Moles, gophers, and other tunneling critters

[grow_my_own]

We live in the Sierras and have a serious problem on our property with tunneling critters. I really do not want to put poison into the ground to kill these little buggers, but they're pretty prolific in our yard. We are working on our pre-spring planting chores (our garden area is bigger than our actual house, though our house is really tiny, just a mother-in-law cottage on a back hill of an alpaca ranch). We keep running into these awful critters. Last year, they pulled my tomatoes and peppers from underground.

Like most folks, we don't have the financial ability to dig up our entire garden area (which is pretty much our whole yard... edible landscaping and what-not) and lay down chicken wire beneath the whole thing, though we do have chicken wire under the raised beds to at least keep the critters from there.

I have found many folk remedies as well as "tried and true" ones, none of which have seemed to work. Is there a way to get rid of these guys without putting poison in the soil to kill them?

This is our first year gardening in this region. I lived in Sacramento pretty much all of my adult life and never once had to deal with moles or gophers in my garden before. This is a first for me. While I have not had a garden every year, it has become a staple in our healthy lifestyle (both for the physical activity of gardening, the beneficial effects of being out in the fresh air, as well as the fabulous food that comes from it). I cannot imagine not planting just because of moles and gophers.

I have heard that one eats plants and one is carnivorous and eats bugs, though I cannot remember which is which. I just know I hate 'em and they gotta go!

 

[catjac1975]

We live in the Sierras and have a serious problem on our property with tunneling critters. I really do not want to put poison into the ground to kill these little buggers, but they're pretty prolific in our yard. We are working on our pre-spring planting chores (our garden area is bigger than our actual house, though our house is really tiny, just a mother-in-law cottage on a back hill of an alpaca ranch). We keep running into these awful critters. Last year, they pulled my tomatoes and peppers from underground.

Like most folks, we don't have the financial ability to dig up our entire garden area (which is pretty much our whole yard... edible landscaping and what-not) and lay down chicken wire beneath the whole thing, though we do have chicken wire under the raised beds to at least keep the critters from there.

I have found many folk remedies as well as "tried and true" ones, none of which have seemed to work. Is there a way to get rid of these guys without putting poison in the soil to kill them?

This is our first year gardening in this region. I lived in Sacramento pretty much all of my adult life and never once had to deal with moles or gophers in my garden before. This is a first for me. While I have not had a garden every year, it has become a staple in our healthy lifestyle (both for the physical activity of gardening, the beneficial effects of being out in the fresh air, as well as the fabulous food that comes from it). I cannot imagine not planting just because of moles and gophers.

I have heard that one eats plants and one is carnivorous and eats bugs, though I cannot remember which is which. I just know I hate 'em and they gotta go!

Gophers are very smart and hard to catch. Cats will help with the mole problem. Moles like grubs and that is why they tunnel in your yard. Spread milky spore disease (organic). It is supposed to last 20 years. It will take care of the grubs and the moles should go to the neighbors for lunch.

After battling gophers for 30 years with traps, expensive fencing, and bombs, I have now gone with poison. I just could not take it any more. They would eat all my hard work. I did not do this without remorse for the animals suffering.

 

[thistlebloom]

I feel your pain Grow'. To answer the who eats what question, mole are insectiverous and gophers are herbivores. Like Cat' said, if you can eliminate the grubs moles like you'll cut down on their presence on your property. Unfortunately grubs aren't the only thing moles snack on. They also eat earthworms and other little soil dwelling critters.

I have never had a mole problem so can't address that from experience, other than to say that my mom, who has an enormous mole problem, got relief with the castor oil spray.

Gophers I have dealt with, and they cost us a lot in dead saplings and shrubs, as well as eating the garden.
Forget trying to flood them out, they have an extensive tunnel system that makes that idea ludicrous.
Same with gas bombs and car exhaust etc.

Traps worked well for me ( I used the Macabee ) and I was almost able to hold my own, but the biggest help was getting two kitties that were phenomenal hunters.
They were catching multiple gophers on a daily basis for weeks until the population began dwindling. After a year it was rare indeed to see a gopher mound and those that did venture into the yard were dispatched quickly by the cats.

The wire under the raised beds works well as long as the openings are too small for a gopher to fit through. I used that method with every tree and shrub I planted to replace the ones the gophers killed. I have seen used wire many times on Craigslist, so that might be an option for you to cut own on the expense. Physical deterrents work well, but they don't eliminate the population increase, so a multiple of methods is probably you're best bet.

Here's a link for Macabee traps if you're not familiar with them:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=KTg0T8b5HabfsQLd3MiJAg&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAQ

 

[grow_my_own]

I hate those gophers. They have tunneled up into one of my chicken pens this past week, but they were stupid enough to go into "Freezer Camp" which is where the roosters that are destined for the roasting pan get to live... those big ol', mean Rhode Island red boys pecked that gopher square in the head & he high-tailed it out of there. It was hilarious!

Nonetheless, there is a whole series of new gopher holes in the yard. I fear I am going ot have to put poison in my yard. We really, REALLY wanted to avoid ever putting any kind of poison or chemical at all in our yard, but we really need to try to keep these critters at a minimum.

 

[lesa]

That trap looks interesting. I would try that, for sure, before using poison. I had a groundhog problem last summer. I tried every "old time" remedy I could come up with. In the end, I used traps. I don't like killing things, but I don't like watching my garden being eaten either! Good luck!

 

[grow_my_own]

Thanks, Lesa. It is nice to know that folks are having success with the traps. We do have some "barn kitties" on the property that were adopted to keep vermin under control, and they do well on other parts of the property. We are "ranch assistants" on an alpaca ranch and rent the mother-in-law-style-cottage in the back at the top of the hill. We have a pretty good sized yard, but the barn kitties don't come into our yard because of our dog. The cats do a good job of keeping the gophers under control down on the landlords' part of the property, though... I see them down there catchin' 'em.

(BTW, did you ever find the horehound you were looking for? It grows wild all over our property... I can send you seeds when they go to seed if you want. Be forewarned, it's NASTY tasting but really, really effective!)

Edited for typos.