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Gophers and Prairie Dogs are usually classified as a pest species due to their tunneling habits. They form large colonies, and a large network of underground tunnels. The most common complaints include the following:
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How To Get Rid Of Gophers In Your Yard
If you are a homeowner who has a problem with gophers destroying carefully laid out flower beds, then you know they are a nuisance and need to be somewhere else. They are a problem and can cost you money by having to replant all that they destroyed. If you have a nursery and depend on the sale of your plants for your income, then gophers are public enemy number one.
There are several ways to either get rid of the gophers by poisoning or trapping them, or to make hanging out on your property unappealing for them. Most people today do not want to kill anything, including gophers. So, the next best thing is to either trap them or lead them away from your property so they can live their destructive ways somewhere else. An easy way to persuade them to move on is spreading castor oil pellets. They do not harm the gophers because all they contain is oil, soap and some ground up corn cobs but, like a pied piper, leads them out of your yard. You can use a conventional spreader to make sure you cover the entire area. Then you either wait for rain or water the ground yourself. When the pellets dissolve into the ground, the gophers don’t like the smell coming from the granules and leave.
How To Get Rid Of Gophers Under Your House
Gophers do not cause damage under your house other than making tunnels because under your house you will not have vegetables or flowers growing. Those are the main staples of the gophers’ survival. However, if you have a garden or flower beds next to your house, a gopher may very well choose to live in the safety the crawl space under your house provides.
Many of the methods to eliminate gophers used in a yard are not feasible to use under your house. A water hose, while their effectiveness to flush out gophers is known, they may be detrimental to the foundation of your house, particularly with repeated treatments. Poisoning gophers with pellets is also a bad idea because if gophers die under your house, they will begin to smell as they decompose. Gassing them under your house is not recommended because it may harm other animals; although, if you remove your pets and children until the gas has dissipated, it is very effective. The negatives are that this is a toxic substance and in many cases it’s recommended only a professional use it. It will also leave a dead gopher under your house which will create an odor. The best way to target gophers living under your house is by trapping them in live traps and relocating them. This takes a little homework in the sense that you need to find the gopher’s tunnels in order to place the traps. Then you just relocate the gopher miles from your house.
How To Get Rid Of Gophers Without Killing Them
There are actually more ways to getting rid of gophers without killing them than by ending their life. Killing methods include poison, gas or traps that kill them. Removing dead animals is a distasteful job regardless of the way they died. While gophers are very destructive rodents, most people would rather just have them gone without harming them.
One way to rid yourself of gophers and not kill them in the process is by flushing out their tunnels with a water hose. This does not harm the animals but it also may not be the most effective way to get rid of them. Gophers are very good at protecting their tunnels from floods and they may just leave until the water has been absorbed and then come back. Another, better way to chase gophers from your property is to trap them in live traps, take them far away from your property and let them go. This involves buying traps and gloves and careful handling of the trapped animals. You can also buy castor oil pellets which are distributed onto the ground. When they get wet by rain or water hose, they will give the ground a smell the gophers do not like. You can extend treating your entire property with castor oil pellets to ensure that they do not just move ten feet down the lawn.
How To Get Rid Of Gopher Holes
In order to get rid of gopher holes, you must first get rid of the gophers or else anything you do will be acts of futility. In general, gopher holes are not very big but if you happen to step into one by accident, you could end up on crutches with a twisted ankle. Most likely, if there is one hole in your yard, there are several more if you will look for them. Gophers leave themselves several emergency exits in case they need to vacate their tunnels quickly.
Getting rid of the gopher by whatever means you choose, like trapping them, chasing them out with castor oil granules is a first step. You could also kill them with poisonous pellets or with toxic fumes. Another way is by getting a little help from their most feared natural enemy, the owl. Placing an owl box in your yard or garden, may attract an owl and make the gopher leave. A plastic owl may work to keep gophers away in case no owl shows up. In any case, it can’t hurt. Once you are sure the gopher is gone, take your shovel and fill in the holes with the dirt mounds the gopher has dug up and left behind. Pack the dirt down tightly. Be sure you add enough dirt to each hole to make them even with the ground. This will avoid twisted ankles.
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