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Groundhog Day
updated: Sep 26, 2012, 2:29 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

I have gophers that are destroying my lawn. Does anyone have any tips on how to get rid of these pesky unwelcomed residents?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 324400	2012-09-26 02:33 PM
Hire Bill Murray...he did a pretty good job getting rid of them in Caddy Shack.
COMMENT 324401	2012-09-26 02:34 PM
Dog and\or kill traps.
COMMENT 324402	2012-09-26 02:34 PM
Traps are the most effective and safest way. It takes some practice and skill to place the traps just right, look for tutorials on line from the University of California
COMMENT 324404	2012-09-26 02:37 PM
Spearment gum works.
COMMENT 324405P	2012-09-26 02:39 PM
Use traps, they are safe and easy. The gophers can push poison up in the mounds of dirt and can be ingested by pets and wildlife.
ROGER DODGER	2012-09-26 02:42 PM
Vodka.
COMMENT 324408	2012-09-26 02:46 PM
Bill Murray.
COMMENT 324409	2012-09-26 02:48 PM
google the rodenator pro... best solution out there
COMMENT 324413P	2012-09-26 02:57 PM
Get a beagle. Ours got rid of one that showed up in our yard in less than three days.
COMMENT 324414	2012-09-26 03:00 PM
Light off a bunch of roman candles.... or drop some M-80s into the tunnels - it'll make their quiet lives a bit more stressful.
D8VANILLA	2012-09-26 03:06 PM
Amonia or used cat littler (urine) down the hole. Or , run a hose from your car exhaust down into the hole for a long time and they will move to the neighbors yard.
COMMENT 324417	2012-09-26 03:07 PM
why are people so friendly to spiders, but not gophers? Nobody is suggesting catch and release?
BECKY	2012-09-26 03:12 PM
Please, please, please buy one of these: http://www.rodenator.com and then let me borrow or rent it for a day or two... It looks like it'll trash your lawn, but it might be worth it for the awesomeness. [Seriously, I know organic farmers who swear by these. Since we can't shoot them in residential areas anymore, options are limited.] Traps work, but take practice. Don't use the poisons, as the gophers don't stay in their holes to die, but come out and get eaten by birds or cats who are then also poisoned. Theoretically, peeing down their holes will dissuade them (esp. if one has been drinking beer. Obviously, this is a guy thing...) The coyote urine is expensive and did not work. I've heard the spearmint gum theory before, but don't know if it works. Try 'em all and report back! Inquiring minds are anxious to follow your lead.
COMMENT 324424	2012-09-26 03:15 PM
I maintain about 4 acres of lawns(I know-its a terrible waste of water, but its a job) The black plastic spring traps work the best. I think they're made by Victor. Just follow the directions & with practice, you will get one every time you set the trap. Dont use poison-it's in-effective and as the P.P. pointed out, it can kill things you love. Road flares are sort of effective but can start grass fires. I saw a hose in the 99Cent store that was advertised to kill by hooking to your car's exhaust... @417 I DO catch & release...;>]
COMMENT 324446P	2012-09-26 03:40 PM
My neighbor used to turn on his sander and set in down near the holes. Apparently they don't like the vibration. Please don't use the poisons out there as it has already been said that it can kill more than the gophers.
COMMENT 324456P	2012-09-26 03:50 PM
If a beagle can get rid of them in 3 days perhaps renting a beagle would be worth a try.
MACPUZL	2012-09-26 03:50 PM
The Rodenator certainly looks like fun, since your lawn is already destroyed. I wonder whether there is a mixture control for large burrowers: "Honestly, officer, it was a capybara hole. I didn't know it went all the way under my neighbor's pool."
COMMENT 324459	2012-09-26 03:51 PM
Swear by the Cinch gopher trap. You have to dig a bit of a hole, but they are the best we have tried.
COMMENT 324461P	2012-09-26 03:52 PM
'The Black Hole', by Victor. Sell them at hardware stores. I worked with a guy who caught gophers by the dozens using these....they work. To reiterate what others have said, NO poison please.
COMMENT 324466	2012-09-26 04:06 PM
I used the Rodenator for a few weeks until the neighbors complained to Sheriff..It makes a R E A L L Y B I G B O O M when the propane explodes. Fun as Hell, however...
COMMENT 324481	2012-09-26 04:27 PM
A good cat will work as well as a beagle. Pyert keeps me gopher-free.
COMMENT 324482	2012-09-26 04:33 PM
417: I don't know of any beneficial reasons to have gophers. Plus, if they had something that looked as fun to use as the rodenator for spiders, I'm sure people would have been advertising that! (Kinda joking - I don't like killing things, spiders & gophers included, but watching the rodenator video & reading the comments had me shaking with laughter.)
COMMENT 324515	2012-09-26 05:09 PM
Flares have always worked for me. Use a big screwdriver to create a hole into the burrow. Light the flare, stick it in the hole, pile dirt around it so the smoke doesn't escape and voila. These are the highway warning flares you can get at an auto parts store.
COMMENT 324521	2012-09-26 05:17 PM
Juicy Fruit Gum! Now I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it does work. You can't touch the gum so wear gloves and put it deep in the gopher holes and cover. It's worked every time for me.
COMMENT 324535	2012-09-26 05:41 PM
I am sure the traps work best. According to professional gardeners that I have talked with, they think it's the traps. But I am not into them and have tried other things w/ limited success. I tried Juicyfruit gum. I also put my dogs poop down the holes. Also garlic cloves. But what I found works best is garlic tubes made by Plant Pro-tec in NorCal. You must wear gloves when placing any of these things. The garlic tubes are easy to use and really seem to work for me. Phone # for the company is 1-800-572-0055 or you can find them on the net. They come in a zip lock bag, maybe 12 to a bag and cost about $15 plus shipping. Known on Amazon as Gopher and Mole Repellent (G&MPro-Tec 12). They seem to last for months as opposed to the gum and poop which had to be replaced at least twice a week.
COMMENT 324545	2012-09-26 05:54 PM
Kill, kill, kill. Poor gophers. The service they provide is known as "bioturbation." This means they move, turn and aerate your soil. If I wrote here (in toto) how sick and sad I think it is that people must always kill things, I would be nannied for sure. Why not try the juicy fruit gum first? Or the urine? There must be a safer solution for all concerned. Or why not try chicken wire under and around your favorite plants? Lawns are joke. Too much water, too much fertilizer, and, worst of all, the consequent run-off of chemicals into our oceans and creeks. Get rid of the lawn, and put in plants gophers don't like.
COMMENT 324577	2012-09-26 06:41 PM
Call Hydrex! They tackle my terrible gopher problem with some machine they have. Works great.
COMMENT 324581P	2012-09-26 06:54 PM
Have you considered an alternative to a lawn? Not at all trying to be flip, but there are some wonderful options besides lawns that don't suck so much time, water, and expense, and that aren't as appealing to gophers. I know I'm knocking a sacred cow here, and I expect to be booed off the forum, but think about it.
AWESOME BLOSSOM	2012-09-26 07:53 PM
Please don't use poisons. It kills entire predatory ecosystems. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/11/gophers-get-rid-of.html
COMMENT 324621P	2012-09-26 09:12 PM
I use a caddie shack type operator, he gasses them with carbon monoxide from a small engine via a compressor and hose lines, and it is very effective, and thorough. I'm in the Santa Maria area, don't think he goes as far south as SB though. He will also put down (way down in tunnels) poison bait. I have him here about every three months. Costs me about $290 a year. I'm not physically able to 'run a trapline' so this is the best thing for me to protect my shrubs, trees and flowers (no lawns).
COMMENT 324634	2012-09-27 06:36 AM
You can use the Rodenator or the Rodex2000 in the area, you inform the sheriff or police that you are using a rodent control device and small explosions are present, no problems. I have a friend and we use it on his property in Goleta all the time.Definitely effective but can damage buried pipes, can also damage the plants you are trying to protect.
COMMENT 324667P	2012-09-27 07:56 AM
About several suggestions made earlier: We have non-lawn property and the gophers still love it. Chicken wire's holes are too large - use gopher wire; but it only works if it is in a structure because the gophers evidently tromp the wire down deep, when it's loose, and then live above it. Chewing um is supposed to ruin their digestive tracts and I have put it down tunnels quite a lot, but I can't tell if it really works. And I'll chime in, please don't use poison, the poisoned gopher meat will kill owls, hawks, cats and dogs that pick up the sick/dead gophers.
COMMENT 324705	2012-09-27 09:08 AM
I had one of these pesky things and didn't want to use poisons or traps as I have cats. I flooded the tunnels which worked for a week. Gum didn't do much. Garlic bombs (can't remember the exact brand but got them from OH) worked a treat.
COMMENT 324707	2012-09-27 09:09 AM
581P... is paving it a good alternative? Hmm... maybe astroturf? lol. I have kids, so it needs to be a surface that they can at least play on. We do our best to water it as little as possible as well.
COMMENT 324750	2012-09-27 10:12 AM
I'll rent you my two dachshunds for a couple days. One will kill the gophers, the other will cuddle with you while the other does all the work. $50/day plus treats.
DEE D	2012-09-27 07:57 PM
Hardscape as much as you can, and plant the remainder in things gophers don't like: geraniums, various agavas and succulents, nasturtiums, day lilies, trumpet vines, bougainvillaeas, trees that are already large enough to dissuade them from dining...for yummy things, like herbs, bulbs, and, let's face it, almost everything, use raised beds and large pots. We live next door to an empty acre that puts swiss cheese to shame, and over the years have done this, so that now, even with thousands of gophers right "over the line," we are rarely bothered anymore...
COMMENT 326432	2012-09-30 08:29 PM
Electronic solar device that emits a sound that sounds like a gopher "danger" call to them-it works great for us-Home Depot sells them for $20 and you can move them around as the gopher starts to leave from his original hole. It keeps them from coming back again. Just make sure to twist the post of the unit, so it goes down in the hole and has contact with the earth, as that makes the sound radiate out further underground.

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