Effect of Spraying with 2,4-D upon Abundance of Pocket Gophers in Franklin Basin, Idaho

Abstract

Four 50 × 50 foot plots were sprayed with 2 lb./acre 2,4-D in 1959, 1960, 1965 and 1969 to kill fleshy-rooted, spring-growing plants and annuals. These plants are the major source of food for pocket gophers. Averaging the 10-year period, 1960-69, spraying reduced gopher mounds by 93% and winter casts by 94% when compared to the unsprayed areas.