'Rodenator' blasts gophers in their holes

John Y Cannuck

John Y Cannuck

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'Rodenator' blasts gophers in their holes


Danielle Mario, Canwest News Service

Published: Thursday, March 13, 2008
They really, really hate gophers in Saskatchewan.
The furry, burrowing varmints caused more than $1 million in damages last year to farmers' fields in the province's southwest, according to compensation paid out by the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp.
Hence the obvious appeal of the Rodenator -- one of several new and creative ways being proposed to annihilate gophers.

Bob Derdall, the Rodenator dealer for the Prairie provinces, said it's the most environmentally sound solution and minimizes suffering for the gophers.
Here's how it works. A nozzle is poked down the gopher hole, where it releases oxygen mixed with three per cent propane for nearly two minutes.
Then, once the hole is filled with the gas -- in a scene reminiscent of the movie Caddyshack -- an igniter lights the mix, and there is a sharp, gunshot-like explosion, firing clouds of dirt into the air.
The gopher, wherever it may be underground, is instantly killed when its tiny lungs collapse. Plus, the shock wave usually collapses the hole. Total cost for the system? Nearly $2,000.
"With this machine, there's no poison, so you don't have to deal with the poisoned carcasses of the animals," said Derdall. "It's probably the most humane way of getting rid of the varmints."
On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud announced $380,000 in new funding to research new methods to control gophers, also known as Richardson's ground squirrels.
The money will be used to evaluate what's expected to be a boom in gopher numbers in the coming year.
According to Cameron Wilk, Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food's provincial pesticide specialist, the government will look at a range of options.
"We'll explore anything that's going to help these poor farmers deal with this issue, and that includes everything from rodenticides to machines that can do the job," he said.
The most popular method in the province for the past few decades has been poison.


© The Calgary Herald 2008
 
I did that a few times using gasoline. One time, the wind blew the gas fumes right down through the hole. Sounded like a cannon when it lit off, scared the crap out of me, standing beside the hole with a lit oily rag on a stick.
Gopher was at the other end of the hole, and he fired ten feet in the air, he hit the ground running, and never used that hole again.
It was in a place where I could not shoot.
 
My uncle used to use the gasoline trick as well, but with the price of gas thats getting to be an expensive solution. A few hundred gallons of liquid pig manure down the hole invariably brings them to the surface so you can shoot them. Not terribly sporting, but very effective.
 
A guy here uses anhydrous. Using a tank he pulls around behind his tractor. with a hose and nozzle he gives a good blast down the hole. he also wears rubber gloves and safety goggles. I'm sure I'm not saying this right but you get the idea.
 
there was a fellow that started a major grass fire west of here over the weekend by sticking a lit propane torch down a gopher hole- wonder if he saw the article and tried to make his own home version?
 
My brother in law farms at Coronach, SK. He brought one of these things up from the states 7-8 years ago. He pays the high school kids to come out and "blow them up real good" every spring.

Highly effective.
 
And then...

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/24/5087046-sun.html

Propane device sparked massive fire
Man confesses to using propane-powered rodent-killing device, sparking fire
By TARINA WHITE, SUN MEDIA
The Calgary Sun




Igniting a propane device designed to kill gophers sparked a massive grass fire that forced the evacuation of residents in Springbank and destroyed barns and vehicles on Saturday.

The man responsible for the blaze, who stepped forward and admitted to using an open flame during a fire ban, is facing charges and could be slapped with a hefty fine, M.D. of Rocky View's acting deputy fire chief Jim Pendergast said yesterday.

"It was done out of negligence," Pendergast said.

"It wasn't done maliciously, but there's still a lot of destruction there.

"That's the frustrating part -- every single fire we've had has been preventable."

Several residents of the rural community of Springbank were evacuated Saturday when the massive blaze swept across their properties in the afternoon.

One person suffered smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously hurt.

The man responsible for the grass fire, who didn't want to be named, said he had been using the Rodenator Pro, a professional rodent-killing device.

The spark on the machine ignited the fire.

"I'm very sorry -- it was just a spark and it went," he said.

The Rodenator Pro pumps a mixture of propane and oxygen into a rodent's burrow.

A built-in, self-contained ignition system then sparks the mixture.

Fire crews from Calgary, the M.D. of Rocky View, Cochrane and Redwood Meadows, as well as a helicopter from forestry officials, battled the fire that broke out between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. west of the city.

The fire spread more than a kilometre through Springbank Heights and a neighbouring community and threatened a number of homes, although none were damaged.

However, a number of sheds, barns, vehicles and trailers that were in the path of the fire were lost.

Calgarian Jerry Proppe's truck, parked at his parents' Springbank Heights acreage, was destroyed by the flames.

"It seems awfully stupid," Proppe said about the cause of the fire.

"I'm extremely disappointed that someone's negligence leads to my loss."

The Rodenator system creates an underground shockwave that kills the rodents and collapses their tunnel system.

The M.D. of Rocky View is expected to lay charges and possible fines this week, said Pendergast.

The resident could also be charged with the cost of the firefighting resources, which is estimated to be in excess of $30,000, he said.

A damage estimate for property destroyed in the blaze has yet to be tallied.
 
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Can somone give these desperate farmers my email address?

I will take care of their gopher issues for a lot cheaper :D
 
I would be cheaper to pay a bunch of us, for time off work and hotels and meals, gas, and ammo, lots, and lots of it, like a 3 ton full of skids to the roof of have at her barrel candy!!!!Just thought makes me drool. (Yes, sometimes I like to roll around naked on cold brass and lead, it's like a 1000 finger back rub)
Pay some kid to run around on atv and trailer pick them up and dump in a pile and wait for bit and dusk off the magpies.
Dam this is making me home sick for my Grandpa's place,lol
 
In the 60s I saw some kids in Montana hunting rattlers.When they saw one they would chase it down a gopher hole and throw down some gas,throw in a match,when the flaming rattler came out they would chop it up with garden hoes.
 
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