Gophers may look small and harmless, but their presence in your garden can cause significant damage. These burrowing rodents are notorious for creating unsightly mounds of dirt, damaging plant roots, and destroying your carefully cultivated landscape. Once you spot crescent-shaped mounds appearing in your yard, it’s time to take action before the problem escalates.
This guide will provide you with the top tips on how to get rid of gophers in your garden effectively.
Identifying Gophers: Do You Have Gophers or Moles?
Before diving into eradication methods, it’s crucial to confirm whether you’re dealing with gophers or moles, as each requires different strategies. Here’s how you can tell the difference:
- Gophers create crescent or horseshoe-shaped mounds of dirt. Their tunnels are generally close to the surface, with mounds spaced only a few feet apart. Gophers feed on plant roots, often dragging vegetation down into their tunnels.
- Moles, on the other hand, leave volcano-shaped mounds and dig surface-level tunnels, which create visible ridges across your yard. Moles don’t eat plants but can cause damage by disturbing the root systems of grass and other vegetation.
Knowing the difference between gophers and moles will help you select the right methods to tackle the problem.
Using Pet Droppings as a Repellent
One natural way to repel gophers is by scattering pet droppings around your garden. Both cats and dogs are natural predators of gophers, and their scent can be a deterrent for these rodents. Here’s how to use this method:
- Collect droppings from your pet (dog or cat) and place them around the perimeter of your garden.
- Drop some into gopher holes to make the area even more uninviting.
If you don’t have pets, you can buy coyote urine from garden centers. It works in a similar way by creating a scent barrier that repels gophers.
Repel Gophers with Strong Scents
Gophers may have poor eyesight, but their sense of smell is incredibly sharp. This makes certain strong-smelling items effective at driving them away. Here are some scents that gophers can’t stand:
- Herbs: Plant lavender, rosemary, or thyme in your garden. These fragrant herbs not only add beauty to your space but also keep gophers at bay.
- Coffee Grounds: Sprinkle used coffee grounds in your garden. The smell repels gophers, while the grounds serve as a natural fertilizer.
- Fish Leftovers: Place fish scraps in gopher tunnels. The strong odor will make the tunnels unpleasant, encouraging gophers to leave.
- Dryer Sheets: Inserting scented dryer sheets into gopher holes can irritate their sense of smell, prompting them to vacate the area.
Digging a Barrier to Prevent Gophers from Entering
Creating a physical barrier is one of the most effective ways to protect your garden from gophers. This requires a bit more effort but provides a long-term solution. Here’s how to build an underground gopher fence:
- Dig a trench around the area you want to protect. It should be 18 to 24 inches deep.
- Line the trench with a wire mesh screen. The mesh holes should be no larger than ¾ inch to prevent gophers from squeezing through.
- Cover the trench with soil after placing the wire mesh, ensuring there are no gaps.
This barrier will block gophers from burrowing into your garden, saving your plants from destruction.
Setting Gopher Traps
If the above methods don’t work, setting a gopher trap may be necessary. Traps can be either lethal or live-catch, depending on how you wish to handle the problem. Here’s how to effectively set a gopher trap:
- Locate active tunnels by finding fresh mounds.
- Cover all tunnel entrances except for one. This will direct the gopher towards the trap.
- Place a gopher trap in the open tunnel. Bait the trap with gopher favorites like carrots, potatoes, or sweet potatoes to lure them in.
- Cover the trap with dirt or grass clippings to block out light. Gophers are sensitive to light, and covering the trap increases your chances of success.
After a few days, check the trap. If you’ve caught a gopher alive, you may want to call animal control for relocation assistance.
Preventing Gophers from Returning
Even after removing gophers from your garden, it’s essential to take preventive measures to keep them from coming back. Here are some ways to deter gophers from resettling in your yard:
- Plant gopher-repellent plants: Certain plants, such as marigolds, daffodils, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, sage, and members of the allium family (like onions and garlic), can help keep gophers away. Not only will these plants brighten up your garden, but they also have natural gopher-repelling properties.
- Use essential oils: If you don’t want to plant, you can spray essential oils from the same plants mentioned above. Dilute the oils in water and spray the perimeter of your garden to create an aromatic barrier that gophers dislike.
- Sonic spikes or wind chimes: Gophers hate noise. Install wind chimes or sonic spikes in your yard. The sound will create an unwelcoming environment for gophers without disturbing you.
- Flooding new mounds: Whenever you spot new gopher mounds, use a garden hose to flood the tunnels. Gophers prefer dry environments, and flooding their burrows can encourage them to move elsewhere.
Conclusion
Gophers can wreak havoc on your garden, but with the right strategies, you can eliminate them and prevent their return. Whether you choose natural repellents like pet droppings, strong scents, or barriers like mesh screens, the key is consistency. By taking action at the first signs of gopher activity, you can protect your plants and enjoy a thriving, rodent-free garden. Follow these top tips to get rid of gophers and reclaim your outdoor space.
