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A month ago I had a gopher show up in my yard. They are harmful creatures that dig tunnels underground and they eat the roots of almost any plant. They are often confused with moles but moles do not eat the roots of your plants. You can tell the difference by the little mounds of dirt that the gophers make when they dig a new tunnel.
I’ve been trying to catch this enemy of my grass and flowers for almost a month and he has been very elusive. Yesterday I was outside putting some ant poison on the new fire ant beds and I also had the hose out washing some of the ant beds from around my flower pots when I discovered a new gopher mound at the side of my house. I decided to put the water hose down into the hole and see what would happen. Some of these gopher holes can be as long as 200 ft. or more. Imagine my surprise when the little varmint peeped his head out of the hole. He was very wet and I just happened to be holding a hoe in my hand. Poor gopher, he didn’t stand a chance. I was happy that I got him. No more gophers eating my grass and flower roots.
Wrong!
This morning when I walked to the mail box there was another new gopher mound in my front yard. I wonder how many of them I have visiting me. Tomorrow I’m going to try the water hose treatment again and I might just happen to be holding onto the hoe handle at the same time again.
This is war!
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I'm armed and ready.
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Comments: 97
My uncle, who was full of jokes, polished up the blade of an axe, and gave it to my Dad for Christmas. My uncle also added a small plaque to the handle that said: "Order of the Axe".
Lee! Lol! :)
Oh look the person who said they were so cute would be interested in adopting them :0)
They use to use those ferret creatures who are natural at such things go into the wholes and kill them, anymore it might be abuse ?? Since of course we can not have pets doing what come natural to them can we??
Keep teaching those things how to swim and when that gets old smoke em out lol!
Maybe Barb will bring some of her Ferrets over.
I could see "my man" out there with gun in hand waiting for them to pop there heads up, or a hammer type tool like those games at the carnivals.
Wonder if he would win a prize? mmmmmm
I'll give him the dead gopher to stuff and mount over the fireplace as a trophy. Poor gopher. It beats being killed by a hoe. LOL
Sounds like you've come up with a great way to handle the problem...I'm also told that Vicks Vapo-Rub (or spirits of camphor, if you can still get it from a pharmacy)will drive them out. No idea how to apply it but I imagine if you heat a couple of quarts of water to the boiling point and add a couple of tablespoons to the pot, the stuff would melt and you could pour some into the mouth of each tunnel.
If you can't get rid of them entirely, thank them for aerating your soil free of charge...or buy some of those guillotine traps that are triggered by movement. Some of the old country store websites would have them...
Go Grandma!
The bubble gum does work. It can't be digested but they like it and it kills them. I have not thought of that in years but remember having a neighbor who used it.
We have trouble with them but my current next door neighbor has two Dachshund dogs that love to dig them out. Only problem there is they dig up the whole yard till they find them. No all our neighbors are mad at the dog owners.
I think I'll try the bubble gum myself.
I had forgotten about this movie, it was and still is very funny.
But then again....granny with a hoe is a great weapon!
I had a war with a gopher in my garden one spring. I won, but only after half a row of peas had disappeared.
I really like your illustration - it says it all!
We get those little ground squirrels in our neighborhood.
They are a pain also. They think they own the place and
we are the intruders!! LOL
Hope you get the rest of the family before too long.....
Gopher it, Lee!!!
Ground hogs give us fits here. They make big holes and tunnels that are dangerous for livestock.
When they dig their holes under outbuildings, small barns & sheds the tunneling underneath causes the floors to lose their solid base & they sag & eventually holes open up.
Our barn has a dirt floor. When signs of tunneling are seen we have to open them up and follow the tunnel anywhere the horses or even we might walk. Their weight will cause them to break thru and break legs. Those tunnels can be almost 6" - 12" deep.
I understand your desire to rid your place of the rodents. They can cause a lot of damage.
Good Luck!
Our dogs are good at disposing of them also.
Even our smaller kitties crawl into the holes and rout them out. Plus the scent of the kitties in the tunnels discourages the ground hogs from coming back.
I don't know if ground hogs and gophers are the same.
I bet that gopher comes from Minnesota.
I better head off to sleep. Have a nice weekend.