Gophers are a huge issue for many homeowners and can easily eliminate a landscape. They tunnel under the ground looking for food developing holes and mounds, destroying the vegetation by eating the roots, and can even damage the walkways or patios to collapse by weakening the ground under their tunnels. Below are some of the effective ways of Gopher Pest Control if you are not willing to kill the rodents.
What are non-lethal ways of Gopher Pest Control?
Below are some of the efficient non-lethal methods:
Traps:
- If you’re looking to use non-lethal ways in your landscape, traps are the most effective way. While you can try to set out gopher traps by yourself, professionals will be aware of ideal seasons when gophers are highly active. Live traps will capture these gophers and offer you the chance to transfer them to any safe place. As gophers can breed throughout the year, trapping may be needed year-round. The ideal solution for live trapping may be to go for a professional gopher pest control who is aware of placing successful traps and handling them after trapping. These live Traps are highly beneficial for smaller regions.
- If you are looking to set the trap by yourself or use hand trapping, you can expect effective results when you set the traps on the main tunnel runway. They may be around 5 to 6 inches beneath the ground, follow it to the exit path that will lead to the surface above the ground dirt mound. One can employ a long metal rod to insert via the mud to exactly find the tunnel. For ideal outcomes, traps must be set in main tunnels and make use of baits like carrots, lettuce, apples, or peanut butter. Verify the traps occasionally and ensure to handle them with optimal care after the gophers are trapped. If your trap fails to catch a gopher within 48 hours, it should be relocated to a different region in your landscape.
Barriers or Fencing:
If the idea of trapping and removing gophers does not work, then well-planned barriers will stop them from moving as they desire. As gophers love to eat roots and tubers, fitting exclusion fencing barriers manufactured using fine metal mesh can stop these rodents from digging tunnels into susceptible areas of the lawn and pushing the soil to the surface. This fencing can be placed beneath the garden surface by digging a trench carefully after you recognize the tunnel carefully with the above-mentioned methods. Below are some specific barriers that will be helpful in the long run.
- Gopher meshes barrier: To execute this fencing, develop a boundary or in-ground fence across the garden or lawn with specific gopher mesh. This barrier must be subterranean and also around 1 to 2 feet above the surface.
- Under-lawn barrier: Place the galvanized gopher mesh around 4 to 6 inches beneath the ground when planting your new landscape, your lawn, or in narrow flower beds. This could be a tedious and tough task to be covering large regions, but if the problem is severe then you can protect the landscape for several years.
- Gopher baskets: If you cannot afford the laying of a complete foundation or coverage of mesh, wire mesh baskets can be placed around the individual plants that are vulnerable to gopher attacks. It can be an ideal plan to safeguard the valued plants and trees that have taken loads of care and investment for growth. Gopher baskets come in numerous sizes and are typically manufactured using chicken wire or galvanized mesh, which are durable for longer.
Repellent Goods:
Some of the repellent products can drive away these rodents:
Scent: Different types of scents can repel gophers successfully. But it can be a 50-50 situation where scents have to reach deep into the rodent tunnels. You have to ensure that these products are applied to all the visible holes. Few repellents that are used include:
- Soaking the cotton balls with peppermint oil and placing them in the holes.
- Placing the Fabric softener sheets in the hole.
- Immerse a rag of pine disinfectants and putting them down the hole.
- Scattering Chili powder inside the hole.
- Placing small Garlic stakes comprising garlic oil throughout the landscape in the gopher’s holes.
- Spreading castor oil granules in the regions that have shown glimpses of gopher presence, and use water to push them. The water dissolves these granules and releases a scent beneath that is unfriendly to these rodents. Apply castor oil granules in controlled levels and layers, beginning with the outermost region of the yard and escalating the region near to the exit with a gap of a couple of days and on. The gophers will not be harmed but pushed out of the landscape to other locations.
- Sound: Gophers do not like loud noises and run away from loud sounds. You can use wind chimes or radio as a short-term solution and is not an effective long-term solution.
- Ultrasonic repellents: These are battery or solar-powered devices that send ultrasonic vibrations that are not destructive to humans or pets, but irritate the gophers. Ultrasonic repellents can be placed far away areas around the landscape.
Final Thoughts:
If you are unable to capture or get rid of these rodents with any above methods, then employ the services of a reliable company like Hybrid pest Control. We employ precise tools to trap the gophers as you recognize them and give us the call immediately. There will be the utilization of subtle and humane techniques to get rid of gophers from your landscape. We will place the underground traps accurately so that there is minimal danger to any non-target creature. We will never use any poisonous gas, no toxic bait or harmful chemicals, or explosives that damage the yard. Hybrid pest control ensures to catch these rodents within the first 24 hours with optimal coverage for an extra 30 days.
