By Kate Torpie, Garden Guides Contributor
About Gophers
Gophers are small rodents that spend most of their lives
underground. They leave very obvious signs of their presence. As
they travel, they will dig in front of them resulting in a path of
tunnels you can see in your yard. You may also start noticing that
some of your grass feels like it has no bottom; the moles have dug
the bottom out from it. Fan-shaped mounds will indicate the head of
one tunnel.
Affected Plants
Gophers are root-eaters. They can take down an entire tree, uproot
an entire lawn and pull an entire garden into their tunnels for
munching.
Prevention and Control
There are many repellents that claim to discourage gophers through
smell and taste. For example a cotton ball doused in bleach may be
placed in an active tunnel. However, the likely outcome is that the
gopher will wall off that tunnel and dig a new one. It is not easy
to prevent gophers from entering a typical suburban garden but it
can be done by digging out the deep, long holes and placing down
mesh wire before planting raised beds. A vigilant gardener should
take action the first day he or she sees a mound. Place traps
before the gopher has had a chance to establish a system of tunnels
so that the wary gopher won't have many places to go to avoid the
unknown object. Trapping is the best method of control; there are
many different types of traps available, some more humane than
others. Contact your local humane society to rent traps and get
instructions. If gophers have been a problem in your garden before,
you may want to purchase synthetic coyote urine to spray to deter
gophers immediately after planting. Animal droppings also make
gophers uncomfortable,but even these do not prevent gophers
altogether.
Damage
Gophers like leafy greens often found in vegetable gardens.
However, they will also feast on the watery roots of other plants.
They can eat away at your entire garden without ever being seen:
they can pull plants down into their tunnel instead of coming out.
Since their teeth grow constantly, they will also gnaw circles in
the base of trees. But they damage more than vegetation. Children
and pets can hurt themselves if they are running and happen into a
gopher hole. Gophers may gnaw through water or cable lines, causing
very expensive damage.
Predators
Gophers have predators but none that you want to attract to your
property, as they are all wild animals. Think bobcats, snakes and
skunks, for starters.
Other Methods of Control
* There are several products that smell like predators which you
can sprinkle around your property; for example: "Shake Away
Granules."
* You can call a professional to trap your gopher or use a trap
yourself.
* In moist conditions, the tunnels can be fumigated.
* You can also try baiting the gopher with toxic bait. If the
tunnels are over a large area (as in a farm), you may need a
machine called a burrow builder. These attach to a tractor and
create fake burrows lined with bait. For smaller problems, you can
bait the tunnels yourself. Simply use a bait-dispensing probe. Bait
is best placed near fan-shaped mounds.
* Several baits are available either online or at your local garden
store. However, you must follow direction exactly. These are
poisons and can be dangerous.
* If water damage isn't an issue, you can insert a hose into a
tunnel.
