Newspaper sleuth finds evidence of gopher horde

A reporter at the Ventura County Star, Lisa McKinnon, did some detective work recently trying to substantiate a hunch about gophers. Her theory appeared in the third paragraph of a story published today: "Landscapers and gardeners alike say the local gopher population this year is one of the biggest, and possibly the most hungry, they have seen."

Evidence included in the story:

“I’ve definitely noticed more gophers this year on the trails. It looks like Swiss cheese out there.” - volunteer UC Master Gardener Dani Brusius

“It does seem to be a little busier this year than in the past." - Jeremy Patton, supervising manager for the pest management company GopherMan

And deniers:

"The number of gopher holes in the county’s regional parks is no higher this year than in the past." McKinnon paraphrased Ron Van Dyck, deputy director of the Ventura County Parks Department

No one would disagree that just one gopher can do a lot of backyard damage. The story includes a number of control options and many readers posted comments with gopher eradication strategies of their own. The article also steers readers to reliable information on gopher management: UC Cooperative Extension. A side bar with the article includes the URL for the Ventura County UC Master Gardener program and a direct link to the UC IPM Pest Note on gophers.

Have you noticed more gophers this year than in the past? Yes or no, please post a comment.

Pocket gopher.

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