Gophers or pocket gophers are tunnel rodents that eat plants in the farm or garden; they infest the front of your lawn and leave other properties there untouched. If you have decided to remove gophers from your house, garden, or farm, here are some effective strategies for you to implement.

Step 1 of 3

Using Non-lethal Means

1. Use smells that gophers run from.

These gophers have very sensitive noses; if they perceive something that they do not like around the environment, they will most likely leave it there. These are some of the smells that repel them.

  • Dilute castor oil with some water and spray it into the tunnels
  • Scraps of dishes are very irritating to gophers; place some of them in their tunnels
  • Put some mothballs in the hole and cover it
  • When brewing coffee, extract the grounds and mix it with the soil close to where the gophers normally stay.

2. Use traps to get them.

If you find these holes or tunnels that gophers normally use, cover them with soil, and then insert the traps into the tunnel; once you have finished, cover the area with a sheet of black plastic; this will prevent light from getting into the hole.

  • If your trap successfully catches the gophers, ensure to call the animal control or let them out into the wilderness

3. Make the environment noisy.

Gophers dislike where there is plenty of noise, and so if you find these gophers in your farm or yard, use wind chimes or portable radio to make the place noisy.

4. Spread some of your pets’ waste.

Instead of you throwing away your dog’s poop or your cat’s litter into the dump, place it in the tunnels where the gophers normally stay. You may not put plenty of it; little drops can do the job. When these gophers perceive it, they will have a feeling that it is predators hunting for them.

5. Use those plants that repel them.

You can get plants that gophers dislike and plant them in your yard; one of these plants is “Euphorbia lathyris”. You can get some from nearby plant stores and plant them in areas where these gophers have infested. Some other plants are.

  • Castor beans
  • Marigolds
  • Daffodils

6. Plant vibrating stakes on the ground.

Vibrating stakes are most times completely invisible above ground, and they can go really deep into the ground. They are mostly operated with a battery, but in most cases, it is wind operated. You can purchase them from home appliance shops.

  • Make a very deep hole in the ground
  • Put the stake inside the hole
  • Cover it with soil.

Step 2 of 3

Using Lethal Means

1. Use car exhaust on them.

Search for all the holes that these gophers use; cover all of them with soil leaving only one of them. Place the hose in the exhaust of the car and place the other side inside the hole. Put the car on for about 25 minutes; the poisonous carbon from the car will chase them away and kill them.

2. Flood the tunnels with water.

Flooding the tunnels might not work for you but consider doing it. Cover all the tunnels leaving one out. Let the water run for a period of 20 minutes. It will trap and kill them in no time.

3. Release the predators.

Using your dog or cat to hunt for these gophers might not do the job; you have to get a predator with good hunting ability. You can get owls or venomous snakes to do the job.

4. Get a professional to do it.

Professional exterminators are most times expensive, but their services are guaranteed. These exterminators will use aluminum phosphates that will provide highly toxic phosphate gas which is poisonous to these gophers.

5. Use fruit-flavored gums.

To do this, get gum or candy that is fruit-flavored and place them inside the holes of these gophers; they will eat it and die immediately in their holes. Although it has not been scientifically researched, this method is very much effective.

6. Use poison.

If you are to use poison on gophers, ensure to keep them away from children and pets. When these gophers take this poison, it will cause internal bleeding and death. And if their body is eaten by pets, the pets will die as well.

7. Use detonators or burrow blasters to smoke them out.

Go to a home appliance shop and purchase a burrow blaster. When you apply it, they will fill the tunnels with oxygen and propane which are very poisonous to gophers; within a few minutes, it will kill those gophers.

  • You can also use those gopher flares on other home pests like ground squirrels, voles, and different burrowing pests.

Step 3 of 3

Reducing Their Food Supply

1. Use gopher baskets.

Some of these plants that gophers feed on can be protected by placing gopher baskets on them to protect the young roots until they become strong enough.

2. Reduce the number of plants on the farm or garden.

To reduce the infestation of these gophers, you can consider reducing the number of plants on the farm or garden.

3. Use plant beds on them.

To keep the plants from being destroyed by these gophers, you can build plant beds and place the plants into the bed for better security.

  • You can also line the bottom of the beds with chicken wire

4. Make a fence.

You should build a fence that goes deep under the ground; to ensure that the gophers will not climb into the farm, be sure to extend the fence at least 10 inches under the ground. This is because gophers can dig really deep.

5. Place mulch between soils.

Gophers do not like the smell or taste of mulch, so using it will be an excellent way to repel them from your farm.

6. Reduce the food supply.

When gophers see less food in your yard, it will encourage them to relocate to another environment. So try reducing the amount of food you have in your yard or farm.

In conclusion

To get rid of gophers from your yard, it all comes down to what is convenient for you and your neighbors. If you get these gophers alive, ensure to let them into the wilderness or get the animal control to take them.

Thank you so much for time to read this article if ever you have a question please leave your comment below and I’ll be happy to write back to you.