I see this is an old thread, but in answer to the original question, yes the wire will girdle the roots and kill the trees; I have first hand experience in Central CA and about 16" annual rainfall. Galvanized wire does not readily rot out...not for years and after 15 years at my place it's still there. Plain steel wire in the necessary thin gauge is hard to find as poultry mesh. Note there may be some species that can create new tissue around the wire but I have never seen a list and don't have the time to experiment. I have seen trees grow around barbed wire fences but I have never cut one in-section to see if the tree's phloem actually healed over the wire or if it just looks that way and since the wire was straight it did not ring-bark the tree. For sure we lost our apricots and walnuts. I have one large sycamore (no basket) next to three stunted sycamores (with baskets). When we realized this was happening to the fruit trees, we carefully dug around 1/2 the tree to the wire basket and carefully cut the wire around the roots. Then we waited for a season for healing the disturbed 1/2 and then cut the other side. All in all it seems a day late and a dollar short because the orchard growth stalled. We now plant new trees in oversized holes lined with thin, 1" concrete pavers, extending a couple inches above the top of the soil while being careful to make sure no holes larger than 1/2-3/4" exist between the pavers. It seems to be working extremely well. We have not had any issues with gophers jumping over the top but if we do we will simply place something on top of the soil around the tree. Our theory is this: Once a paver is buried in the ground, it's very difficult or impossible to move without a large enough hole created by the gopher to allow it to shift. We surmise gophers can't think the mechanics through and are not generally that lucky to stumble upon the solution. I suppose if the gopher chose to make it's primary burrow right next to the pavers, one could fall out of place. The tree root, however, can get through the holes between the pavers and slowly push the paver out of the way as it grows without being ring-barked/girdled. I think of roots growing under and buckling a sidewalk to visualize the power of a root. To date, we have had great luck and no girdled trees. So, what about cost? Well, the argument that a hundred dollar hole might make a thousand dollar tree and a 10 dollar hole might kill it is a good one. I happen to have a ready-supply of paver off-cuts and rejects to keep my cost down. We have speculated about what to do to keep the costs down and have thought of many alternate ways while keeping the original concept intact: a lined hole where roots can grow through the liner but gophers cannot get at the young tree to do their damage When the day comes for me to make a hole and line it with something different than pavers to save money, I plan to try this one first as a cost-saver: Dig an oversize hole with sloped walls. Mix up some inexpensive fence-post mix, or stucco, or a home made mix (add some extra sand to make it go farther –it can be a weak mix). Make it a stiff-mix and line the hole with the mud, making an in-ground bowl, more or less. Then cut or score deep lines in the firm mud in a large grid (6"?) so as to allow the bowl to break to bits once dry. Now poke holes through the mix where the lines cross; it's these holes that will serve as drainage and for the roots to grow out of so be sure they go all the way through. We thought of pounding in wood stakes while the bowl set up for awhile and removing prior to back-filling the hole. We speculate, too, that if it were a really weak mix ( 1 part cement to 10 or 12 parts sand) that poking a bunch of holes in the mud is all that would be needed (no scoring lines) and the tree would win the day at time of breaking. None of what is done in making the lined hole needs to be pretty, it just needs to confound the gophers and allow the tree to bust-its-way out. It's labor intensive, like the pavers, but no too costly on materials. The hole can be filled with soil when wet, and the tree thus planted, too, so it should be fairly fast. Again, you can cap the buried bowl with wire if your gophers like to travel over-land. One component I would like to add would be sprinkling something on the fresh mortar to counter the change in PH while the bowl cures underground; perhaps acidic Redwood mulch? What other ideas are out there? How about up-cycling flattened tin cans from the recycling bin and lining the hole and letting them compost? If anyone has an idea on how to make a lined hole where roots can grow through the liner but gophers cannot get at the young tree to do their damage, I'd love to hear it!

Odyssey, Ask around to find which neighbor has the right sized hav-a-heart trap. Very ripe fruit works as a bait. This, IF and only if, you are near woods or abandoned fields. Never, ever release a groundhog in or anywhere near a tended field. They are hated because lifestock and humans can break legs in their den openings. I think the darned critters are immortal. The ones at my home in Virginia lived among some large boulders. Daddy would get a hunting permit and take them out. Next spring they were back, and were still there when I sold the place. The one in the back yard here, I called it "eternal" above. That burrow will probably have a groundhog in it long after we are goners.

I tried smoke bombs and castor oil pellets, but what worked for me was the sonic spikes. After successfully getting them out of my yard, I recommended them to at least 4 clients who all had similar results. When I first installed the spikes, mounds appeared right next to them, which was discouraging because the smoke bombs and pellets just made them dig in other areas of the yard. I followed the instructions and left them on. Sure enough, after a couple weeks, gopher activity in my yard stopped. I let them run for a couple more weeks and turned them off, but a new mound popped up a week later so I turned them back on. They make a noise every 60 seconds or so that drives the critters away. It's audible to humans, but it's not that bad. I got some off Amazon from a brand called Zebedee that have an on/off switch, which is nice because we like to entertain in the backyard and I didn't want to hear the buzzing sound during barbecues. Most of them have to be disassembled to stop the noise, but these can just be silenced with the push of a button. They're solar powered, so they don't require any maintenance (other than turning them back on after a party) as long as they get some sun during the day. I got a set of 4 which was probably more than I needed for my yard size, but I set them up in the corners of the yard to create a perimeter and it has worked. Here's a link to the ones I used.

Jill, I make them in various sizes so various ones nest inside the others for storage. I don't know the exact # of inches per cage because I made them so long ago....some of mine are at least 15 years old. I use the cages that are largest in diameter of the indeterminates that get the largest, and the medium for those that are average and the smallest cages for the taller determinates. This afternoon, I'll take a tape measure out and see how some of the cages measure out. I have them in all heights, too, from 3' tall to 6' tall, and I can use zip-ties (I love zip ties and use them for lots and lots of stuff) to stack two 3' cages on top of each other to make a 6' tall cage, or to stake a 3' cage on top of a 6' cage to make a 9' tall cage for some of the more vigorous growers, like Sweet 100, for example. I use smaller cages for some peppers, esp. bell peppers since the plants are often heavily laden with fruit. And, I plant all my muskmelons, cantaloupes, smaller gourds, cucumbers, smaller summer squash and mini-pumpkins inside cages and raise them vertically which lets me grow at least 4 times as many plants in the space as I could if I didn't use cages. Personally, I feel like I never have enough cages....and I have 300 or more. I use them for all kinds of stuff, esp. to protect crops grown outside the garden fence from wild animal. I used to cut legs in mine, but have removed most of the legs (or folded them under) because they poke holes in the fabric landscape mulch cloth and weeds and grass come up wherever a hole is poked. In beds that don't have the landscape fabric mulch, I do still use the legs. Sometimes I use them as an annual trellis to grow vines. Today, I even put a tomato cage over the disturbed soil when Mama Turtle laid her eggs this morning in an effort to keep the dogs, cats, raccoons and other wild things from digging up the eggs. See, there's always a use for excess cages! Dawn