Gophers

Being an urban gardener, I don't have a gopher problem.  But country friends who do, offer the following suggestions:
 
1.  Encourage snakes.  Rattlesnakes and "gopher snakes" relish the little beasties.  Ogphers are a principal food supply for rattlensnakes.  How one obtains the first snake if you don't already have them, I don't know.  I have never had a problem with rattlesnakes, but dog owners advise that most dogs are pretty stupid when it comes to snakes, and do can get themselves bitten. 
 
2. Abyssinian cats.  For some reason, Abyssinian cats are supposed to be much better gopher catchers than ordinary housecats.  In California, however, any cat solution must also consider the prospect that the cats will become coyote fodder.  Too bad coyotes do such a poor job on gophers. 
 
3.  Recycle the carbon monoxide that comes from your engine exhaust.  Water the ground thoroughly to eliminate air cracks; seal as many gopher holes as you can find; run a hose from the exhaust of your tractor, automobile, chipper, or other gasoline-powered equipment down one of the holes, and run it for half an hour.  Puts any inhabitants to sleep. 
 
4.  Besides putting your garden behind wire, maintain a well-watered gopher garden, filled with things they love to eat, 200 ft away.  If there is plenty to eat there, they are not likely to try to force themselves into the real garden.  Some sort of population control would still be necessary, to keep the population from exploding.
 
Richard Starkeson
San Francisco, California
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