How to Keep Gophers Out of a Garden

Gophers are every gardener's worst nightmare. If they move in, they can consume vegetable gardens, wreak havoc on lawns and lay waste to flower beds. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when gophers are in the neighborhood.

Things You'll Need

• Wire Cutters
• Wire cutters
• bird bath
• hardware cloth
• garden pick
• birdbath

Instructions

1. Encourage predatory birds such as owls and hawks to hunt in your garden. Set out bird baths or large shallow containers filled with water to encourage Sharp Shinned and Red Tailed hawks. (Keep the water high off the ground if raccoons or badgers are a problem.)

2. Clear away weeds and shrubs from around fence-lines so that predatory birds can easily spot gophers at work.

3. Line raised vegetable beds with hardware cloth (heavy wire mesh) to prevent gophers from tunneling in. The hardware cloth should be placed 18 to 24 inches below the surface of the soil

4. Leave pets outside at dawn and dusk when gophers are most active. Dogs and cats will bother gophers while they are at work, if not control them.

5. Dig around fence-lines and install hardware cloth vertically in the soil as a barrier for tunneling gophers. Use a pick to dig a deep trench, install the hardware cloth and fill in the soil. The trench should be 18 to 24 inches deep.

Tips & Warnings

• Digging trenches is strenuous work, so only do a small stretch of fence-line at one time.

• Gopher control takes time, perseverance and patience.

• Do not use poison to control gophers. Dogs, cats and immature predatory birds may consume poisoned animals, ingesting the poison second-hand.

• Dispose of dead rodents in sealed plastic bags or call your local county animal control to pick them up.