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We have lots of squirrels, too, and I don't want to do anything to make them move on as they are fun to watch.
Has anyone tried any of these gopher gadgets and if so, do any of them work?
Burn 'em out: I even found a source that sells a device that pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels. When you begin to smell the propane, an igniter in the device blows the little buggers to smithereens and collapses the tunnels, preventing newcomers from using the same tunnels.
Last summer I watched the neighbor across the creek using one of these contraptions.
I must say, it looked like great fun. Nice booms - enough to shake our house some 200-300 yards away (and over a large/deep creek) - and rising out of the ground in at least a 100 ft radius from where he was operating.
Ihae no idea if the thing worked or not. It definitely looked like a good toy for those of us that never outgrew cherry bombs and M-80's :)
I think it is more likely that they died a horrible death from intestinal bleeding than "just went away".
J.D. see "know your enemy" - gophers do not ingest dirt. My guess is the glass is more of an irritant while burrowing.
As they burrow, they live off the roots hanging inside the tunnels, and occasional live food, insects and grub worms. It's not unusual for flowers and vegetables to literally be pulled underground - I awoke one morning to find one of my baby cantaloupes half eaten and pulled halfway down a hole. You spend weeks and weeks protecting them from frost, watering, weeding, and one morning it's all gone. I feel no pity (even so, I planted a chaser stick in the garden, no troubles there since.)
Speaking of food source, I would think eradicating insects would be a far more difficult task and require toxic sprays, and would be more difficult to manage than the castor oil treatment.
Anyway, traps are in, it was just as I said, noting the position of the crescent I dug down one shovel's depth and here's the runway both left and right. Now we'll see if I'm half as crafty as I think I am . . .
This is not a frugal claim
DOH, apologies, I meant frivolous here. :o
I'd recommend strong ground chilly powder (try the potent ones from India and/or Sri Lanka). It's natural...and pretty wicked stuff if sniffed o_0
I tried that when one of our dogs would dig and throw dirt all over the carpet trying to bury her chewy toys in the potted plants in our dining room. I put cayenne pepper and tabasco all over the chewy toys after she buried them in the plants to discourage her from burying them there, but she didn't seem to mind at all. She still dug them up again, chewed on them and seemed to enjoy the extra seasoning.
Maybe the chili powder would be more effective on the gophers. It is worth a try.
