Help - the gophers are taking over. They are getting a 10 ft row of corn stalks a day. I am loosing tomotoes, and eggplants also, and the watermelon I had my mouth all set for was nicely carved out on the ground side. I have tried flooding them out, traps, gas bombs, and juicy fruit gum. It's not helping.

-- Paula Wilson (llamahiker@prodigy.net), August 02, 2000

Answers

Green box traps work great,mower stores might carry them. Wear gloves so they dont smell you,dig hole out so trap fits level in it, set spring , face open end into tunnel and cover trap with dirt up to slated front[ dont cover front top just sides]gopher runs into trap to cover slate were air is coming in and never knows what hit them.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), August 02, 2000.

The clinch traps do not work too well unless you boil them to get odd scent off them (gophers best sense is smell). I boil my traps (and their stakes) with sprigs of spruce for about 15 minutes. I caught lots after doing this.

After getting one, the trap(s) should be boiled again. I have caught them with a re-used one, but it is usually only the young, stupid ones. If you give a gopher too much experience with unsuccessful attempts, they get much harder to catch.

-- Mike O (olsonmr@yahoo.com), August 03, 2000.

I have been using Sonic vibrating things all summer and they are working, I ordered them from DR, (the string trimmer people) They make a little buzzing sound, 2 second on 30 seconds off, bizz, bizz, bizz, it is keeping them at bay.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), August 04, 2000.

Hendo is right about the vibrations. Gophers are like snakes, they don't like em. A cheaper way is some long wooden posts in the ground about 4 or 5 ft and a running chainsaw every hour or so during late afternoon/early evening hours for a few days. Another tactic is to run your tiller around the garden at reqular intervals.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 06, 2000.

Unless you're in an area where you can't, a .22 rifle would take care of them. With a little patience of course. The problem is eliminated by fencing the garden in comepletely, BUT the trick is to set at least 1 foot of fence below ground level. I think the rule is 1 foot below and 3 feet above. I had a problem with them and finally had to do this and so far (4 years now) haven't had a single problem. The critter is still around here too. I can't .22 him here, although I can legally use a pellet gun I've been told. Good luck. Wish I was close to a problem like that, I'd love the opportunity to sharpen my shooting skills and have some critter to try out my woodchuck/groundhog recipes on!

-- Bob Johnson (backwoods_bob_2000@yahoo.com), August 09, 2000.