It’s certainly impossible to be a fan of Dak Rats if you live on base. These little rodents certainly lay claim to lawns, playgrounds, park and in general all grassy areas on Minot Air Force Base.

I have been surprised by not only the number, but the damage they do as they burrow their way into gardens, under sidewalks and driveways and into back yard play areas. Gophers, or Dak Rats, are certainly resident to the prairies of the Midwest. They shouldn’t be confused with their distant cousins, the prairie dogs, a much larger 4 legged, furry rodent who also lay claim to pastures and farmyards.

It would be my guess that gophers significantly outnumber prairie dogs, but the damage they do is pretty similar, and it would be hard to love them when they are digging holes in your yard and invading your garden.
Growing Up In Gopher Country

Gophers are rodents, and by that very definition they are in the same family as mice and rats. All of these little creatures are not farm friendly. Traps, poisons and to a certain extent, cats, are used to control mice and rats on a farm. Mice and rats differ from gophers in that these rodents invade buildings, chewing through anything in their way to get to grain storage areas. Gophers prefer to live outdoors, burrowing deep into the ground. Not that they don’t do their share of damage.

My dad was a telephone guy. In the late 70’s, Northwestern Bell decided to bury a majority of their telephone wires to save on installation and maintenance costs. (Yep, you all remember land lines, right?). Wires in the ground and not strung overhead made a lot of sense, except to a gopher. The story would go something like this. The gopher comes across a telephone line. Most were smaller lines that served one farmstead. But some were larger and could service an entire community. You would think it wouldn’t be a big deal for a gopher to burrow over top of, or underneath of, a telephone line. But sure enough, they would use those sharp teeth and cut the line, and thus cut the telephone service.

But a random destroyed telephone line is not the major damage a gopher can cause. When they take over pastureland, their burrows are dangerous to cattle and horses. Stepping into a burrow could break a leg. Horses, especially, could find these “gopher holes” treacherous. So, gophers had to be controlled. How? Well, there were quite a few ways, and it involved youngsters like me. The bounty for a gopher tail was a penny, usually paid by the local township or county. I began my gopher bounty work with a simple snare; a string that made a loop. You would bury the string around the hole and wait for the gopher in the hole to pop up its’ head. Various noises like whistles and chirps were used to entice those curious little critters out of their hole. Once they popped up their head, with a quick pull, you had him, or more often you missed him. At a penny a tail, let’s just say this was not a great money maker. Heck, the kids in town were selling lemonade on the corner and making a whole lot more money.

Then one Christmas my dad gave my brother and me a .22 caliber rifle, complete with a scope. It was a 180 degree change in tactics. Local ranchers would let you know when their pastureland was vacant. You would set up on a hill, and eradicate the gopher population, thus helping out the rancher. Besides the penny a tail, most ranchers might even give you a couple of bucks for your service.

What’s The Solution?
The hunting procedure is certainly not going to work on the Minot Air Force Base. And you can’t poison Dak Rats for fear of a family pet getting into the poison. Snaring them didn’t work well back when I was a kid, so it probably isn’t going to work well today, either. Just what is the solution? To be honest, I’m not sure. Going back into some of the old Northern Sentry papers, Dak Rats have always been a nuisance on base. There are several jokes about eradicating Dak Rats, I am sure you have heard some of them. It’s kind of an agree to disagree type of situation. We all agree that Dak Rats are a nuisance, but no one seems to have come up with the perfect solution. So for now it’s…those darn Dak Rats!

Best Kept Secrets
I always put in a plug for the Roosevelt Park Zoo in the spring/early summer. Even this year when the zoo property will be undergoing a lot of change, it’s fun to take a quick tour and see the new arrivals at the zoo. The star of the show this year will probably be the new lion cub. Can’t wait to get a photo…
Today’s Chuckle
If you have what it takes, there’s always somebody willing to take it.