Gophers can wreak absolute havoc on your lawn or garden. They are herbivores, feeding on a wide variety of plants. Aside from the damage their eating will do, the burrows they live in and travel through can destroy your lawn and garden quickly.
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to find yourself dealing with a gopher problem, here are some do it yourself tips you can use to try to get these furry nuisances out of your yard and your life.
Non-Lethal Methods
Pet Droppings – Cats and dogs are natural gopher predators. Placing a few bits of their droppings at the entrance to the gophers’ tunnels will repel them. When they smell the poop, they will assume the predator is nearby and do what they can to leave the area. Allowing your dog or cat to do their business in various places around the yard can have a similar effect.
Repellent Odors – Gophers do not like strong odors. There are several things you can place in the tunnels to help repel gophers. Some items that have been found to work well are fish, castor oil, coffee grounds, dryer sheets, moth balls and tabasco sauce. Place any of these at the openings to tunnels and it should send the gophers off to look for new housing. For the liquids, such as tabasco sauce and castor oil, put these on some cotton balls or a piece of cloth and drop that into the tunnel opening.
Vibrating Stakes – These are stakes that vibrate underground causing conditions that gophers will not like. Usually, they are battery operated, although there are some that come with a small windmill on top which sits above ground and allows the wind to power the vibrations. To use these, you just have to dig a hole big enough to fit the stake, place it in the hole, and cover it up again. You don’t want to hammer these directly into the ground as this will damage them.
Lethal Methods
Burrow Blasters – These are sometimes called gopher flares. These devices work by flooding the gopher tunnels with a mixture of oxygen and propane which will kill anything inside. You’ll most likely need to buy a few of these. There are slight variations in how different brands work, so be sure to read and follow the instructions before you do anything.
Automotive Exhaust – Similar to burrow blasters, if you can get your car to the area where your problem resides, you can gas the gophers with the exhaust from the running engine. You will have to follow as many of the tunnels as you can and try to cover all openings except for one. You’ll also need a length of flexible tubing to fit over the exhaust pipe of the car. You should be able to find this at home improvement stores or auto parts stores. Put one end of the tubing on your car’s exhaust pipe and bury the other end as best you can in the opening of the tunnel. Leave the car running for fifteen to thirty minutes and the tunnels will fill with carbon monoxide, exterminating any gophers inside.
Gum and Candy – This one might sound a little bit strange, but it has been proven to work. You’ll want to wear latex gloves to keep your scent off the bait as you drop it into any tunnel openings you can find. Fruit flavored gums or chewy candies work the best. Many people report that Juicy Fruit brand gum works particularly well for some reason. Just drop a few pieces into any openings you find and the gophers will consume it and choke.
Predators – Dogs and cats are natural predators, although not all breeds will actively hunt. Jack Russell Terriers are known to be exceptional gopher hunters if you’re willing to adopt a dog or know a friend who owns one. Owls are also natural gopher predators. If you live in an area with a natural owl population, you can set up owl boxes in your yard to attract them.
For further information you may be interested in these articles:
5 Natural Ways to Kill House Crickets
6 Ways to Get Rid Of Boxelder Bugs
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