Author Topic: Year of the Gopher (Read 23268 times)

Nolena · « **on:** May 22, 13, 04:38:47 PM »

Is it me, or are they epidemic this year?

in my dreams · « **Reply #1 on:** May 22, 13, 05:42:09 PM »

Hmm. I thought it was the year of cottonwood fluff. . .

But I do have a friend in town who has gophers in her garden this year, and I've never seen them there before.

Nolena · « **Reply #2 on:** May 22, 13, 05:47:30 PM »

I may be a vegetarian, but gopher recipes are crossing my mind....

joemsosa · « **Reply #3 on:** May 22, 13, 06:20:41 PM »

I've got a bunch of the pesky critters also. Never had them before.

Nolena · « **Reply #4 on:** May 22, 13, 07:14:25 PM »

Gopher pizza.....

ForestGal · « **Reply #5 on:** May 22, 13, 07:33:01 PM »

I've lived here, in this same house, for 36 years, and gophers have ALWAYS been my nemesis. Many, many moons ago, I quit planting things in the ground and just use barrels and large pots for my few veggies and many flowers. Last summer, the dang gophers even chewed through the bottoms of several plastic large pots in my front yard. (Those pots were brand new!!) This summer, as I'm getting ready to plant, I'm either going to put the pots up on 2x4's or put cut pieces of hardware cloth under them before I plant. As much of an animal lover that I am, I have no moral issues destroying gophers. Or spiders. Or flies. Or....... Oh, did I mention ants?

lynnc · « **Reply #6 on:** May 22, 13, 08:52:25 PM »

Sharon Figula down at Anderson Hardware says the gophers are much more prevalent now than they have been in the past. We are getting ready to do some landscape work in our backyard, including planting some trees. She says to put down chicken wire around the entire root ball to protect it.

pinetrees · « **Reply #7 on:** May 22, 13, 09:13:35 PM »

Websites with information about gophers say the little critters like to build homes out in the middle of nowhere on large mounds of soil - perhaps a local Gopher Relocation Program should be created?

in my dreams · « **Reply #8 on:** May 23, 13, 06:28:51 AM »

They aren't critters you want to ignore if you don't have tasty plants--subterranean termites travel through their tunnels.

c._smith · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 13, 08:04:40 AM »

They have killed several of my Rose bushes and two of my small evergreens. I have declared war on them this year!!! As much as I dislike snakes, a hungry Gopher Snake would be welcone in my yard this year!!!

tcaarabians · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 13, 08:18:42 AM »

We planted all our trees in chicken wire baskets. You just dig your hole, put in the basket, add the tree and dirt. Make the hole and basket large enough so you can spread out the root ball a good bit. Use the small hole type of chicken wire. We learned this trick after the gophers destroyed two trees. So, now we use the baskets for anything that goes in the ground and just have to worry about the squirrels and wabbits. We bought it in a large roll at Lowe's.

Oh, the squirrels also ate the fronds off of a plastic fern up on an old milk can on the front porch! Little darlings.

Supposedly moth balls down gopher burrows help. I think they just kept the moths out of the burrow. Course, I wouldn't know a squirrel hole from a gopher hole. So, they all were dosed. cheryl o7o

SkierBob · « **Reply #11 on:** May 23, 13, 08:22:25 AM »

I usually have hundreds of gophers on the side of my hill. This year there's not a one, the only thing I can think of is because it's so dry.

They're not much of a problem since I have zero landscaping.

RennMan · « **Reply #12 on:** May 23, 13, 08:43:53 AM »

For the past several months, the Golden State Water Company folks have been reading my water meter using a shovel.

Why, you ask?

The gophers in my yard have to put the dirt somewhere, when they dig their tunnels. The best open, underground spot is the water meter hole.

Usually they have to remove 4-6 shovelfuls of soil to be able to read the meter.

Stitches · « **Reply #13 on:** May 23, 13, 10:01:28 AM »

I'm with you ForestGal. Don't like any of those buggers either.

Nolena, maybe we can get a bunch of mallets and post a garden kid over each hole and play 'Whack a Mole'. I'm finding them all over the north side of the community garden, not the gophers, just a lot of evidence of gophers.

Maybe all of SkierBob's gophers came over here. That's quite a long tunnel. SkierBob, when do you want your gophers back?

ForestGal · « **Reply #14 on:** May 23, 13, 11:53:04 AM »

Yeah, thanks a lot, SkierBob! You can have the dang things back any time you wish!

I don't know if they are more prevalent this year or not. I've never NOT had them in my yard, and since I live near the community garden, I think we share the same ones.

I remember one time when I was a little kid (yes, that was a very long time ago but I haven't forgotten everything), my daddy had finally unearthed a gopher that had been menacing the front lawn. This was in a small town near Bakersfield. He was about to do the final deed with his shovel, when my 2 sisters and I just freaked out and shouted, "Daddy, it's a cute furry animal and you can't kill it!". He gave in to us little girls, and the creature was saved for that moment. I don't know what he did when we weren't watching, but the lawn survived somehow......

makgirl · « **Reply #15 on:** May 23, 13, 04:03:08 PM »

A gal I worked with one time had an influx of gophers in her yard one year and they decimated her beautiful garden. It made her so crazy that when she finally caught and killed one, she put his carcass on a stake in her yard, "...so all the other gophers could see what could happen to them...." Didn't work, kind of barbaric, but made her feel better.

Nolena · « **Reply #16 on:** May 23, 13, 07:36:51 PM »

Rodent Vlad the Gopher Impaler

pinetrees · « **Reply #17 on:** May 24, 13, 03:46:03 PM »

Sorry friends, but violence never resolves anything. And, sorry to mention it, but the gopher in the photo at the top of this thread really needs his or her teeth cleaned.

lagomorphmom · « **Reply #18 on:** May 24, 13, 07:46:28 PM »

Quote from: makgirl on May 23, 13, 04:03:08 PM

A gal I worked with one time had an influx of gophers in her yard one year and they decimated her beautiful garden. It made her so crazy that when she finally caught and killed one, she put his carcass on a stake in her yard, "...so all the other gophers could see what could happen to them...." Didn't work, kind of barbaric, but made her feel better.

If I'm asked if I'm a vegetarian, I respond I'm a hypocrite (insert drum ka-boom-boom). That said, I see red with gophers as well. I'll save you all from seeing my last "trophy pic" (a la guy catches big fish and holds it up). According to lore, it is best rather than impale it like Lord of the Flies, to toss it back into the tunnel for others to take notice. Just sayin'.....

tcaarabians · « **Reply #19 on:** May 25, 13, 10:09:34 AM »

Come on Lagomorph.. share the photo. I loved it.

Pinetrees.. I'm sure you're right about violence.. but then again the gophers usually clean their teeth on the roots of trees and roses.

I have to think that gophers are somehow related to rattlesnakes. They just don't learn. They do what their instincts tell them to do. I'm not sure where they are in the food chain.. I personally like to send them on in their karmic connection to a higher level. .. along with ants.

Well, I'm off shortly to visit the yard sales again. later, cheryl o7o

Author Topic: Year of the Gopher (Read 23268 times)

joemsosa

c._smith

makgirl