Growers check out the Verminator, a burrow-building implement that lays bait in burrows designed to reach gophers. (Melissa Hansen/Good Fruit Grower) Rodents—particularly voles, ground squirrels, and gophers—can have a big economic impact on orchard and vineyard production costs. Rodents cause obvious damage to orchards and vineyards, especially to young trees that have yet to establish a large root mass. They also can girdle adult trees when they chew on the trunk. Examples of girdled trees and young trees that can be easily pulled out the ground are the obvious costs to orchard management, says Mike Omeg, a cherry grower from […]