Re: gophers


I have the same exact symptoms.  I have gardened here for two years
and they have finally gotten some plants.  I have a whole section of
perennial border that simply doesn't grow.  These are usually tough
medit plants-not too much water, enough water I think, no apparent
root problems, I mulch, amend etc.  But the hollyhocks were huge.  

I sprayed with this new gopher repellant which is mostly castor oil.
The first time the gopher piles and tunnels disappeared for about a
month.  I have sprayed twice since to no effect.  I think the ones who
hated it left and the ones who liked it have thriven!  I even saw a
Catanache wiggle and fall over.  I went over and picked it up and its
carrot like white root had been bitten but only partly gone.  So I
shouted down the hole.  A little while later (20 minutes) I picked it
up again and the whole root was gone!  So shouting doesn't even slow
them down.  

I also put gopher bait down the holes under the mounds-this to
absolutely no effect!

No one here knows what to do beyond caging all roots and planting
plants they don't like.  I want to put a bomb in the garden and blow
it up.  Then I can collect the dead bodies and surround the garden
with trench graves as a warning.  I think this would open up the hard
soil and mix the amendments in nicely.

Lets start a list of gopher proof plants (I suppose like deer there is
no guarantee.)  Start with hollyhocks, I have black ones that look
great with the Berberis ' Purple 'something.

I also have SPD.  What about the hole in the ozone layer.  We have
sunburned leaves on sun loving plants and can't seem to water enough.
Thanks
Judy Houck
Quincy, CA
zone 4 or 5
On Mon, 03 Sep 2001 03:28:45 -0700, you wrote:

>
>Many weeks ago i posted about seeing small piles of sand popping up in my
>yard overnight. I'm pretty sure that these are gophers (i've been finding
>sunken "trenches" in my yard, and collapsed one when i stepped on soil
>above a tunnel). So, what can I do to get rid of them, short of digging up
>the entire yard? I havent seen plants die from them nibbling on roots, but
>i am still finding their sand piles all over.
>
>Anyway, i do hope these are  gophers and not something else. There's no
>other explanation other than that that would account for these
>excavations. 
>
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