Exterminating Pests

Idaho Gopher Control owner Matt Brechwald, discussed with me how he exterminates pesky vols, gophers and ground squirrels. "We use all carbon monoxide fumigation. Gophers have a field system meaning that when they dig a tunnel and when they produce their gopher mound, they will plug those holes so they make it almost impossible for air to go in and out. We fill those tunnels with carbon monoxide and it stays in a sealed system. That is why we are so effective with the gophers. Then on the vols and the ground squirrels, their tunnels are left open so gas can escape. Luckily the ground squirrels are extremely susceptible to carbon monoxide. Even more so than gophers. So they are relatively easy to exterminate with that method. We use compressed carbon monoxide and that is the key. We can displace all of the oxygen in that tunnel system and overwhelm the squirrel with a lack of oxygen, all they are inhaling his carbon monoxide. It is a quick extermination. We see a squirrel run into a tunnel, we will fumigate it and we will find a dead squirrel within 60 seconds so it is humane. The vols have limitations. We do exterminate them but we find ourselves doing out on small acreage situations or even residential situations because there are so many of them running around.