Gopher problem - looking for solutions

[Brian Tymchak]

Well, now that I spent time and money to create a nice butterfly garden, a gopher has taken up residence right in the middle of it. I've tried filling holes, flooding burrows, strong language , but still have a problem.

So, I query the great wisdom and experience of the collective. Does anyone have a tried and true remedy? Prefer not to trap or kill. Do any of the repellents work or the sonic gadgets?

Appreciate your advice.

Thanks!

[Mike Kees]

Where there is one there will soon be more. The only sure way to get rid of your problem is to end his days on this earth..

[Brian Elfert]

You're going to have a hard time getting rid of them if killing or trapping is not an option. I have a lot of gopher problems, but I pay a guy $25 per gopher he traps. The traps are like a mouse trap in that they kill the gopher. I average $250 to $300 a year with him to get rid of gophers and moles.

I really should just buy some traps and do it myself, but finding the tunnels inside the hills is a bit of a black art.

[Jerome Stanek]

If you can find the holes you could use Giant Destroyer smoke bombs

https://www.ruralking.com/the-giant-...xoChtsQAvD_BwE

[Larry Frank]

When you say gophers, exactly what are you talking about. I have seen people call gophers everything from moles, ground squirrels and ground hogs.

I have striped ground squirrels tearing up my beds and plants but I use baited traps and get 20 or more a year. If you do not want to trap or kill, I think you are out of luck.

I have put out a lot of plants for butterflies and hummingbirds. One plant the animals not bother is milkweed. I grow several plots of it for the Monarchs.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Brian,

Unless you have a good dog or cat that loves hunting gophers, you are not likely to be successful without trapping or killing. My wife uses the black traps that go in the tunnel and are spring activated. She is good at catching them but i have to dump the dead body. We have put lots of the gassers (and road flares) into holes with limited results; the next morning we find several of the cheeky bastards have spit the empty paper tube/cannister back out of the hole. Assume that is the gopher equivalent of thumbing its nose at us.

We have tried the solar sonic buzzers in the garden, and i know they are buzzing because i can hear them, yet we have had gopher holes pop up within a foot or two of the buzzer. Won't be trying any more of those.

Kind and honorable thought about trying to chase them away without killing, but at end of day you will have many more new ones joining the party. Sorry i cant give you better news.

[roger wiegand]

Coyotes can be quite effective if you can attract a small pack.

[Jason Ost]

set some gopher traps, when you set them spray them with WD-40 and wear gloves when you set them.

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks for the responses. Seems almost unanimous to trap/kill. Ok. Let me rethink this.

Larry asked if I was sure its a gopher. Have never seen the animal but the holes seem larger than those we have for the chipmunks. Hence my conclusion I have a gopher. Also, this bed is designed to support Monarch lifecycle, so it has various plants blooming into the Fall Plenty of milkweed in the middle, which is just now blooming. It's a lot prettier than I thought it would be. But it is one of the 3 plants that have nearly been destroyed. The others are a daisy and an aster.

Patrick, appreciate the first hand experience with the sonic buzzers. I was skeptical that they really worked.

Roger, we used to have a pack of coyotes in the neighborhood..but haven't heard them in a couple years. Probably a good thing with all the dog walkers around.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Ask Carl Spackler

[Michael J Evans]

I have heard of people hooking up high temp hose to the exhaust of (your vehicle of choice or generator) and gassing the hole den. Actually I had a customer who built some type of machine just for it.

[Larry Frank]

I use Intruder brand rodent traps with peanut butter and bird seed. One year I got close to 40 ground squirrels. I also drilled a hole and wire the traps to a stake.

You can try putting 1/2" mesh on the ground around the plants. I do this with some planters and it helps.

I have had good luck with Monarchs and capture almost all Monarch caterpillars and raise them in cages. I get 95% to butterflies this way where if left out in the wild only a small percentage make it.

[Brian Tymchak]

I have had good luck with Monarchs and capture almost all Monarch caterpillars and raise them in cages. I get 95% to butterflies this way where if left out in the wild only a small percentage make it.

Oh boy, you are really into it! I thought about putting up some mesh or screen around and over the milkweed when I see eggs on the leaves, just to keep the birds away, but not much more than that, at least for now.

[Tom M King]

Rodenator


Google " Rodenator youtube"

[Ken Barney]

Rodenator

Google " Rodenator youtube"

Heck, I don't have gophers but I still want one of these things!!

-Ken