Overun by gophers

[Bossroo]

In the last couple of weeks we have been overun by gophers ( definately NOT moles) ... we have tried any and all methods ( traps, poison grain, gas, chewing gum, water ) of disposing of them without any luck. In fact they have multiplied ten fold. Anyone have a failproof method that actually works ?

 

[ksalvagno]

In Caddy Shack, Bill Murray put dynamite in all the holes and blew them up.

Sorry, you made me think of that movie. What about planning a day of gopher hunting and just sit around the field with your gun?

 

[DonnaBelle]

I live in Oklahoma, gopher capital of the world.

I have learned to live with them. My neighbor has a cat that catches them and eats them.

There was one digging a hole in the back yard last week. Just outside the back door. I called to DH, and here he comes with his 45.

He missed.

DonnaBelle

 

[bonbean01]

We had tons of gophers in Saskatchewan on one pasture in particular...after trying everything my Dad and my Uncles and a few cousins had shooting gopher contest and that worked...thinned them out pretty good. Our many barn cats were pretty happy with their fresh meals that day!

 

[Pearce Pastures]

My country-neighbor was laughing his butt off as he drove past our house a few months back at our rodent killing method. We have 13-line ground squirrels (they look like striped prairie dogs and make a huge mess of the yard). DH and I had a shovel and hose, were saturating their burrow holes until the ran out, then WHAP!! It worked pretty well I was afraid to use any poisons because A) we have kids and B) we have cats. Traps are pricey too so for us, it was the good ole hose.

 

[Bossroo]

Shooting any gun in city limits will have the local cops swarming over with their asault rifles and body armour to spoil our party. Since there is a drainage ditch and quite a few native trees behind the back fence, there is a population of racoons, possums and 3 feral cats that live there and they take a hop, skip, and jump over the fence to have a nightly jaunt through our back yard and party with those pesky gophers. Party animals.... yes. Predators... NO !

 

[farmgirl01]

I'm over run also. I'm out baiting every one I can find with a little success.

 

[Livestock lover]

I'm over run also. I'm out baiting every one I can find with a little success.

You could try starting up your vehicle and running a pipe for the exhaust pipe to their hole. The exhaust may kill the gophers if there is enough of it. There is nothing to lose except a bit of gas.

 

[farmgirl01]

 

[recardomaurice12]

The most effective method of garden protection I have found is to line beds with hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is a sheet of galvanized metal fencing material. The easiest way to do implement this method is to build raised beds and nail hardware cloth to the bottom of the raised bed. Another way is to dig out trenches where your beds are and line those trenches with hardware cloth, and then back-fill (which is no easy task). The obvious disadvantage is the expense and labor involved in such a project.