p-dog problem

[anilowrie]

The prarie dogs have started taking up homes on my property . There is a highway right next to them , so shooting them is out of the question . Do you any ideas on how to kill or trap them . Thanks for any ideas .

[Jonesy]

There are several different ways of going about it.

1. Contact you local county extension agent and see what resources they have to help you out.
2. zinc phosphide laced oats.
3. phostoxin pellets, gases them.

Good luck, they are a rodent and breed as such. If you want rid of them, get going right away and stay on top of it till it's done.

[anilowrie]

Where can I find these chemicals ? How dangerous is it for me to handle them ? Thank you

[Jonesy]

Obviously you have certain precautionary measures to follow when using them. But, it's no different than the caution used for instance household drain cleaner or lawn chemicals. Just follow the directions and exercise common sense.

I'm not sure what kind of rules and regs you have where you live pertaining to these chemicals. Here you have to have a chemical applicators lisence. To obtain one here, you take an open book test and pay $30. To find the chemicals, check in the yellow pages under chemicals or contact your local farm and ranch supply store. Here, you can also purchase these products from the state. Again, check with you local county extension agent.

I hope everything works for you.

[justwannano]

I've been told that pdogs can carry plague.
I'd suggest that you not try to trap them.
I think the extention office is your best source of valid ,for your state,information.
best of luck
just

[Jonesy]

I am personally responsible for the control of tens of thousands of acres of prairie dogs. Not something I'm greatly proud of, but the fact none the less. In all reality, you have a considerably better chance of getting struck by lightning or falling in your tub and dying than contracting the plague from a prairie dogs. With the death of hundreds of thousands of prairie dogs on my hands from mainly poisoning and also shooting them for 30 years, my chances I would think are much higher of contracting the plague than most. PD's have ofcourse been known to carry the plague, but so has mice, rats, rabbits and house pets. From what I understand it is actually the flea that inhabits these critters which is the carrier of the plague. I may or may not be wrong, but I am perfectly healthy and I have heard myths and yet have never heard of or seen any contemporary cases of the plague due to PD's.

If you decide to take on this task yourself, it is however a good idea to contact your extension agent to find out what your states rules and regs are pertaining to prairie dog control.

[gspsonny03]

Jonesy has given you a pretty good low down on this problem and he is correct when he says it's the flea that carries the plague. If you have pet dogs, they will have more chance of contracting the disease and carrying it to you than you getting it from PD's. Also as he mentioned if you decide to do this yourself, you have to make sure to get every hole not just a few you see dogs sitting on, if you don't you're just wasting your time, because you won't get them all and they will be back. Also as he mentioned contact your local extension agent, because these chemicals may not be legal in all states and the poisoning process may not be legal in all states. Good luck to you.

[anilowrie]

Thanks guys , i'll check out these resources . By the way I'm in Colorado . There are two holes that can be safley shot at , I nailed one today with my Winchester 1300 . He thought he could peek over the top ,,,,,, wrong !!! I hate it when they fall back in the hole .

[Trapper7]

Jonesy are there any spots in your thousands of acres where someone from MN can come out and shoot PDs?