What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Gophers?

[BobbyDee 0]

What is the best way to get rid of gophers? I tried flooding them out but it didn't work. Should I go with poisons, traps, gum, gas, or any other ideas?

[truefusion 3]

What are the gophers doing that they require extermination for? I can't think of any good reason why one would want to eliminate them off the premises.

[Watermonkey 0]

You obviously don't have gophers, do you TF? :unsure:I personally will shoot as many as possible, but that's pretty difficult. The cats don't seem to be very interested, probably because the gophers are kinda large. I've never actually gotten anything from the store, but I was thinking that thing on a stake that vibrates at E.L.F. and drives the animals away might work. I would consider a live trap, but that's such a pain and then you have to transport them to somewhere else and they become someone else's problem... I heard that if you fill a five gallon bucket about half full of water and spread some birdseed/ sunflower seed on the surface, they'll go for the seed and fall in the bucket and drown... Let us know what you decide to do, I'd be interested too since we've got what amounts to a rodent infestation around here too.

[truefusion 3]

You obviously don't have gophers, do you TF?

My house is surrounded by concrete; good luck trying to grow a garden in my area! Plus, i live down south: never heard about gophers in people's property. Anyway, i guess the question comes down to: Who was there first: the gopher or you?

[jlhaslip 4]

Gophers (well, their holes and tunnels) are a hazard if you have Livestock, but other than that, they simply hang around and play chicken with moving vehicles as they cross the Highway. Darwin in action, I guess...

[garbage 0]

Id check out your local, Home and Lawn store, if your in the Us try like Home Depot, Ive seen that they offer some of both, gopher traps, and also some Gopher Kill bait.. and im sure that they eat the kill bait and just eventually die and stay under ground.. but id call someone who whould know about lawn care and that sort of issue or you can try calling a pset control company and see what they suggest,, but im sure they are just going to tell you they need to come out and do it..

[Aerzil 0]

You have these kind of little windmills that put vibrations into the ground to chase them. They don't like it at all.A cheap solution: jump!Otherwise it's very good to keep one or two of them, they are good for the ground.

[sheepdog 10]

A Dachshund or a Wire Haired Fox Terrier!(ok, so I'm a dog person! )

[FLaKes 0]

Bang them on the head with a toy hammer just like the classical game over at the kids arcade... Lol. I dont really know what gophers do, I have never seen a real one. I think they are funny animals but who knows, maybe when they are drilling your lawn they are not as fun. I would try that e.l.f. thing to drive them away, I wouldnt harm them.

[Watermonkey 0]

Gosh. My post was so long ago, I'd forgotten all about it and now the gophers are everywhere including the garden! Not good. I'm going to have to try the drowning method and see what happens. I'll report back as I know everyone here is waiting patiently for my full report. On the plus side, I shot the head clean off a chipmunk today. His crime? His family has been re-locating seeds in our garden and around here, that carries the death sentence. Say "goodbye" to this little furry monster, it's on my short list of death row inmates...

 

Edited July 8, 2007 by Watermonkey (see edit history)

[jlhaslip 4]

Gopher/Ground Squirrel. I never did understand the distrinction between them critters. Might need to Google that. And I think you are on the right track. Maybe get a trap for close to the garden and continue to persuade the other ones using your techniques which seems to be a permanent solution. Or get a Gopher snake??? which is preferred? the Gophers or the Snake?

[Watermonkey 0]

Gopher/Ground Squirrel.
I never did understand the distrinction between them critters. Might need to Google that.

And I think you are on the right track. Maybe get a trap for close to the garden and continue to persuade the other ones using your techniques which seems to be a permanent solution. Or get a Gopher snake??? which is preferred? the Gophers or the Snake?

I never thought of a snake... I wonder how it'd get along with the cats... Snakes (gopher snakes) eat, presumably, gophers and other rodents smaller then gophers. They're strickly carnivores, thus they're not a threat to the garden, so I'd prefer the snake, if the cats didn't mind... But I'd need a whole clutch of snakes with this rodent population!

[jlhaslip 4]

I think I just solved the problem about the differences between a Gopher and a Ground Squirrel

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

Seems they are one and the same thing.

[Watermonkey 0]

You would be absolutely right Jim. That's the critter. I'm leaving them alone if they're not near the garden, but I shot the little fella today that was digging into the garden. I hope that's the end of it, but I fear it's not nearly the end. They're everywhere. Thanks for that link!

[sheepdog 10]

Gophers (well, their holes and tunnels) are a hazard if you have Livestock, but other than that, they simply hang around and play Darwin in action, I guess...Now, here in Missouri, we are beign plagued with armidillo's. I have my suspicions that the conservation department planted the nasty things here. Nearly all the road kill you see these days is an armidillo. Their holes are HUGE, and definatly a threat to livestock. Aside from Fords and Chevy's they have few natural preditors, and are becomming a serious problem here.