Hostas & Gophers
Errant_gw
9 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Ever heard of a pocket gopher?
Comments (64)I can completely understand your frustration. Rodents are territorial and you kill one (or some) the new guys will just move in to take over. For some unknown reasons our front yard is now rodent free. I managed to trap a pair at a time and after the last pair I refilled the holes then plugged them will rocks. I returned to inspect the area and checked for new holes and tracks periodically. It's been two years and I've found none. The pocket gopher that drove me crazy was a loner. I trapped and killed it and the rest of the season we're gopher free. I know a new guy will come in to take over the place so I stopped planting anything for two years. I hope by leaving the place deserted will drive the rest of them looking resident somewhere else and eventually there's no more gopher scent to attract them back. If they do return I have two black boxes to take care of them. I still have one more rodent headache, the biggest yet, to deal with - the backyard gang. We have a large composter in our backyard (just a fence away from the back land) and I used to trap them and got one or two a day. The dead bodies got smaller in size each day indicating the young ones had to come out to look for food. Activities would stop for a while then the whole cycle started over again with large mice then the small ones trapped near the composter. I know as long as the food is there they will never stop yet I don't have a solution....See Moregopher unfriendly plants
Comments (25)Gophers are back .... I now have around 110 containers that I have buried in the ground. It seems that the gophers are pretty much not bothering the plants in the buried containers (yet ...). The gophers are even pulling down the California Poppies! I think this is the first time they have bothered the California Poppies, but I really don't mind, if that will keep them from completely destroying my best plants. My funds are extremely limited, but I do plan on laying down chicken wire, and if possible laying some rocks over the chicken wire. I will only be able to do this with very small plots (2x3 feet, or 3x4 feet), one at a time. My health is not good, so I work very slow, sometimes extremely slow ..... I'm also experimenting with allowing some wild plants to spread naturally, like Stinging Nettle, Chickweed, Henbit, and whatever else comes up as volunteers (Tomatoes, Oregano, Thyme, Calendulas, Radishes, Mustard, Chinese Cabbage, Garlic, Onions, Potatoes). I'm hoping that by allowing the Stinging Nettles to grow wild and spread everywhere, perhaps the gophers will stay away from the Nettles mixed in with almost everything ... ??? I have not yet seen the gophers stealing any nettles....See MoreHosta Pests (info to read and print)
Comments (6)LOL! Great idea and the smell will keep away the deer & rabbits! Paul, you're brilliant! Actually, the neighbors that own most of the woods used to allow hunters a few years ago. We didn't have as many squirrels and rabbits then. Hey, sorry, I get upset when my hubbie accidentally mows over a toad. LOL! Ms Jo...See Moregophers, moles, voles
Comments (12)I use a product that makes voles sick to their stomach(caastor oil pellets) and they move away, but I am tired of fighting them and the mountain beavers, so I'm learning what they like and what they don't and I don't replace the plants they go after. I have hostas, and late winter I'm going to move them into a whole that is surrounded by chicken wire. I heard this helps if they can't get to the bulb from below then the give up. I don't like killing anything, and making them sick isn't something I like to do either, so I try natural ways. Their tunnels I also fill back up with gravel as they don't seem to like to tunnel through it. It all helps slow them down, and maybe some year they will give up and move on to easier pickings *G*...See Moredon_in_colorado
9 years agoBabka NorCal 9b
9 years agoErrant_gw
9 years agodon_in_colorado
9 years agodon_in_colorado
9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years agoSteve Massachusetts
9 years agodon_in_colorado
9 years agoErrant_gw
9 years agodon_in_colorado
9 years agoErrant_gw
9 years agoPamela Lipscomb
2 months ago
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