Ugh, gophers

Has anyone been successful getting gophers and if so, what do you use? These gophers are driving me crazy. They are now starting to do major damage to the irises and outside of hiring a commercial company, I don't know what to do...I've tried everything...death to all gophers!

I wondered how you were handling that with the iris. For many years I didn't think they ate iris and surprisingly, they haven't bothered any here....but the ones I got from you are all still in 3 gallon pots and when they go in the ground, they'll go in wire. Sure don't see how you could do that with your iris farm....

I've found 1 dead from something I put down to attract them but there's still a couple there. Just wanted to see what everyone else does to rid them.
Yes Sherry, it's a battle.

Be careful what you use, Weegy. My DSIL told me there are two kinds of poison - those that will kill once and those that will kill again if the gopher is eaten by an owl or other predator (including dogs). I also put it waaaay down the hole with a special tool.

The only other thing I can think of is raising your beds and putting wire down on the bottom. I should take pictures of what the **&^%$ things have done to our place - not to mention the bunnies and squirrels. We have one hole I swear a small bear cub could get into (and I'm not kidding!). Steps have to be rebuilt and shoring up under one of our paths. We've also lost most of our apple trees. :-(

You could try DP's method. Doesn't cost much and probably would not

I am very careful Kathleen, I probe way into the tunnel. It would be alot of work to put raised beds in, just redoing the watering system was a big job not to mention digging and dividing and replanting! Good news though, the next door neighbor found a dead one in his yard, he's using what I am.
What's DP's method?

What are you using? I'm going to get my gas bombs out again and try them - might as well use them up.
Can't find DP's post. It's a gadget that hooks up to your exhaust pipe and you run it long enough to gas those suckers. Just puts them to sleep. He says it works better than the gas bombs because you can run it for a long time, rather than having a short burst. I've always read that if you make your land uncomfortable for them, they will leave. I'm not consistent enough.

I figured you were being careful because you have lots of puppies, but wanted to mention it - it's there for posterity now. :-)

I bought one of those exhaust pipe things and haven't used it yet. None of our cars have an exhaust pipe that fits it. We've been using pellet baits and we've had luck killing 2 of the gophers but it takes a long time and yes, it takes consistency. Which I am not.
I think I'll try the exhaust thing again, gotta find a car that it will fit.
Not only do we have dogs, we have cats there too, so yes, we need to be careful.
Thanks Kathleen.

I just paid attention to this when you said it's there for posterity...why don't you guys have 'edit' function? I still do. Is it a matter of changing your preferences or what? I briefly noticed this on another thread where others did not have 'edit'.

I have the 'edit' function.

I have never had the edit function. maybe IE vs. Firefox?

I use Firefox, I'll have to log in on IE and see.

Is that the difference? I have IE...weege, I don't see the 'edit' in blue in your post box....does it show up elsewhere?

I see it here, I don't see it on yours either. Maybe because you can't edit someone else's posts? That would make sense.

Oh, duh.....I'd never paid attention to that before...lol..

I seem to just keep getting dumber the older I get...lol..

Welcome to my world Sherry!

But I'm not even blonde......

Ok, I'm trying this with firefox Still no edit notice, but in preview I am adding to it. Don't know how this would work with a pic though

Well at least you did not wash your male miniature schnauzer with hair conditioner yesterday. Did the same thing with the female schnauzer but noticed that for some strange reason the shampoo was not foaming. Then I looked at the bottler. Conditioner. That was when I yelled, yes yelled, at my DH that I had grabbed the wrong bottle and I needed the green bottle that said shampoo. We had a special dog bathtub installed into the laundry room area high up for ease of washing the dogs. He was watching the Masters. That is why I had to yell, because I could not leave Maddy in the tub by herself. Just wanted you to know that now I have another thing I have to read before I use it. I purchased the shampoo at Costco so I thought I got two large bottles of shampoo and two small bottles of conditioner. We have not told the children because they already think we are goners. LOL. Maybe we should start a new thread. What I did today that you do not want your children to know about....

I've done the same to myself before, lol....DH and I finally admit to each other the stupid things we do now, but only after we agreed to not use against each other in an 'unkind' moment. I've found a few interesting products while shopping and not putting my glasses on..same container, different product, turned out that I was glad I found it anyway.....something I would never have known about otherwise.

Oh we started acknowledging each others mistakes about 3 years ago. There were to many to avoid. DH is 77 and I am 67 for a couple more months. It started out helping him feel better because if he did something really stupid I would make up something I did just to make him feel better. Now I do not need to make them up, some days I am ahead of him. That is what 36 years of marriage brings. Covering for each other. Our main concern is that we keep the children in the dark...LOL. We should try the new thread, I cannot set it up but I think you would enjoy the feedback. I, myself, cannot believe some of the things we have done. OK, like arriving at the airport at the time of the flight number instead of the flight time. This was Ft Meyer, Florida. Had to go home on standby all the way from Ft Meyer to Las Vegas. The plane had been gone over 4 hours. That was my fault. BUT, we drove around Boca and the area and saw a whole bunch of landscaping and interesting sites. We had a great time and we actually had fun on the plane. Actually my DH had fun explaining, his blond bride made a major mistake and we might make it back to Las Vegas this week. His one xhance to make a point. LOL

Perhaps this is all why I've learned to laugh at myself.....

Sharon, if you come down for the RoundUp, please do it on the right day!! Thanks for sharing that story, we loved it.

Randy, I hope you see this. Ok, yesterday I put the exhaust hose in the holes and ran the engine for 30 minutes in 2 different spots in the garden. Not an hour later, I see one of my irises wiggling and toppling over...there's a gopher. Any suggestions on how to use it better? I bought one of those muffler attachments that you hook up to the garden hose so I know I have the right equipment. I need help, they have eaten half of one of my rows. I am ready to pull my hair out!!!!

FYI -

Honestly I never tried it. No gophers in Juneau.


Gopher Pie

1 Gopher, skinned and cleaned
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup green pepper
1/2 tbsp minced parsley
1 tbsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 1/2 tbsp. flour
3 cups broth

Cut Gopher into 2 or 3 pieces. Boil for 1 hour. Remove meat from bones in large pieces. Add onion, green pepper, parsley, salt, pepper, and flour to the broth and stir until it thickens. If the broth does not measure 3 cups, add water. Add the meat to the broth mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour into baking dish. Roll only enough to make it fit the dish. Place dough on top of meat, put in a hot oven (400 degrees F.) and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until dough is browned. Serves 6-8.

DH Back surgery has been canceled for now. Pre-Op blood test problem. Has had many tests. Losing blood somewhere. Monday Upper and Lower GI. After that I will know if I am coming down your way. Getting old is wearing us both out....

I just got my subscription renewal notice and it is signed from 'Dave and the team'. This may be automatic (or intentionally misleading), but I won't be renewing. Take care, all.......

wcgypsy, you will be missed. I just renewed mine. Too many friends to walk away from.

Alaska, is you'd like to try that recipe, I'll gladly send you some gophers.
Sherry, that is sad news.

Sherry, there are Forums to participate in if you are not a paid member, and there is always Dmail or are you fed up with management - period? What day does your membership end - or am I too late? We will all certainly miss you in the CA Forum, but hope to see you at the next RU. I was not a paid subscriber when I went to Kathleen's, but still heard of it and she was kind enough to give me info via Dmail.

As for the gopher subject. I started a thread in the "Rodents and Pests" general area. I like to get ideas from other states. In fact I have received free gopher gadgets from people that way. I live in Central California and they are terrible here. We bought a Rodenator a few years ago. CSUF's (Fresno State) Ag Department stated that the Rodenator got rid of 90% of their gopher problem. They have a very large AG program and many acres of land. We decided to go ahead and pay the $1700.00 for the equipment. I can tell you it only works if you stay after it. You can't go out there and blast them one day and expect them to be gone. The Rodenator is manufactured in Idaho. I believe the soil where it comes from is rather sandy. Ours is not so. We were disappointed at first because some of the holes were not collapsing. Let's face it, if you don't destroy the tunnel then you might as well put up a sign for the next free-loading gopher in need of a home. We timed it better this spring. We went out when the ground was moist and not so hard. We stayed out there for about 4 hours. We have 7 acres. I have to say it was good fun watching those tunnels blow 10 feet in the air!!! We kept after it and so far we have a few stragglers but nothing like we did before. Now, I have used Weevil-cide (the gas pellet that is activated by moisture) and I can tell you this is where it's at!!!! It was almost like the neighbors gophers could smell it and decided we had crappy real estate in the gopher market. I love this stuff!!! It is by license only but I can tell you that I think it would be worth the money if you have a landscaped yard or have precious plants. We have tried everything. You have to make sure you cover all holes around the area or the gas will escape. (Same thing goes for the car exhaust system) It may be worth the money to look into that. A pic of my honey with his toy!

buffalo - that rodenator sounds good. From your description, I guess it blows their tunnels up. We have sandy soil, but I am wondering, if the tunnels are under your plants and trees, does it blow them out of the ground? Do you grow commercially? The price would make that more worthwhile. I guess it would behoove someone to have the neighbors use the same method. When we first moved here we had an extermination service that came monthly to spray around the yard and buildings for insects or put traps out for rodents. Two years later as I started to plant AND started to see those plants' roots disappear we took notice of another service that offered gopher removal/killing also. It was $200 for a one time gopher service (I believe) or you could have the spraying with gopher service monthly with a 2 year contract. They did get the gophers and I managed to make it every 2 months, but started to see the folly of spraying and managed to get out of the contract. Where do you get the Weevil-cide? Is that only available to 'professionals'? And how do you get it in the right tunnel, as I understand the gopher close some tunnels behind themselves. We really need to do something, I would love to plant in the ground again. DH keeps talking about leaving this property and not putting any money into it (this while I keep buying more plants and trees, LOL). But, he has said that for a few years now and this place would be totally (instead of partially) barren!

quiltygirl - Yes the Weevil-cide is for "professionals" but there are companies that will do it for you. The only thing is I wouldn't sign a 1 time contract with them for the gopher removal. If they advertise removal I would make sure they understand that the job is not done until you are rid of the pests. They know that this takes more than one visit. The trick is to stay after it.

The time of day seems to make a huge difference as well. I always go out when it is early morning or early evening when they are active and right after a rain is perfect. I put tablets (it only takes a couple) in two different ends. I just estimate which holes are in the same area and they are almost always connected. I have learned that from Rodenating. They can't dig fast enough to take care of two different cites. This stuff smells so bad it hits you like a ton of bricks the minute you open the canister. I always wear a mask and gloves. I imagine that they succumb pretty quickly. I go out the next day and look for new activity and hit it again. After a few days of constant Weevil-cide I hit them again with the Rodenator. If your soil is sandy my guess is it will work great. If your neighbors are too close you might want to give them a heads up that you are going to start. It makes the same sound as a shotgun. Sometimes loud and sometimes muffled depending on the depth of the tunnel. We love it. It gives you some small measure of satisfaction to hear the blast and think of them flying through the air, never to destroy another precious plant again! I would also put up owl boxes. They go through the gophers pretty quickly. Don't give up! If you just can't go on anymore you can always rest easy with the fact that if you let them breed themselves out they will eventually succumb to overpopulation, disease and starvation but, your land will be barren. I feel for you. I know how much gardening means to me. I hope I have helped. Here is a picture of a tunnel that has been blown apart.

Thanks for the advice. That has been our problem with things - not sticking to it (housebreaking dogs, training our teenage DD, pulling/digging weeds). I really like the idea of blowing them and their tunnels up -very cool, but cost prohibitive. Wonder if anywhere rents them.

Well, our friendly little gophers (one of them stuck his head up and watched us talk a couple days ago) have been busy. They are digging around large containers with mounds going up the sides. They may be: 1. building up the dirt to be able to jump in; 2. digging around the pot so it will fall into their hole; or, acting like sharks circling a boat in the ocean waiting for someone to take a swim.

I will share some shots:

That wine barrel is near dwarf blood orange and strawbales with veggies (including their first gopher visitor figuring how to go through straw). This, much taller, terracotta pot has a mound to the side under the Cape Honeysuckle. The Honeysuckle MUST have a wire basket (do not remember from 2 years ago) as it is still anchored in dirt.

Lynda

I had to bite the bullet and get a gopher exterminator out...bye bye gophers!!

Hey Louise!

Did that cost a lot? Did it work? I just hate gophers!!!! They've eaten some of my expensive daylilies, grrrrr. I put some poison down their little holes, but it didn't seem to work. I'm pretty sure the ornery gopher from the movie Caddyshack has come to San Bernardino, lol ;-)

I just ordered, and received today, one of those sound making things that are supposedly going to send the gophers off packing to somewhere else. Sure hope it works....

Hey there Karen!
You didn't buy those sonic spikes did you? They don't work! I think the gophers were worse after I put those down! I was using the poison too, but the Gopher Patrol uses the same thing but a stronger one, one we can't get, it's a restricted product. I use to have a service that came out and put tablets in the ground and it would turn into a gas that permeated the tunnels and killed the b*****ds. It's not being used in San Bernardino County because some idiot put the tablets to close to a house and killed a couple of kids. The gas apparently went into the house.
It wasn't cheap, 175.00 for the first treatment, they come out again in 1 week to inspect and then it's 40.00 a month if you want them to continue treating. There's a 30 day guarantee. So.. cheap? No. Does it work? Yes. In 2 days. I was at wits end and too many of my irises were being eaten, as a matter of fact, the day the guy game out to treat the field, we stood there and watched a gopher take one of my irises down his hole.
Good luck Karen, they are ruthless little critters aren't they.
(Good hearing from you.)

Hey Louise,

They ARE so ruthless, and yes, it was one of those solar sonic spikes. It had mixed reviews, but I thought I'd try it. Figures that they gave you more gophers than before; we obviously have rock star gophers in SB County, lol.

Okay, well, maybe I'll just send it back to Amazon then. $175 is way expensive for me!!! We'll have to see how desperate I get, I guess.

Hope all is well with you!!

karen