Gopher mound
Gophers are not a problem here in the islands, but as a longtime California gardener, I know how damaging they can be. If you’re new to gardening, you may not have given these underground pests much thought – yet. One minute, there’s no sign of them; the next minute one of your pampered plants has completely disappeared. That’s right; these rodents can pull an entire bush bean or tomato plant into their hole! If they’re working on a larger plant and can’t pull it into the hole, they’ll quietly gnaw the roots until the plant is damaged beyond saving. I’ve lost a fair number of young fruit trees this way.
Signs of gophers are easier to spot than signs of moles. Gophers leave behind mounds of dirt that can be up to 12” in diameter where they’ve pushed the dirt out of their tunnels. Moles leave long trails of slightly raised dirt across the ground’s surface. Moles can make a lawn unsightly and do occasional damage to plants as they tunnel by, but they’re generally not as damaging as gophers. In fact, moles actually eat underground insects so technically, you could consider them to be “organic pest control.”
So, how’s a backyard farmer to contend with gophers? You’ve got to get rid of them! The tricky part is how. Some methods are, shall we say, tidier than others.
For those of you with a humanitarian bent, there are sonic deterrents. These are the least likely to cause any harm to the furry pests, but also – in my experience – the least effective. Driving gophers over to the neighbor’s property by making yours undesirable is just like sending them on vacation; eventually they’ll come back home.
I was much more successful with gopher traps. It’s not the gentlest part of gardening, but when the gopher population gets out of hand, I consider it something that must be done. I’ve always used Macabee traps, but my dad (who’s a black belt gopher eradicator) has recently converted to the Black Hole Rodent Trap.
When you spot a fresh gopher mound, notice that it’s slightly horseshoe shaped. The gopher pushes dirt out of his burrow from the open end of the horseshoe. Dig a shovelful of dirt about 12” behind the opening and look for signs of a tunnel. You should see a small hole in the face of the dirt. Dig a bit more to uncover where the tunnel goes in two different directions. Once you’ve found the tunnel, it’s time to place the trap.
With the Black Hole, you’ll place the trap at the tunnel entrance – one in each direction – and seal it off with dirt, making sure that the vent is left uncovered. It’s important that no light is visible around the trap. The business end of the Macabee traps need to actually fit inside the tunnel, so you may need to use a tool to gently make the tunnel wide enough (without collapsing it). Once in place, cover the tunnel opening with a big clod of dirt or sod to block the light. In either case, remember to rub the trap in loose soil, to disguise any human scent.
Gophers are most active during the evening and morning hours, so I recommend setting the trap in the late afternoon and leaving it in place until the next morning. If you haven’t caught a gopher in that amount of time, move on to the next mound.
Photo: Flickr user Becky Houtman under Creative Commons
Are gophers a problem in your region? What method do you use to eradicate gophers?
We moved on to bare land that had just been unused fields for years. We were absolutely over run with gophers! My son set many traps but barely made a dent in the population. We got out door cats (fixed as to not create a cat population problem) and within one year our gopher problem was under control. Cats are not a solution for everyone, but out here in the country, it was the best solution for us.
You know, we had a couple of outdoor cats but if they were catching gophers, they were quiet about it and we never saw a reduction in population! Good to hear it worked for you.
This was fascinating. No gophers here, but moles, yes. I have not figured out how to get rid of them. They seem to come and go, so at least the yard is not unsightly with their passage.
I’m really glad to hear about the cats taking care of the gophers. I know they do get rid of a lot of unwanted animals. I live in a subdivision in a rural area (nw Arkansas), and there are 5 or 6 outdoor cats in the neighborhood. I have had tunnels and mounds in my front and back yards, but haven’t seen any rabbits, mice, or even squirrels here. This year, something has dug holes in the front yard, which has an otherwise nice lawn. I have no idea what it is (could be a stray dog/cat or a burrowing critter). I’m planning to just fill them in and plant grass seed, when the weather gets a bit cooler.
Oh, rabbits and squirrels. They’re another story! Good thing you don’t have them; they can do such damage.