It would help if you had your backyard as your front yard. Whether you are cooking outdoors, entertaining, or simply relaxing after a long day, your outdoor space should be a place of refuge.
Gophers can cause severe problems to your lawn if you don’t do anything about them. It’s time to take an action and go for gopher removal.
Gardeners often complain about rodents like ground squirrels and gophers.
Fortunately, you will find many ways for gopher removal and reclaim your land.
With gopher removal service, thousands of area residents got help in getting rid of their gopher problems, so we know how to get rid of these nasty rodents.
Here we will share the top gopher removal tips and give you some insight into what’s suitable for you.
What are Gophers?
Gophers are furry rodents that usually grow up to 4-12 inches in length. However, they can weigh more than a pound.
Like any other mice and even voles, gophers are built to dig. They have an external, fur-lined pouch that extends to the shoulders.
Gophers have four large teeth that grow throughout their lives. These teeth are perfect for eating through the tough, woody plants they live in.
Gophers can use their teeth to prevent soil from entering their mouth. It helps move quickly through the ground to dig as efficiently as possible.
Because of their small ears and eyes and short, powerful bodies travel efficiently through the tunnels. At the same time, they have broad feet and sharp claws that work like shovels to move dirt their way.
It is a known fact that the Gophers prefer loose sandy soil to live in. They are usually the local native of North and Central America.
It is also seen that when they move into any area, they are known for creating an extensive network of caves and tunnels. This is where they live, breed, and even store food.
Identify where gophers are hiding in your yard and garden
It’s easy to identify gopher damage in your yard and garden. It is done by inspecting your plants for the telltale damage they leave behind.
You may use a pitchfork to move soil piled up along the edge of your lawn.
It is not surprisingly that most homeowners in the U.S. use pesticides to control weeds because they believe that weeds cause mounds.
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How to tell if the mounds you’re seeing are the work of gophers or moles?
Moles are tiny cones of skin that grow over time. They create neat, conical mounds.
A gopher uses its claws to dig and push aside soil and vegetation to make an underground home.
You probably saw the plugs the last time you visited this site, but if you look carefully, you’ll probably be able to see the mound with the pins sitting on top of the bank.
A gopher’s job is to disturb and loosen the soil, making it easier for other animals to live in.
Gophers and mole tunnels create soil mounds, which look just like moles.
Gophers are pretty active during the day. They are not into hibernating, so their presence in your yard or garden will be relatively easy to spot.
Why do we have gophers in the yard?
This question will help you determine if you have gophers, a common rodent in Minnesota, in your yard.
- Gophers are drawn by both food and denning resources. Browsing for food on the ground requires a high-speed locomotion pattern. It is for the gopher to run rapidly over short distances and climb up and down steep.
- Gophers are herbivores; they only eat vegetation. As a result of being close to these predators, seeds are often heavily damaged.
- Soil composition. Because gophers love to dig up holes in the ground, they prefer to live in an area where the land is not too compact and quickly moves around.
- The best kind of shelter is a doghouse. It’s small enough to keep the dogs safe from predators but big enough to provide some protection from the elements. So they build large networks of underground tunnels that can go under the ground or even through the walls of their homes.
When you get a few gophers in your yard, you’ll find that it’s just a matter of time until you’ve got a small army of fury balls. The female versions of the gophers have between one and three litters per year, with each waste containing about five to six pups.
These young mice are taken care of by their mother for several weeks until they can stand up independently. Then, to prevent future problems with gopher removal, it’s essential to get rid of them.
How to deal with gopher removal
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to go for gopher removal without killing them. This also includes how to:
- lure them away from their homes,
- trap them, and
- prevent them from digging
You will find many options, which include poison-free methods. Here’s a breakdown of each:
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No-Kill Traps
Trapping is the most effective approach if you want to use poison-free methods in your yard and lawn.
You can easily set up as many gopher traps all year round. However, the best time to set them out is during the spring and fall. That’s when gophers are most active.
Trapping is the best method for which you have to set traps at entrances to tunnels. You can try to bait them with carrots, lettuce, apples, or peanut butter.
Gophers are generally present in an area where there are no gopher holes. If they are found, the traps should be removed. The gopher removal should end with relocating them to a different location.
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Exclusion Fencing
This tool prevents deer from destroying your garden by keeping them from entering or crossing your property. It also deters rabbits and birds from eating the seedlings of your garden.
Since gophers are more into feeding on roots and tubers, installing exclusion fencing (made from fine metal mesh) can prevent pests from entering the lawn. This will take care of burrowing into your yard or garden or pushing soil to the surface.
You can either put up:
- an exclusion fence around an area you want to protect (like your garden),
- dig a trench and line it, or
- lay the fencing beneath your lawn’s sod to prevent it from digging up the grass.
Wire mesh that will effectively exclude gophers has openings of less than ½” x 1″.
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Natural gopher deterrents
Use a variety of natural deterrents to keep your gophers at bay.
Growing plants with strong scents such as sage, daffodils, iris, thyme, and geranium will repel gophers. You can also put fish oil, peppermint oil, coffee grounds, or tabasco sauce on the ground near gopher tunnels.
Conclusion:
Gophers can be a nuisance, but you can get rid of them humanely and naturally with the right tools and techniques. Have you tried any of these methods? Let us know in the comments!