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Thread: Gopher problem - looking for solutions

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    3,078
    Monarch eggs and caterpillars are attacked by all kinds of things including insects and wasps. We have really enjoyed the monarchs. We get them to form a Chrysalis and then give them away to people with kids to enjoy them coming out and flying away.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    I have tried the following along with my guestimate of how well they worked:
    1. Urinate in gopher hole - 3 or 4
    2. Empty cat's sandbox in gopher hole - 4
    3. Expensive smoke bombs - 2 if using only one and maybe 3 if using 2 or 3 at the same time.
    4. Auto road emergency flares - 5
    6. Macabee gopher traps -4
    7. Garden hose - 3 or 4
    8. Gopher Hawk trap (I got one 2 days ago and got the first gopher in less than 24 hours. - So, I'm giving this one an 8 plus (but I'll need to do more testing). One of my neighbors bragged that he is "7 for 8" attempts. He swears by these traps. That is why I bought a pair. (BTW, you need at least one "kit" - - don't get the trap only for your first one. The probe and the "dibble" are worth the extra $6), They are made in the USA and either there is a huge demand for them or the company is production limited (or both). There are a lot of places that carry them but they are reporting that they are out of stock. I found a local Ace hardware and called before driving down. They had received a case of 24 in the morning and were down to perhaps 8 left by 2 pm. They were the only company I found in the area that had them. The mfr. isn't taking internet orders right now, but I was told by a friend that if you call the mfrs number and talk to them, they will take your order as long as it is for only 1 or 2 units.

    On all but #6 and #8, I would find that the gopher would seem to disappear for a week or two or three and then return. So, I never knew if the technique worked and other gophers returned or if the gophers just left for a while and returned. But on #6 and #8 I had proof that I had got the little critter.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,879
    My neighbor claims that burying oranges will chase them off. I gave her a bucket of old oranges and she put them in the holes in her front yard. I see no reduction in activity. I have heard of chewing gum killing them.
    I suppose a gopher snake will help.
    Bil lD

  4. #19
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    2,162
    In Rural Alberta the favorite way to deal with Gophers is a .22. My favorite way is my compound bow. My nieghbor farms a quarter section right across the street from my house that now has an irrigation pivot on it. This year the gopher population destroyed half of the crop seeded. They had to apply for a permit to poison gohpers before reseeding the Quarter. I have permission to "hunt" gophers whenever I want.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    Mike Kees, while it may be fun to shoot gophers, I suspect that my gophers are above ground (shoot-able) perhaps 2 or 3 minutes a day or night. In fact, in my entire life I've only seen gophers sticking their heads up twice. Ground squirrels, and prairie dogs may stay above ground for a bit longer.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    2,162
    What you guys call "gophers" must be different than what we call gophers... Ours are definitely diggers that live underground but spend a lot of time above ground and visible. Maybe what we have are along the lines of what you call prairie dogs ? Gophers here are the absolute bottom rung of the food chain,everything eats them. (cats,seagulls,hawks, foxes,coyotes etc. yet they still remain. They are prolific breeders producing litters of 8-10 per pair (of which maybe 1-2 live till the next year).And yes it is fun to shoot them.

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