The impact of attractants on pocket gopher trapping

Abstract

Abstract Pocket gophers (Geomyidae) have an extensive impact on both natural and agricultural systems. Trapping is a technique often used to sample and manage these populations. The identification of an attractant that increases capture rates of pocket gophers would greatly assist researchers and pest management professionals alike. Therefore, we tested the attractiveness of four attractants (peanut butter, anise, grapefruit attractant, and carrot) plus a control (no attractant) using uncovered and covered trap sets to determine what impact they have on visitation and capture rates of pocket gophers. We also determined how the impact of cover status and attractants differ across varying weights and gender of pocket gophers. We found no direct effect of any attractant on visitation and capture rates of pocket gophers, nor on the gender of captured individuals. However, when no attractant was used, the number of pocket gophers captured per 100 trap nights was greater when trap sets were uncovered vs. when covered, and capture rates were generally high and consistent when using peanut butter as an attractant. Additionally, we noted that covered trap sets that were baited with peanut butter yielded heavier pocket gopher captures than uncovered trap sets using this same attractant. This is key, given the difficulty associated with capturing older, more experienced individuals. Combined with data from a previous investigation, this suggests that there is no advantage to using any attractant when utilizing uncovered trap sets, but there is likely some benefit to using peanut butter in covered trap sets [Current Zoology 60 (4): 472–478, 2014].