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CapitalPress.com
April 17, 2015
— ADVERTISEMENT —
Gophers and burrowing pests cause damage
Farmers and ranchers can tell
you of the extensive damage
that gophers, mole, ground
squirrels, voles and prairie dogs
cause to their crops, production,
equipment, and livestock.
Alfalfa and grass fields can
suffer 20 to 50 percent reduced
productivity because of gopher
colonies eating its root systems,
reports research by Colorado
State University Extension.
Gopher infestations can have
1200 rodents or more per acre
and can cause crop loss of a ton
of hay per acre. Other crop and
economic damage occurs to
orchards and vineyards with
gophers and burrowing rodents.
In addition to the actual
damage to crops, gophers cause
farmers and ranchers significant
losses in other ways. Dirt from
gopher mounds get picked up
during harvest causing con-
taminated hay, dulling and
plugging sickle bars and blades,
plus costly machinery break-
downs and downtime.
Crops are not the only things
damaged from burrowing
rodents. Cattle suffer leg
injuries when stepping into
burrows and holes caused by
gophers, ground squirrels, and
prairie dogs. Sprinkler irrigation
systems provide ideal con-
ditions for gophers, which in
turn can be destroyed by
gophers.
Gophers do not hibernate and
are active year round. Mound
building is most active in the
spring and fall, as well as after
sprinkler irrigation. A single
burrow can be 600 lineal feet
and have 100 cubic feet of air
space. Burrow systems are
usually two tiered; that is,
subsurface burrows that lead to
the mound or the surface for
shallow root feeding. A lower
burrow or lateral is six to twelve
inches deeper and connects
mounds and feeding laterals. In
ideal conditions, gophers can
have three litters a year with
two to six pups per litter.
Ground squirrels do hibernate
Photo credit:
Ty Smedes
Gopher
colonies have
burrowed
throughout
this field,
causing
damage to
crops and
production.
in winter. After surfacing,
usually in February, ground
squirrels will forage up to 100-
feet from their burrow opening.
They feed on green surface
foliage and will denude the
immediate area around their
burrow openings and exhausting
their food supply. These
burrowing rodents live in
colonies with several ground
squirrels per burrow system.
They will usually have one litter
pr year, with four to ten pups
per litter. Some ground squirrel
colonies can exceed 100 rodents
per acre.
Moles are solitary, with a
single mole occupying the
burrow system. While moles eat
worms, grubs, etc., they damage
crops and turf by up-rooting
plants. Their mounds and raised
burrow areas can cause damage
to machinery.
Voles, also called field mice,
live in colonies and can explode
to very dense populations under
favorable conditions. Voles
mostly eat green surface
vegetation and a colony can
eliminate any plant growth.
Allen Hurlburt, of Tulelake,
California, says, “Gophers can
devastate a field of alfalfa or a
pasture, but the good news is we
have an effective way to get the
upper hand. It is as simple as
P.E.R.C.
Hurlburt: PERC is an “elegant solution”
Carbon monoxide is one of
the most potent yet safe poisons
that kills burrowing rodents.
Until Allen Hurlburt, H&M
Gopher Control, invented the
PERC (Pressurized Exhaust
Rodent Controller) there had
been no inexpensive, efficient
delivery system to control these
pests.
Allen explains how the PERC
developed, “It was clear we had
the gopher cornered in his
burrow system. How can the
carbon monoxide be sent into
burrows? So I went to work on
an internal combustion engine
that can be used to both
generate pure carbon monoxide
exhaust (2.5% CO), cool it, and
pressurize it to 110 PSI. That
same gas engine is what drives
the compressor.
A T-bar hand piece with a
ball valve is on the end of each
3/8” air hose, it is used as the
probe to inject the carbon
work,” Allen points,out, “noth-
ing is as effective, efficient and
as inexpensive to use as the
PERC system. A single oper-
ator using the PERC system
can treat moderately infested
alfalfa fields at about 3.5 acres
per hour. We think the PERC is
an elegant solution!”
From the original PERC
machine developed in 2006,
Allen has spent countless hours
testing and talking to his
customers to implement im-
provements and modifications.
Always working to make the
PERC a perfect machine for his
customers, Allen believes it is
nearly “bullet proof.”
Allen Hurlburt, inventor, with PERC 412 equipped with a Tandem Axle.
monoxide into burrows. Using
multiple probes, burrows are
easily detected and rapidly
filled with a lethal concen-
tration of carbon monoxide,
overcoming the rodent before it
has a chance to escape or block
the burrow.
“While baits, traps, shooting,
blowing up burrows, and
conventional low-pressure auto
exhaust delivery systems all
Schematic of exhaust gas
injected in a gopher burrow.
Customers throughout the West love their PERC
Gophers and burrowing rodents do not
discriminate between agricultural, municipal
or commercial properties. And while many
laughed at Bill Murray battling the cagey
gophers in the movie Caddy Shack, the fact
is, gophers are not funny to anyone dealing
with the damage. The PERC (Pressurized
Exhaust Rodent Controller), engineered by
H&M Gopher Control, is serious business
when it comes to eliminating burrowing
rodents.
In a letter received from the mayor of
Lompoc, California, H&M learned of the
city’s success dealing with “17 acres of
soccer fields... completely infested with
gophers.” The mayor wrote that with their
two trailer-mounted four-wand PERC units:
“On Tuesday and Wednesday we treated the
soccer fields. On Friday, we did some
additional spot treatments and had the fields
ready for a district soccer tournament on
Saturday.” He also wrote, “We have found
the H&M equipment to be reliable and very
efficient at taking our parks back from the
gophers. Additionally, anytime we had a
question, Allen and his staff at H&M were
always available and helpful.”
Delighted customers throughout the
western states have shared their comments
with H&M:
“My PERC 206 machine has worked
flawlessly for 2 years. It does an excellent
job on gopher control.” – Bill, from
California.
“Thank you so much... it is working, they
killed about 300 voles in a three acre pasture
the other day. – Barbara, from Oregon.
“We have two P.E.R.C. machines that are
used in our custom gopher control business
in Eastern Oregon, Southwest Idaho and
Northern Nevada. It has been very effective
in exterminating pocket gophers and ground
squirrels. Our clients vary from small land
owners to large farms with a few thousand
acres.” – Rod, from Oregon.
“My husband and I bought a PERC 412
Tandem from you last October. Love, love,
love that machine! With the help of a couple
of gopher trappers, I was able to almost
clear one alfalfa field of gophers before the
ground froze in December. The trappers
worked on about a quarter of the field, while
I gassed the other three quarters... I just
keep patrolling the outskirts to make sure
they don’t infiltrate again. No more having
to sell ‘dirty’ hay and having equipment beat
up from gopher mounds... At first, I was
just a little worried.... due to the initial cost.
But thank goodness I did and that it’s
worked so well!!... the official ‘gopher
gasser’ for our farm... Thanks! – Tammy,
from Nevada.
Gary Tompkins, of Nevada, taking delivery of his second PERC 412.
NO POISON BAIT!
NO EXPLOSIONS!
ELIMINATE BURROWING RODENTS WITH THE PERC SYSTEM THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU!
The PERC 206 is a
two-hose skid
mounted unit with
a 7hp gas motor
and a 15cfm
compressor.
The PERC 412 is a
four-hose trailer
mounted unit with a
14hp Kohler electric
start gas motor and
a 33cfm Champion
compressor.
The PERC 620 has a
20hp Twin-V electric
start Kohler
motor, a V4
70cfm Champion
compressor, and
is standard with
tandem walking
beam axles, 6
reels and
hoses.
The PERC 412 Tandem
Select 50’, 100’, or 300’ length hose reels and hoses to meet specific needs. Units can be built on road trailers or as a skid unit (w/o wheels) that can sit on a pick-up bed.
www.hmgophercontrol.com
®
Manufacturing & Sales
CALL TOLL-FREE
855-667-5181
(530)640-3981
For message or text
DON’T RISK DIRT IN YOUR HAY...
Cleaner fields means lower repair costs!
Cleaner fields avoids costly downtime!
Cleaner fields increases crop yields!
Cleaner fields means higher profits!
Protect your herds from leg injuries!
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