units will certainly do in the gophers. My friend told me the topes refer to the mounds while tuzas refer to the gophers.

Thanks, we will think about that.

Interesting the different use of the language in different parts of Baja.

Santiago - 11-13-2008 at 12:57 PM

Pomp: that might be the worse swing I've ever seen - well, except for Charles Barkley.

bajajudy - 11-13-2008 at 01:01 PM

Just thought of something....will chiclets work too?

You know "Help the local economy, and kill a tuza too"

DianaT - 11-13-2008 at 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajajudy
Just thought of something....will chiclets work too?

You know "Help the local economy, and kill a tuza too"

We were going to try some but found the Juicey Fruit at one of our local stores----can't wait to get back and see if it worked.

Diane

BajaGuera - 11-18-2008 at 04:12 PM

I'm curious if Dad's old recipe for varment death worked on your Baja variety. Any update?

By the way - he said any gum will work.

DianaT - 11-19-2008 at 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaGuera
I'm curious if Dad's old recipe for varment death worked on your Baja variety. Any update?

By the way - he said any gum will work.

No update yet---we are not in Baja right now, but will report later. We left the gum with our caretaker.

Diane