Gophers and Gopher Control - Part 8 of 11 - Gopher Prevention

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The key to controlling gopher damage lies in proper prevention - once you have gophers, regardless of how vigilant you are in your prevention techniques, chances are very good that you'll have one again at some point and it's better to have prevention items in place first rather than find out too late that you have a new "visitor". Many of these techniques are the same preventative measures you would use for other burrowing critters such as moles, voles, chipmunks, squirrels, woodchucks, shrews, prairie dogs or any other type of burrowing animal - The idea is the same - keep them out! I do just that by creating wire baskets that I set into the ground before planting my new plant; these baskets surround the roots of my small trees and shrubs with a protective barrier that allow the plants to establish themselves and grow large enough that they cannot be threatened by these menacing creatures. Another tactic I employ for the vegetable garden is to staple wire mesh to the bottom of raised redwood boxes, creating an impenetrable barrier to protect my vegetables.

Plant Baskets — Create your own, or purchase from your local hardware store

Box Liners — Create your own.

Underground cable & irrigation line protection — Surround cables and irrigation pipes with 6 to 8 inches of coarse gravel 1-inch or greater or incase these items in conduit with an outside diameter larger than 2 ½-inches.

Crop variety selection — Selection and use of a plant type that has several large roots tends to increase the chance of survival in gopher habitats rather than plants with 1 single root. The presence of plants with large root structures in areas inhabited by the gopher appears to result in decreased gopher ranging possibly due to the abundance of food.

Crop Rotation — Alternating the growth of crops such as wheat or other types of grains with crops the pocket gopher loves such as alfalfa can create a situation where there is not enough food to sustain the needs of the gopher and cause it to move elsewhere.

Grain buffer strips — Planting strips of grain approximately 50 feet in width between and around crops the gopher may find desirable may isolate the attractive crop enough to discourage the hunt for it and cause gophers to forage somewhere else.

Flood Irrigation — Use of this irrigation technique will create undesirable and uninhabitable living conditions for the pocket gopher.

Acknowledgment:


• Case, R. M., 1994. Pocket gophers: Prevention and control of wildlife damage. Department of Forestry, Fisheries
  and Wildlife. University of Nebraska
  
  
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Animal Diversity Web
  
  

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