Prevention and Control

Deferred grazing

Research in Barber County, Kansas, has shown that prairie dog numbers can be reduced in mid-grass prairies by restricting grazing to September through April, which increases grass height. Deferred grazing on the short grass prairies of extreme western Kansas has not been shown to decrease prairie dog numbers. Short duration or cell grazing instead of season-long grazing, may allow enough time for vegetation to grow tall enough to deter prairie dogs. Prairie dog control should include proper livestock stocking rates and other range management practices to prevent overgrazed conditions that serve as prime habitat for prairie dogs.

Shooting

Intensive rifle shooting during the breeding season (February) has been shown to disrupt prairie dog reproductive activities and prevent colonies from spreading. It is not likely that shooting prairie dogs will ever be considered a successful eradication technique. Yet several landowners are able derive income from prairie dogs by leasing the opportunity for sportsmen to shoot prairie dogs on their land, which may offset forage loss due to prairie dogs.

Toxicants

Toxicants that are legal for prairie dog control in Kansas are grouped under two general categories: poison grain or pellet baits and fumigants. These toxicants should be used with caution because poison baits may kill a variety of birds and mammals, and fumigation kills all wildlife found in the burrows. Only toxicants labeled for prairie dog control are legal for that purpose. Read and follow all label directions.

Poison grain baits

Controlling prairie dogs with poison grain bait is most effective during clear, settled weather (rain washes the toxicant from some baits) and is only effective when the most desirable food (green grass and forbs) has become dried and dormant. Fall baiting is successful because prairie dogs are actively eating grass seeds to build up fat reserves for winter. Two active ingredients in grain baits and pellets are registered for Kansas: zinc phosphide and chlorophacinone. Label requirements vary depending on the product used.

Fumigants

Fumigants legal for prairie dog control in Kansas include gas cartridges and aluminum or magnesium phosphide. Aluminum or magnesium phosphide emits a poisonous gas, while gas cartridges produce a suffocating gas made of carbon monoxide. Fumigants should be used only as a follow-up to poison grain baits because fumigants are expensive, difficult to apply and pose an extreme hazard to the blackfooted ferret and other desirable wildlife species that occupy the burrows. A permit from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is required to use any burrow fumigant, and only those certified to use restricted-use pesticides can legally apply aluminum phosphide. Fumigation permit applications are available from the local K-State Research and Extension office.

Fumigants are most effective when soil moisture is good. It is only necessary to treat active mounds, and fumigation usually follows a baiting program when eradication is the goal. To identify active mounds, shovel, blade or place a dry "cow chip" over all holes three or four days before treatment. Treat only the holes that have been reopened by the prairie dogs. This procedure will greatly reduce the amount of fumigant needed.

For more information, see the K-State Research and Extension publication Prairie Dog Management.