How to get rid of gophers

Gophers find yards, farmland, and gardens so appealing because these are usually well irrigated areas. Well irrigated soil is much softer and easier to burrow than hard dry patches of dirt. Where there is water there is always vegetation and foliage for gophers to feed on. These burrows and mounds can damage equipment, become a tripping threat in fields used for recreation, and have even been known to trip and break the legs of younger horses and cattle.

Gophers are voracious herbivores who feed on most garden crops, ornamental plants, shrubs, trees, and even vines. There are few plant species that gophers will not consume given the chance. A single gopher can tunnel beneath a row of plants or vegetables and pull them down into its burrow causing a considerable amount of damage in a short amount of time. These tunnels can also divert the irrigation path of water, creating patches of soil erosion and killing plants even if the gophers don’t actually eat them.

Gophers are also rodents. Being rodents they constantly need to gnaw in order to check the growth of the two large incisors they used to dig and forage. This necessity to gnaw often leads to damaged underground piping and wiring that can be expensive and time consuming to repair.