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Post by desertwoman on Oct 10, 2018 18:19:50 GMT -5
What success have you had with getting rid of gophers/moles?
Do you deter with something like castor oil or trap/kill them?
I've had really good success with castor oil in the past, but these present intruders seem especially determined. Maybe I just need to be more diligent than I have? More frequent applications of castor oil? What has been your best success?
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Post by James on Oct 10, 2018 18:35:43 GMT -5
I just keep some cats around. At present there are three cats hanging out here abouts. They have the run of the place. I do give them some catfood.
They are outdoor cats. They can come in the garage and outbuildings, but do not come in the house.
Gophers: kick over their mound and push a garden hose down the tunnel. Turn on the water. The critters will come up gasping for air. Step on them.
You can also get some gopher traps and trap them.
Or, if you choose not to go after the critters, you can give up gardening and find a new hobby?
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Post by binnylou on Oct 10, 2018 21:59:09 GMT -5
Have you tried "kitty presents" from the litter box?
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Post by reuben on Oct 10, 2018 23:35:05 GMT -5
Trap and remove.
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Post by kimmsr🕊 on Oct 11, 2018 5:06:11 GMT -5
A study, done at Michigan State University, several years ago found that 1 pint of Castor Oil mixed in a 1-quart sprayer with water and applied to 1,000 square feet would effectively drive out moles by flavoring the mole's food source., this will not work with gophers. This application needs to be done about every 6 weeks, although when the moles have been moved off premises just spraying the perimeter was effective. Several of the commercially available Castor Oil sprays I have looked at have less than 1 pint of Castor Oil in the mix and they tell people they can be applied to 10,000 square feet, way too little over way to much area. One mole needs about 1/4 acre of space and will defend to the death that territory, While it may appear to be several moles at work most often it is only one.
Gophers can be controlled by good, tight, fencing.
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Post by davidjp on Oct 11, 2018 19:34:59 GMT -5
Moles I don't really see as much of a problem i can deal with the odd tunnel here or there and they arent eating my plants. Gophers on the other hand are a bit more of a problem here. I've had a bit of success with trapping but its something you have to keep on top of all the time and i just have too many gophers here really, 30 gophers a year was not an uncommon number I'm in the process of lining my beds with hardware cloth which is a real pain but in the end worth it I think.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 11, 2018 20:04:27 GMT -5
My veggie raised beds are lined like yours davidjp , My problem with them is in the landscaped areas. kimmsr🕊 , I hadn't seen that formula for the castor oil. It is a lot more castor oil to water than typical recipes. I will give it a try. I've always used a lot less CO Actually, though, I have had good success with castor oil and gophers. Just not this year! binnylou , haven't tried kitty presents but I'm thinking it's worth a try. We have plenty of those now! And we don't have a mature cat right now to help out. Once Ellie is an adult she will be earning her keep, I'm sure, with her hunting skills.
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Post by lisaann on Oct 13, 2018 18:33:35 GMT -5
I have NOT seen an updated pic? davidjp, I was just thinking of you and your pups and kitty. Glad you still hang out here!
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 13, 2018 20:19:40 GMT -5
I have NOT seen an updated pic? Hubby might have taken a recent one. I'll check with him or else I'll take one tomorrow
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Post by claude on Oct 15, 2018 8:10:48 GMT -5
DW...I used 4 oz bottle CO, 2 T dawn in a 1 gal sprayer and spray just bef rain is forecast. It has worked in the past. But now these tunnels are around my ckn house which I’ve had to move several times and make sure that the girls are locked in safe overnight just Incase it’s another varmit. These new tunnels seem much larger and appear overnight. Keeping me on my toes. The area is the edge of the septic fields so the drainage sand makes for much easier digging. Good luck. I sprayed at least 4x if I rem correctly..bef I felt it was effective enough.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 15, 2018 10:21:58 GMT -5
Thanks claude, That is similar to what I have always done except I use a 5 gallon sprayer. So your formula is more concentrated. That seems to be what I need to do, based on yours and kimm's posts.
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 20, 2018 9:08:03 GMT -5
They sure made of feast of Dad's sweet potatoes this year. Leaving them in the ground so long probably didn't help matters. It would be impossible to treat an area the size he has. So we feed the critters too.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 27, 2018 6:52:02 GMT -5
A farmer who was harvesting in this county found an armadillo in his field. If they move into our area, we'll probably stop complaining about gophers and moles.
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Post by Mumsey on Oct 27, 2018 7:06:07 GMT -5
Years ago I discovered tunnels going everywhere except the onion beds. So I started planting onions everywhere they might go. They went away. This was when we lived in the country. They loved to eat bean and pea seeds before they grew. Cheap deterrent.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 27, 2018 9:52:19 GMT -5
@ So I started planting onions everywhere they might go. They went away. was this for gophers or moles?
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