Gophers - the most uninvited guest in your backyard

We all have seen them, those unpleasant mountains of dirty all over our backyard space, pushed up by those little creatures called gophers. If they would not tear apart your beautiful landscape (many times in a very random pattern), they would almost be considered lovable cute little landscape pets instead of pests. Similar looking like a squirrel, gophers live under the ground, their homes are big tunnel structures underneath our lawn areas and they use their sharp claws and teeth to excavate those tunnels which can quickly lead to extreme lawn damage. So gophers can be a real headache for any property owner.

So now what can you do once you noticed that probably one or 10 gophers (who is counting at that point?) nestled into your backyard or front yard paradise?

Let’s get to know our little friends a tad more in order to be able to eventually safely get rid of them. We have 3 methods that will work, especially if you combine them in your battle to defeat these little diggers.

PLANTS: When it comes to gophers, they are very specific in which plants they like or strongly dislike.

Here is a list of plants that gophers absolutely hate:

Gopher spurge (as the name gives it away already or also known for its scientific name Euphorbia lathyris
crown imperials
lavender
rosemary
salvia
catmint,
oleander
marigolds

What do all these plants have in common one can ask? The scent! Gophers are very sensitive to smells and especially the strong scents of lavender, mint or salvias are a real repellent against them.

BARRIERS: If you are in the process of planting a new lawn, here is the good news since the timing will be perfect to add galvanized gopher mesh 4 to 6 inches under the soil, laying sod, or in shallow flower beds. It’s a decent amount of work for large areas, but if you have a serious problem it can save your lawn for many years to come. You can also use a gopher mesh barrier which is basically a in-ground-fencing barrier for the gophers. The barrier should extend into the ground 1 to 2 feet and above ground as well.

If you onIy see issues in certain areas of your yard or want to protect specific plants rather than dealing with adding a wire mesh to your whole outdoor area, you can use a gopher basket. You can place the basket around your desired area. These baskets are available in multiple sizes and are usually made of chicken wire or galvanized mesh, which will last longer. You can purchase them at most landscaping stores.

REPELLENT PRODUCTS: When trying to tackle your gopher infestation with scents, you need to be aware of using it in every single hole. Gophers are smart and if you aren’t taking care of every area, they will only dig more holes and tunnels to get around the unpleasant smells. Below are some of the most successful natural repellants that you can try:

Chili powder: Sprinkle inside hole as far down as possible
Peppermint oil: Soak cotton balls and place in hole.
Fabric softener sheets to place in the hole
Garlic stakes that contain garlic oil and can be placed in the gopher’s holes

You can also purchase caster oil granules. Sprinkle those down each hole and over the yard and water them. The granules will dissolve and release the scent that will hopefully make your gophers flee your property.

The last option is also a useful one but only doable if you have no other pets around: a ultrasound repellant. These repellants are great and most definitely work. They are purchasable at any hardware store.