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I haven't had a gopher in over 20 years! Any tried & true remedies?? He's working his way up the slope & will soon be into the lawn...

So sorry to read about your gopher problem, KG.
I don't know of any sure-fire product that does the job.
We've rid our garden of them (probably temporarily), but through no effort on our part. We've a neighborhood cat who loves to rest in the garden sunshine. Once she saw the gopher activity, she began her stalking and before long, the gophers were gone.
Good luck and I hope another poster has an answer for you.

A good tight fence around the area you do not want this gopher in is your best bet. The fence mesh needs to be small enough that the gopher cannot get through and also needs to be buried at least 6 inches deep and you also preferably run about the same amount out parallel to the ground in an L configuration.
This video from Growing a Greener World might be of some interst.
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode209/

Well, a light bulb just went off when the cat was mentioned...

I have always had multiple cats all of these years. When I lost my last 2 in the same year I decided not to get another one. I started feeding the birds, and I have a diner out there where they eat from dawn to dusk. So I now cannot see getting another cat.

Kimm - Fencing off the grass is not going to happen although you are right about it needing to be done.

Any other thoughts?

Other than a cat....
A dog that likes to dig.

This wouldn't work in the city but I had a horrid problem with marmots last year. They decimated parts of my garden and were making nests in my outbuildings. They stink and can carry disease. There really is no good way to get rid of them other than with a 22. After about 8 were taken care of the problem was greatly lessened altho when they have litters of 8 more than once a year it's a continuing problem. Some years we've had no visible marmots when I expect the predators have been more successful. Other years like last year they over-run the place. An outdoor dog would help but I don't want one.

Can't always depend on the balance of nature altho when I saw a coyote with a marmot in it's mouth I sent up a cheer. Perhaps sounds unfeeling until you have to live with the problem.

I guess that I am the "ungreen" person on the board. My suggestion would be to start putting out D-Con or some other rat killer poison now.


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[QUOTE]Originally posted by joyluck:
This wouldn't work in the city ...There really is no good way to get rid of them other than with a 22. QUOTE]

LOL! Boy, would that wake up the neighborhood!

I've had terrible problems with groundhogs and I tried a bunch of things. The ONLY thing that worked was to trap them. We relocated the 2 we caught about 10 miles away and they did not return in 2 years but I'm ready if I see any more damage. I'll trap them again.

I know someone who dug into a mound, opened the run, then ran a hose from the lawnmower exhaust into the run and sealed it. He then cranked the lawnmower and let the exhaust do the work.

I watched in my back yard as a gopher was flipping dirt out of a mound while cleaning his run. I counted. It had a perfect rhythm. I did get the .22 rifle and went out the front door, braced against the corner of the house, counted, and pulled the trigger on "the" number. I was shocked! I scooped it up in a rag and pinned him to the clothes line so that husband could see it. I found out later that he bragged on me. LOL So yes, the .22 does work. And yes, I do live out in the country.

Or you can purchase a couple of gopher traps and a shovel. Dig into the mound. You should look for two runs...but there may not be but one. The run has to be big enough to accommodate the trap so scrape the walls of the run to enlarge it if you have to.
http://www.amazon.com/Victor-0...eywords=gopher+traps Be sure to tie a good strong rope or preferrably a light chain to the trap and a stake to secure the trap to the ground or if you catch a gopher, dogs can run off with it and your trap.