Gopher

Gopher   As gardening enthusiasts in North America, gophers are a constant headache. Pocket gophers are the most common type of species found in the USA, causing havoc in your garden. Unlike other critters, gophers are exclusively underground animals and are rarely seen above the ground. The hideous tunnels and root destruction are enough reasons to get rid of these pesky creatures. Fortunately, gophers are lone animals, hence each tunnel usually houses a single gopher. If you manage to get rid of it, your outdoor place will be at peace for a while. Adult gophers can grow up to 10 inches long and have stocky bodies with small eyes and ears. They also have characteristic pockets, or pouches on both sides of their cheeks that allow them to store food. With short, sharp claws, long teeth, and short tails; they are built to act as a shovel, resulting in an apocalyptic landscape. The classic sign of a gopher infestation is a dug-up, crescent-shaped mound of soil with a hole in the center. As evident, they gnaw on anything that comes in their way, including roots, and underground parts of the plant. Is it possible to get rid of gophers entirely and save your crops? Let’s find out! What attracts them to the garden? As strict herbivores, gardens are an ideal spot for gophers with food, water, and shelter all in close proximity. Understanding what attracts them to your gardens will enable you to get rid of these subterranean rodents without poisoning or employing inhumane methods. All you have to do is modify the factors that make your yard appealing to critters. This way they will evacuate your garden and relocate to another location. Food sources Gophers mainly feed on roots and tubers; sometimes even pulling the entire plant into the tunnel. They can eat almost all types of plants, ranging from vegetables to ornamental plants, making it hard to limit these critters.   Besides food, they can even access water through puddles, leaking hoses, and birdbaths. The fact that everything they need to sustain life is easily accessible to them, makes gardens all the more enticing for gophers. Loose soil Loose, sandy soil is a gopher’s dream. They love digging with their sharp claws and making extensive underground tunnels. Hence, gardens with loamy or sandy soil attract these invaders to make comfortable nests around your yard. Not only does this allow them to move around easily but also protects them from predators. Shelter Although gophers spend a major chunk of their lives in underground tunnels, they may sometimes need to come out for food and water. Without proper shelter, these rodents are likely to be attacked by owls, coyotes, dogs, and cats. This is why gophers prefer overgrown gardens with unattended weeds, tall grass, and piles of fallen leaves and compost. How to deter them away? No single method can help you get rid of the gopher problem in a day. You need to apply all the strategies consistently to see results. Here are some tried and tested methods to deter these pesky rodents and protect your prized garden plants. Natural deterrents to keep them away: Natural predators Inviting natural predators, such as owls, hawks, and snakes acts as a natural deterrent to keep gophers away from your garden. You can install a nesting box, perch, and birdbath to attract the owls in your vicinity. Can your pet cat or dog help you in this mission? Of course! Cats and dogs are also considered natural predators of gophers and can be used to control the gopher population in your garden. Fencing Gophers are capable of forming elaborate tunnels, which means installing a fence around your garden will not be enough. You need to install underground barriers around your plants, or grow them in wire mesh baskets, also called “Gopher baskets.” Make sure you bury the wire mesh at least 18 inches deep to prevent the gophers from reaching there. Although gophers seldom feed above the ground, extend the fence up to 6 inches above the ground as well for extra protection. Trapping Since gophers are solitary animals, you are likely to find a small number of these critters in your garden. Hence, trapping is a practical solution. You can use kill traps as well as live traps with bait. Place the traps in the main tunnel runway, and use peanut butter or bubble gum as bait. Bubble gum is an excellent bait since it cannot be digested by gophers, resulting in the clogging of their intestines and eventually death. After locating the main tunnel, you can also flood it by inserting the hose into the tunnel. Place the live trap on the other end of the tunnel so the gopher gets trapped when it tries to escape. Premise of other deterrents Olfactory repellants Natural repellents such as peppermint oil, ammonia-soaked rags, and cayenne pepper are excellent deterrents. Due to their keen sense of smell, the strong odor of these products repels the gophers, forcing them to move elsewhere. You can easily make repellant spray at home by mixing castor oil and peppermint oil in water and spraying the mixture on your plants. Stuffing rags soaked in ammonia or spilling cayenne pepper directly into the tunnels also discourages the gophers, compelling them to move. Gopher-repellent plant species   Due to their keen sense of smell, plants with strong scents, such as rosemary, mint, castor bean, and gopher spurge naturally repel gophers. However, you need to plant a large number of these species to see results. Make sure you plan your garden strategically, planting the gopher-resistant species on the outskirts and your crops in the center. Dog/Cat poop Inserting your cat or dog’s poop in the tunnels acts as a natural deterrent by making the gophers believe there is a predator nearby. Scatter the pet waste around your garden as well to discourage the critters from entering. This does not work for everybody and requires frequent reapplication. However, there is no harm in trying it out.