Gopher mount leveling.

[NoSmoke]

Was wondering if anyone might have some ideas on a home-built device to be towed behind a small tractor (Yanmar 15HP) for smoothing out the mounts of dirt that pocket gophers leave (I'm getting tired of rakin' the dang things). Maybe something shop built, maybe something purchased? It would have to be something that would smooth the loose dirt but not gouge the grass too much.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[CalG]

YORK makes a rake with a fold down blade that rides on sulky wheels.

TA6B

I have one, and works a treat on anything that sticks up. I find the height adjuster on the tool is good for most needs, but when the attach point is fitted to the three point tool bar, every degree of subtlety is obtained. I had mine fitted with a hydraulic cylinder, but removed that when I went from "garden tractor" to a fully functional 3pth.

 

[KennyG]

Here's my approach. If you can weld it's pretty easy to make some type of drag.

Land Plane and Drag Mat

 

[WranglerX]

I drag a 4-5 foot long section of railroad track....If not that a section of chain link fencing that is folded over and some big heavy rocks inside .. essentially it is anything that resembles a harrow....

 

[jwmorris]

If you want To stop the dirt piles you need to kill the animals that are piling them up. They also bring rocks to the surface here so mowers can throw them and bust out windows.

I built this implement that creates a tunnel under ground for them and drops a thimble full of poisoned seeds every ~3ft. No more piles of dirt.

For knocking them down though, these are designed to ride on the outboard skids while the blades cut only high spots inside them And redistributes the dirt into lower areas.

That’s a cheap version I found I have an adjustable blade version but wouldn’t mind a fixed if the cutting edges are about a 1/2” off a flat surface, sitting on the skids.

 

[ruffdog]

We have one of these pull behind graders made by Ratchet Rake. It is built heavy duty. When you are done, flip it over onto it's wheels and tow it. You can easily move it by hand and it flips up on end so it stores out of the way.

 

[jyoutz]

If you want To stop the dirt piles you need to kill the animals that are piling them up. They also bring rocks to the surface here so mowers can throw them and bust out windows.

I built this implement that creates a tunnel under ground for them and drops a thimble full of poisoned seeds every ~3ft. No more piles of dirt.

View attachment 818932View attachment 818933View attachment 818934View attachment 818935View attachment 818936

For knocking them down though, these are designed to ride on the outboard skids while the blades cut only high spots inside them And redistributes the dirt into lower areas.

That’s a cheap version I found I have an adjustable blade version but wouldn’t mind a fixed if the cutting edges are about a 1/2” off a flat surface, sitting on the skids.

There used to be an implement sold that does exactly as you say. It was called the Eaton burrow builder. A great way to treat a heavy gopher infestation.

 

[NoSmoke]

Thank you all for the great suggestions, both store bought and shop made. The weighted chain link fence material sounds interesting in particular - I think I'll try that first.

Say what you will but poisoning wildlife, even if they are "just" gophers, doesn't work for me.

 

[jyoutz]

Thank you all for the great suggestions, both store bought and shop made. The weighted chain link fence material sounds interesting in particular - I think I'll try that first.

Say what you will but poisoning wildlife, even if they are "just" gophers, doesn't work for me.

If you don’t kill the gophers, you will be using your drag weekly and have nothing but bare dirt.

 

[NoSmoke]

If you don’t kill the gophers, you will be using your drag weekly and have nothing but bare dirt.

I dunno, I've been manually raking the mounds for years and the problem ebbs and flows but hasn't really gotten much worse. I've found if the dug up loam is spread around the grass grows back through it quickly so the overall area with bare ground stays fairly small. The biggest problem is the undisturbed mounts make mowing a rough job and look crappy.


Maybe it depends on climate and specific species of gopher(?). But, I understand the problem - it would be better if there were a more humane way of dealing with it (an animal dying of strychnine poisoning is something I won't deal with).