Need gopher help!

[meherc]

Yikes, that sounds like it would work great but my stomach clenches even reading it. I prefer to stick chewing gum down the holes. I haven't really found it to work but I like the idea of all those gophers underground blowing bubbles with the gum.

I dug a 6 foot deep foundation trench next to my garden and was amazed to notice that the gophers had a city underground. Six feet down and there was a warren of gopher holes, one or two every square foot of the sides of the trench. Unless the entire bottom is protected with wire, I'd say you need a ten foot deep barrier to exclude the gophers.

On another occasion I also used concrete and wire for a barrier and after two years I discovered the concrete rusts out the wire VERY quickly down where it's almost always damp. The gophers then chew through the rusted wire in a flash.

Now, I keep the wire high enough so it can dry out fairly quickly. I don't use any concrete. I use gopher wire and traps. It's a fair amount of work, but it keeps the crops safe.

Best of luck to all,

Joe Hogan

[geomancer]

A friend of mine built raised beds with a 4 - 6 inch thick bed of broken glass (big shards) between two layers of galvanized gopher wire. Lot of work, but it sure kept them from digging in - although there were occasional climbers that were easily eliminated.

Richard

[oliviathunderkitty]

Aviary wire works well for raised beds; chicken wire does not. And it must be nailed down every few inches or a gopher can wiggle in. For individual plantings, commercial gopher baskets are quite effective.

Gotta look out for the juveniles, though. Raccoons steal grappling hooks and then make some evil bargain with the hoodlum gophers.

[Claire]

Gopher wire (avian wire) is so fragile. If you ever use a pointed shovel in your raised beds you run the risk of breaking through and it quickly falls apart, as someone pointed out. I do make gopher baskets out of it and it works great for that. For raised beds we use the larger mesh hardware cloth which has shown no signs of giving out yet, although the gophers can certainly chew through any soft wood it is attached to, so I wrap it around the bottom.

Do you remember when there was great flooding in the Central Valley in the 90's? The dikes were giving away, putting entire communities at great risk and they were dropping cars by helicopters to fill the breaches? I remember one expert saying that the berms were riddled with gopher tunnels and water just washed right in to the center and out the other side along with the dirt. They said that the single most important threat to flood control in the Valley is the western (?) pocket gopher.

Now I have a question. I have dealt with these things dead and alive for years but now in Cotati I'm seeing huge gophers with the gigantic cheeks (pockets?). Are these the same as in Geyserville, just bigger, or are they a different variety? They look quite different.

[oliviathunderkitty]

I bought a roll of what was called aviary wire several years ago and it is anything but fragile. I am familiar with the fragile variety but what I got is remarkably strong and sturdy; the raised beds have lasted many years. Perhaps there are grades; I have a vague memory of choosing in that way.

I have seen a few extremely large gophers here in Sebastopol but do not know anything about them except that one was extremely aggressive and stopped four good hunting cats in their tracks with his hissing and willingness to fight.

[fafner]

I will not forget visiting a Sebastopol plant nursery in the 1980's with my question about how to deal with gophers. I was told that putting Ex Lax down the hole would work. I asked how, and was told, "They just go". I guess they really had NO answer.

[nicofrog]

I already do many of the things you mention below. All my vegetables are in raised beds with hardware cloth bottoms. I landscape with plants and flowers they leave alone; and ones they like are in baskets. And though I love cats, I love birds more. Yes, they are effective at reducing the rodent population, but they will also hit anything that moves. This time of year, fledgling birds are dropping to the ground as they learn to fly. Quail chicks are the perfect snack-sized treat and easy pickings. As a board member of the local Audubon chapter, I am all too aware of the damage cats do to the bird population. Were it not for erosion problems gophers are creating on our sloped property, I would be able to peacefully co-exist with them. I realize I will never be able to eradicate them (we live adjacent to a vineyard, with that incredible sandy loam the gophers can pratically swim through), I just want to reduce and manage the population. I'm afraid trapping is my only viable option. Linda

I suggest you swale the slopes mulch 6" or deeper with free woodchips, then plant Gopher weed extensively(Euphorbia) careful lt's toxic to animals and humans as well . .Nico

[nicofrog]

I can show you a design for a gopher free raised planting bed that will last a century and is foolproof It is more labor than wood but wood can be unsightly,fall apart in 10 years and in my experience the 1/2 inch hardware mesh only lasts about three years, the chicken wire baskets even less.

[photolite]

You also said you weren't a woo-woo ; >

I said that, albeit using my highly evolved diplomatic skills

[Imagery]

I bought a roll of what was called aviary wire several years ago and it is anything but fragile. I am familiar with the fragile variety but what I got is remarkably strong and sturdy; the raised beds have lasted many years. Perhaps there are grades; I have a vague memory of choosing in that way.

I have seen a few extremely large gophers here in Sebastopol but do not know anything about them except that one was extremely aggressive and stopped four good hunting cats in their tracks with his hissing and willingness to fight.

I've never seen a gopher that my cat hasn't dispatched and unless I've stopped him, eaten.

[rekarp]

Can you post a description of the construction design?

Also, we've had gopher weed AND gophers for over 25 years.

I can show you a design for a gopher free raised planting bed that will last a century and is foolproof It is more labor than wood but wood can be unsightly,fall apart in 10 years and in my experience the 1/2 inch hardware mesh only lasts about three years, the chicken wire baskets even less.

[gardenmaniac]

I had a friend who used to 'mark his territory' by peeing in each gopher hole he found. He swore by this method.

I've never seen a gopher that my cat hasn't dispatched and unless I've stopped him, eaten.

[afinenettle]

Oh Yes they are.........

[fafner]

Eureka! I followed Bob Tomales advice. I got MoleMax, spread it around, watered lightly and the gophers have not been in evidence for two weeks now. This is the easiest regimen I have found. I understand it has to be used more than once, but the application is so easy I don't mind. It is like a new day!

I called Sebastopol Hardware and was told they have the item. I was on my way there and stopped in at Harmony Farms (Graton) and found they carry a 10 lb bag (says it treats up to 5,000 sq. feet) for around $18.00.

Though the next few weeks may find this is not the final answer, at this time I am overjoyed that 32 years of fighting gophers and moles is finally showing the desired results.

Thank you, Bob Tomales!

Fafner

[dominus]

Will gophers dine on perennial vegetables such as sorrel, asparagus etc.?

[joehogan]

I have two large raised beds of asparagus. Tthe gopher wire is 15 years old and the wood is warping and cracked. I know gophers live directly under the bed. Gophers have eaten considerable amounts of other vegetables in raised beds only a few feet away when they chewed through rusted wire to get inside. Once every few years I see a gopher hole entrance in the asparagus bed. I have sometimes thought they killed a few plants, but there are so many it's hard to tell. I have more asparagus than I can eat and although I set traps in the walkways between the raised beds, I don't bother even checking the asparagus.

Joe Hogan

[oliviathunderkitty]

I am pretty much Club Med for gophers here in west Sebastopol but they have never eaten my asparagus. They did devour a sorrel plant that had been thriving for years so now I grow sorrel in a raised bed. Asparagus seems ideal here and where I live (near Atascadero Creek) apparently was a successful asparagus farm in the 1940s. My plants are runaways from those.

I have two large raised beds of asparagus. Tthe gopher wire is 15 years old and the wood is warping and cracked. I know gophers live directly under the bed. Gophers have eaten considerable amounts of other vegetables in raised beds only a few feet away when they chewed through rusted wire to get inside. Once every few years I see a gopher hole entrance in the asparagus bed. I have sometimes thought they killed a few plants, but there are so many it's hard to tell. I have more asparagus than I can eat and although I set traps in the walkways between the raised beds, I don't bother even checking the asparagus.

Joe Hogan

[michaelhawaii]

I used to live in west sonoma county and spent years battling gophers. I tried many methods, and found that the poison works best. We had several cats, and the cats were never harmed.

The poison pellets are very effective and most likely will not harm cats or other predators, because cats instinctively will not eat a sick animal. This is one reason why cats play with their captured animals before eating them. They are testing to see if the animal is healthy enough to eat.

Poisoned gophers will typically die in their tunnels, and the smell of their rotting bodies will drive other gophers away. In the event a poisoned gopher staggers out of the tunnel, cats won't eat it.

Poison is the method that farmers typically use, as they have too much land for other methods. That's why you can see acres of squash or lettuce growing in fields. The gophers have been wiped out by poison.

Just a spoonful of the poison is enough, placed directly into the tunnel. then put a rock or a board or something over the tunnel, so that nothing else eats the poison.

Happy gardening.

Michael

[meherc]

I did try the Findhorn method of asking them to eat only out of a certain part of the garden and leave the rest alone and it actually kind of worked for one year. But that might have been my gullible year.

[karenm97]

I dunno, all the organic and organic-method farmers I've ever known have used trapping (and possibly dogs/cats) for gophers.

Poison has not been around for as long as predator animals have been. I don't think anyone should assume that poison is "safe," as we do not fully understand the long-term effects of such chemicals on our environment.

There was a post in yesterday's digest about a gopher/mole/vole control workshop.

I used to live in west sonoma county and spent years battling gophers. I tried many methods, and found that the poison works best. We had several cats, and the cats were never harmed.

The poison pellets are very effective and most likely will not harm cats or other predators, because cats instinctively will not eat a sick animal. This is one reason why cats play with their captured animals before eating them. They are testing to see if the animal is healthy enough to eat.

Poisoned gophers will typically die in their tunnels, and the smell of their rotting bodies will drive other gophers away. In the event a poisoned gopher staggers out of the tunnel, cats won't eat it.

Poison is the method that farmers typically use, as they have too much land for other methods. That's why you can see acres of squash or lettuce growing in fields. The gophers have been wiped out by poison.

Just a spoonful of the poison is enough, placed directly into the tunnel. then put a rock or a board or something over the tunnel, so that nothing else eats the poison.

Happy gardening.

Michael

[Superduke]

They hate the smell of dead or decaying fish .. Spread it around and bye bye

[Claire]

I bought a bag of mole scram or something similar made from castor beans.
Can you tell me if this would be poisonous to my cats if eaten with a gopher
and would it be harmful to put into planting beds with veggies? How about to the pollinators in a flower bed?

I would really appreciate an answer soon if someone knows for sure.
Thanks.

[geomancer]

Never tried dead fish, but if you want to, I suggest getting some fish-emulsion fertilizer and pour it down their burrows. That should be a lot easier than cutting up fish carcasses. They sell it by the gallon.

["Mad" Miles]

Claire,

Castor Beans are the source of Ricin. A deadly poison. I would not use them if they can be ingested, or anything that has ingested them, ingested. The poison in Castor Beans is far more dilute than when the Ricin is extracted, but I wouldn't risk it for your kitties.

Should my use of any of the words above be a reason for The Forces Of Order to pay me any attention, just know that I learned all of this from public news, and was reminded of the same in the TV show, "Breaking Bad". An awesome show by the way!

https://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp

[Claire]

While doing some research on the castor bean stuff, I came across some advice to keep the gophers away: flood their holes with water. Uh huh. They just go right back to digging out and this time it's all soft and easy for them. Silly advice.
There was one thing I had never thought of, though, to put used kitty litter down into their burrows.

[Shiloh]

Try getting a cat or two. we gave our cat to family friends and he takes out at least 1 gopher a day!!!!
make sure to get a semi-ferral hunting cat. a fat lazy pampered cat wont get the job done! let me know if this helps!!!

I am desperate to hire someone to clear my property of gophers, and then provide regular maintenance. Does anyone have any recommendations besides the gopher guy, who wants me to do my own trapping (which I do not have time for).

Thanks!

Linda

[Gardenmead]

Wow! Some really interesting gopher control ideas on here. I have seen cats that were good gopher hunters, however, like some others mentioned the collateral damage on the bird and lizard population upsets the balance of other garden pests controlled by these little helpful insectivores.

If you want to really get down and learn some gopher control secrets you should check out the workshop we are having at our farm in 2 weeks!! Perfect timing for this thread. Below is a description and a flyer.

To make things more complicated (as nature tends to be) many people have Mole or vole issues combined with gophers and they misidentify which they are dealing with thus greatly lessening their chances of applying successful controls.

Is your garden full of holes and tunnels?
Are your vegetables disappearing underground?
Are your tree trunks nibbled on and new roots gnawed through?

Put an end to your frustrating fight with unknown attackers! Come to this engaging and hands-on workshop where you will learn how to identify and control gophers, moles, and voles. Even those with some experience trying to control these tricky critters will benefit from this class.

You will learn the nature of each animal, how to distinguish their signs, how to prevent damage, and how to control their populations with various methods. Different traps and techniques will be discussed in detail and practiced with in a real-life situation and info-packets with photos and diagrams will be distributed.

Guiding you towards a better understanding and better control of these critters will be local rodent control expert and long time gardener Jordan Reed. Jordan has been involved in the market garden, homestead, and ranch scene for the last ten years, busily raising heritage poultry and bringing old time terrier work dogs back to the farm. He currently works at Marimar Estate.

This workshop will take place at Moon-Acre-Farm in Sebastopol. 8150 Germone Rd. 95472
It will take place on Saturday June 21st from 3-6pm
$15 per person, pre-registration required.
For more information or to register visit: moon-acre-farm.com
Or contact: [email protected]

It is recommended that you bring clothes, shoes, hats and gloves suitable for being outdoors on a farm setting traps in the dirt. Also bring water and a notebook if you desire.

[redheifer]

Wow! Some really interesting gopher control ideas on here. I have seen cats that were good gopher hunters, however, like some others mentioned the collateral damage on the bird and lizard population upsets the balance of other garden pests controlled by these little helpful insectivores.

Gophers are herbivores and ---for most of us---not very helpful.

[Gardenmead]

Gophers are herbivores and ---for most of us---not very helpful.

Sorry, my run-on sentence might have confused you. I was talking about the lizards and birds! Not the gophers. Good lord no! Cats often kill 3-5 lizards and birds in your garden for every gopher or rat.