![Adult pocket gopher peeking out of a burrow entrance. [Credit: T. Chalmers]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/62454small.jpg)
Gophers are well-known and certainly unwelcome pests in landscapes, gardens, lawns, and athletic turf. More correctly called pocket gophers, these rodents mostly remain hidden underground in tunnels and feed on plants from below, sometimes pulling whole plants into their tunnels. They prefer herbaceous plants but will eat a wide range of vegetation.
A single gopher can destroy a landscape quickly, so control measures need to begin as soon as the gopher is detected. Mounds of fresh soil are usually the first indication of their presence. Effective integrated management of pocket gophers relies largely on exclusion measures and trapping, although poison baits are also available.
Read more about gophers, their behavior, and...
Although they're small, cute, and furry, ground squirrels can be a real pest for California residents and gardeners. Found throughout California, burrowing ground squirrels cause damage to landscapes and structures while feeding on ornamental or food-bearing plants.
How can you get rid of ground squirrels?
There are several management options for ground squirrels. They might include:
- habitat modification
- exclusion
- trapping
- fumigation and toxic baits
It's important to understand the life cycle and behavior of ground squirrels for...
- Author: Niamh Quinn
Rodenticides continue to come under scrutiny in California due to issues surrounding the potential for nontarget injury to wildlife and pets. While California already has the strictest rodenticide laws and regulations in the country, there have been recent calls to ban all rodenticide applications in the state. Several Assembly Bills (AB 2596, AB 1687, and AB 2422) have been introduced proposing either bans or major restrictions on rodenticide applications.
Anticoagulant rodenticides have been detected in many species of wildlife worldwide; yet the origins, exposure pathways, and effects of these exposures are not well understood. The origins of these rodenticide exposures from point of application to point of...
- Author: Niamh Quinn
![Learning to inspect for signs of rodent activity. [N. M. Quinn]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/44079small.jpg)
[From the May 2017 issue of the UC IPM Green Bulletin]
The West Coast Rodent Academy (WCRA) is a three-day intensive educational workshop hosted by University of California Cooperative Extension in association with the Pest Control Operators of California, Target Specialty Products and Univar. The event was recently held at the University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources South Coast Research and Extension Center (SCREC) in Irvine, CA.
Managing rodents in urban environments can often be very challenging. The WCRA was created...
- Author: Niamh Quinn
In October 2016, the University of California Cooperative Extension, Orange County, in association with the Pest Control Operators of California, Target Specialty Products, and Univar, hosted a three-day West Coast Rodent Academy for pest management professionals. The event was held at University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, CA.
At the academy, participants learned about rodent identification, rodent disease, sanitation, monitoring, trapping, and urban rodent surveys. Participants were provided with opportunities to learn about good environmental stewardship practices and provided with updates on the laws and regulations concerning trapping and the use of...
