Last night the lights blinked at our place, then 1/3 of the lights went out, a 1/3 went very dim, and a third kept working.
Got the electrician over this morning and he said I had a leg out in the service wire.
Called Dakota Electric, they came over and opened the transformer and this is what they found.
Gopher also chewed the service wire.
service-wire.jpg
oops – this is the funny one
transformer.jpg
IS THE GOPHER OK???? 
Holy crap!!! Never thought they would fill the box like that!
Whoa! That’s incredible.
And I thought the mice in my back shed chewing my stuff up were a PIA.
IS THE GOPHER OK????
The Gophers haven’t been OK since 1961.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
SR
Oh yeah!!!! Gophers have been the root cause of many of overtime hours in my profession (natural gas distribution) Little money makers. Lol. $$$$$$$$
Three words-Bucket of Death.
No words. 
IMG_4072.jpg
Oh yeah!!!! Gophers have been the root cause of many of overtime hours in my profession (natural gas distribution) Little money makers. Lol. $$$$$$$$
Hey, we’re in the same business, or so my wife says. 
Only I don’t get paid for it.
I’ll be here all night. At least until the Bicardi runs out. 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MNdrifter wrote:</div>
Oh yeah!!!! Gophers have been the root cause of many of overtime hours in my profession (natural gas distribution) Little money makers. Lol. $$$$$$$$Hey, we’re in the same business, or so my wife says.
Only I don’t get paid for it.
I’ll be here all night. At least until the Bicardi runs out.
Lol……. Touché. Good one.
How you feeling today Matt?
Good. Up bright and early. Ready to drive to Iowa for a family reunion.
How far are you from Iowa?
Why, you gonna drop by and visit?
It’s about 1500 miles from Mpls, so less than 1500.
Interesting, when I built my house I found out it was the homeowners responsibility to provide the underground feed from the house to the transformer. I had a friend who had the right equipment so we dug a trench and before we put in the wire he brought heavy walled PVC pipe to put the wire in as he claims the gophers are known for this.
Interesting, when I built my house I found out it was the homeowners responsibility to provide the underground feed from the house to the transformer. I had a friend who had the right equipment so we dug a trench and before we put in the wire he brought heavy walled PVC pipe to put the wire in as he claims the gophers are known for this.
The PVC pipe should work, but not guaranteed. I’ve seen them chew through 2″ gas main. They make a corrugated “gopher pipe” that you insert your wire, or gas line in. But that’s not 100% either. Lots of money to be had if somebody can invent the next big thing to ward off gophers. There’s a lot of utility companies that will pay big $ for this.
Well, they just chewed thru my neighbors GAS line.
They just chewed thru a main.
AGAIN!!! 
My daughter and I have teamed up to exterminate 16 of them so far this Spring. We’ve got it to the point where she searches the side of the property that the power comes in on daily.
Last summer ended with 104 total trapped. We’re probably only ~75% in catching them with sets.
Minnesota Golden Vermin
Greasy grimy gopher guts…………
WOW! I’m hoping you found a smoking gopher lying somewhere nearby. But only 100 or so more where he came from.
When I was a kid I got a hefty bounty for riding around on the lawnmower and popping gophers with the 22. Maybe find a neighbor kid looking to make a few bucks that has a pellet gun.
When I was a kid I got a hefty bounty for riding around on the lawnmower and popping gophers with the 22. Maybe find a neighbor kid looking to make a few bucks that has a pellet gun.
How were you able to catch so many gophers in the open or are you referring to ground squirrels?
I know gophers can be shot when expelling dirt but its a challenge and I havent been lucky enough to have the chance.
Dump some gas and a little napalm I’m multiple spots of his tunnel. Spark them up and smoke him out. The gas stench will lead him to not come back to your property and abandon his tunnels
They have no problem chewing through 2” gas main. I have seen it several times. It most likely happened over the winter. Nobody knew until frost went out and then you could smell it. They get trapped under the frost and end up in the backfilled trench because the ground is softer there. They get hungry and start chewing. Many times when you go to dig up the leak, you find the offending gopher dead of asphyxiation from the gas close by.
The bigger problem is with your power out, how are you keeping your beer cold? I don’t think that is the proper way to ground a transformer. I can’t believe they do this. That is crazy.
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Only I don’t get paid for it. 
