Are there specific plants that prairie dogs will NOT eat? Is the intense smell from a prairie dog colony harmful to humans?
Knowledgebase
prairie dogs #877778
Asked July 18, 2024, 12:10 PM EDT
Are there specific plants that prairie dogs will NOT eat?
Is the intense smell from a prairie dog colony harmful to humans?
Jefferson CountyColorado
Expert Response
Good afternoon!
Do you have prairie dogs eating your plants? They are not known to damage landscape plants and should not be that close to a landscape to damage them.
For their den's smelling I feel like they should not be that smelly unless they have been fumigated and there are some dead prairie dogs in the den. They are susceptible to fleas and can be a carrier of the plague so people and pets should be kept away from their den.
Here is some more information on prairie dogs in Colorado!
We have two very large prairie dog dens on the east and west side of our community. The numbers are very high and have at least doubled this year. Yes, they are eating everything! They continue to eat into the neighborhood and have now crossed over to our residential streets and are digging holes in our lawn areas. We have asked the City of Westminster for assistance in helping to contain them in the open space but they are non-responsive. They have told us we can kill them if they come onto our property. As an HOA we have to do that but as you can imagine, residents have varying opinions.
We are looking to xeriscape some of the tree lawns and are looking for low growing plants that prairie dogs wouldn’t eat since the City won’t allow xeriscaping without the use of plants. The only thing we’ve found in our research would be juniper bushes.
Re. the smell, the city’s open space is next to the sidewalk and as you walk along, the smell can be overwhelming particularly on hot days. I doubt it would be from dead prairie dogs but may be their overwhelming number in a small space.
We would be very open to meeting with an expert from CU Extension to provide an opinion. We have spent over $15000 to date with no end in sight and our residents, many who have small children, are at their wits end.
I can definitely come out and help with any landscaping ideas and plans, but unfortunately do not have any more information on how to control the prairie dogs. My only suggestion would be to keep pressuring the city to do something about the dens on either side of the property since that is their domain to work with.
As for plant suggestions I can help you out if you send me over some photos of the space or if you would like me to come out! I would not suggest planting Junipers if you are right next to an open space due to their extreme fire risk.
Please let me know if you are interested in a site visit and we can get something planned!
Yes! I would definitely like to set up a time for you to come out. We would be grateful for any information you could provide about plantings and I think it will be much better for you to see it in person. It could be educational for us both.
Let me know your availability so we can set up a time.
