We wanted to start out with how Tunnel Fill, The Fill and Kill Gopher Solution, got started. The owner of Rodent Guys Pest Control in Southern California (http://www.rodentguys.com/) was trying to come up with an alternative to chemical based gopher removal for his gopher extermination business. His thoughts were to use something to flush them out of the gopher burrow system.
Many items were attempted including different scents and products. In one attempt back a few years ago he put soapy water down the hole and as it bubbled it reminded him of an expanding material. He began experimenting with different expanding materials including expanding foam for doors and windows. This of course does not work because it does not reach very far from where you apply it and does not reach the lower areas. On top of that, the roots can not grow through it and it is not environmentally responsible.
He then asked his wife who is a chemical engineer to get involved. She started to research and give him some compositions to play with. Finally, they struck success. With a combination of materials that all expand and expand at different rates a successful formula was formed. The materials expand by absorbing water which is typically placed down the gopher hole with a standard garden hose. The multiple expansion rates help to trap the gopher with the fast expansion and completely fill the tunnel with the slower expansions. Full expansion only takes about 5 minutes depending on water quality. The latest formula includes the multi expanding materials, nutrients and repellents for gophers. Tunnel Fill is non-toxic, biodegradable and the plants nutrients and repellents are organic.
The formula allows the product to reach the furthest depths of the gopher burrow by allowing the flowing water to deliver it and fill the system from the bottom up. As the product swells it is forcing the gopher to come closer and closer to the surface until it has to come above ground to avoid drowning. Tunnel Fill will swell all the way to the surface in every available area of a tunnel system.
The application is quite simple. You simply add Tunnel Fill from the highest hole and continue to add product and/or water until it reaches the surface. Often times the gopher will pop out of the same hole the water is being applied. Normally start with around 2 ounces of product and add water for a few minutes. It only takes about 5 minutes for the product to expand if it has not reached the surface add a bit more product and water until it does waiting about 5 minutes between applications to make sure it has expanded fully.
If a gopher is missed because the entire system is not visible from above ground it is no problem. Later that day or by the next morning the busy gopher will begin digging a new system and expose where he was hiding. When he does you simply add a little Tunnel Fill and put water down the hole with high flow rate. The tunnel system at this point is very small and fills very fast. Sometimes you will flush them in 10 seconds so be ready.
Once a gopher is above ground they are very slow and do not run far. They seem to be very out of place and I think know they are doomed. At this point you can cage them and release them far from residence and let them live a natural life or play whack-a-mole with them. A quick tap on the head with a hand shovel is all that is needed to put an end to the gopher.
Other times the gophers get caught up in the material and just get encased in it and drown. You will only know this by not seeing a gopher come out a hole and the holes stop appearing. Because there is no way to be sure at first you must monitor the area for a day or so to see if new holes appear and treat immediately before a new system can be formed. For this reason, make sure you have enough product for a second application. However, if you do run out of product, often times the next morning a hose on high will flush them quickly because the tunnel has no volume because Tunnel Fill has filled it.
Hope everyone enjoys the new product.
