Brandon tackling gopher ‘epidemic’

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This article was published 11/06/2024 (678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are numerous large holes in the ground in and around Brandon’s East End Community Centre that pose significant risk to anyone who might be playing in the area’s green spaces — and gophers are to blame, says a city councillor.

Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) said he has urged city parks staff to get aggressive about getting rid of the rodents.

“The holes are huge,” Parker said.

“A youth activity centre rents East End Community Centre from us for the summer, and I think it presents a fairly significant risk to injury,” he said.

“And the number of holes just in the skating rink was pretty bad. A lot of groups like to use that to practise ball, or Frisbee toss or soccer — different activities. And right now, it’s essentially unusable for any of that.

“And the sheer volume of gophers are equally as dense in Rideau Park,” Parker added.

An update on the city’s gopher infestation was provided to the mayor and members of council on June 5, in response to questions asked during previous regular council meetings, including by Coun. Jason Splett (Ward 8) and Parker, who requested a progress update.

“It’s gotten to epidemic proportions,” said Parker.

“So, it’s got to be dealt with. It’s not something that can be delayed any further. So, I think we have to get as aggressive as we can. That’s my thinking — it’ll only get worse if we don’t deal with it,” he said.

Additionally, Coun. Barry Cullen (Ward 3) asked if the historical hot spots were being automatically monitored, and Coun. Bruce Leubke (Ward 6) inquired if the public was being notified when pest control was being done on public property to ensure the safety of children and pets in the area.

Perry Roque, director of parks and recreation services with the city, said his department switched from using a poison — which, he added, they had to be “quite cautious with” — to a new product “that is approved now by Health Canada.”

“We’ve always had gophers in the city, but this last year, we’ve kind of had what we would say are more ideal conditions for gophers to multiply. So, we’re kind of trying to get on top of it right away to deal with that,” Roque told the Sun.

To treat the gopher infestation within Brandon city limits, the city hired Poulin’s Pest Control, which uses a product called RoCon, a poison-free rodenticide registered by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency, according to Roque’s update to council.

RoCon controls Norway rats — a rodent that is mostly found in manmade environments like sewer systems — and Richardson’s ground squirrels, which are commonly referred to as gophers.

RoCon starts as a liquid concentrate and is mixed with water inside an application tank. Before it is applied to the area, a plastic cone is inserted into the burrow entrance, which prevents the rodent from escaping.

The liquid concentrate is then pumped from the tank through an aeration nozzle, which causes the mixture to foam, and that is pumped through the plastic cone into the rodent burrow. It expands until the burrow is filled.

When the rodent inhales the foam, it is unable to breathe and suffocates.

The product works “very quickly, within five minutes,” with Poulin personnel on location, added Roque’s update.

“RoCon is safe to use around children and pets as no product residue is left behind. No signage is required for this product as it is not poisonous, and product is gone in five minutes.”

There are 15 locations in Brandon that have been identified for treatment, including Rideau Park, Dinsdale Park, the East End Community Centre hockey rink, the south side of Kirkcaldy Drive at the Riverbank Discovery Centre, and numerous green spaces and walking paths throughout the city.

As of Monday afternoon, Roque told the Sun that the contractor had started the treatment and is working on checking all sites.

“After that one treatment, they will go back and do a second treatment as required where they see that there’s activity. And then after that, they will monitor the area to make sure that we’ve got the gopher population under control,” he said.

“If they had to do another treatment, then they would contact the city to get approval to go ahead and do that treatment. Hopefully, everything’s resolved after two treatments.”

Roque reminded Brandonites that the company they’ve hired to deal with the gopher infestation is only for city-owned and maintained properties.

“If we have an infestation in parks, it’s going to spread to the neighbourhood, in everybody’s backyard,” Roque said.

“If homeowners do have an infestation problem, we strongly recommend that they contact a private company to treat the gophers in their yard and on their property, because we won’t be doing that. We’re just doing the city areas,” said Roque.

To report a gopher hole on city property, call 204-729-2345 or visit the City of Brandon’s website, scroll to the bottom of the main page and select, “Report an Issue” https://www.brandon.ca/report-an-issue

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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