The next time you see a wily and deceitful gopher or discover the damage it has caused in your garden and pull your hair in frustration, take heart as this problem is very well curable. Getting rid of these destructive rodents, which are annoying at the same time suddenly, becomes your top priority when you start noticing that the flowers in your front lawn are being infested by these notorious creatures every now and then. The mounds built by gophers are fan shaped and could hardly be seen. They are experts in changing their habitat once they sense that their existence has been detected. There are many animal repellents available in the market, however not all of them have a high success rate. Hence, you could follow the tips mentioned below to drive away the gophers.
– Castor Oil Granules
Although not considered effective if you intend to kill the gophers, castor oil granules are considered to be the ideal, natural way to drive away these moles. Other animal repellents which are loaded with toxic and poisonous chemicals might kill the rodents away but could in turn harm your lawn, as their poison would be equally bad for your plants as well. Castor Oil granules are simply composed of castor oil, soap and corncob granules, which make it completely nature friendly. As the granules start melting, its smell starts repelling the gophers from that specific smelling area, and thereby making them scurry somewhere else, away from your lawn. You could spray water on the granules or if our area gets blessed with rainfall, nothing better than that.
– Drive Away By Gopher Repellent Plants
Gophers scampering around in your garden would probably try feeding on every second plant that exists in your lawn. However, the good news is that there are certain plants which makes these rodents extremely annoying like castor bean plants, euphorbia etc. So, if you are the one who is being pestered by these creatures, get out and get these plants now in your garden. Keeping these plants in pots or vases near your bed or living room or kitchen would also aid in keeping gophers at bay from these areas as their visit is not restricted to the garden area only at times. This is an ideal way of warding off these detrimental rodents, especially if you are the one who dislikes harming animals in any way and believe in peaceful protest.
– Prepare Repellent At Home
Getting gopher repellent prepared at home is an easy, effective and also cost friendly measure to drive away these creatures from your garden. Especially if you are the one who believes in natural remedies and do not wish to subject the vegetation of your garden to damage caused by chemicals then this is an idea tip for you. Take one gallon of water and add a few drops of hot pepper sauce. Spray this solution of the plant leaves and also on all the areas which are susceptible to the rodent attack. Also, if you locate any mounds built by gophers do not ignore them. Treat them with this spray as and when you discover them. This spray is effective usually for 2-3 weeks and you need to keep applying it at regular intervals of 2 weeks and also if your garden has been washed by a heavy rainfall.
– An Answer Lies In Your Kitchen Too
Apart from using other natural animal repellents, one very effective and the simplest way to keep gophers away from your house and garden is to prepare a pungent smelling powder of garlic and red chili. Spray it generously wherever you suspect gophers and also around any gopher tunnels you find. You would notice a drastic change in the environment by adhering to this measure. Also, it involves minimal cost.
– Tame A Gopher Threatening Pet
Well, this is a tip which you would enjoy too if you are an animal lover. Gophers are dead scared of animals like cats and dogs for two reasons. Firstly these animals especially cats are the predators of such rodents and most of the time they hunt moles for their food, Dogs may not feed upon such rodents but they surely attack them and are usually effective in driving gophers away. Secondly these creatures get highly repelled by the urine of these animals. So if gophers experience this kind of smell anywhere in the lawn, it is certain that they are not going to approach that particular area for long. Putting used kitty litter and urine-soaked pieces of cloth is one of the most effective ways to drive them away.
– Professional Aid Always Helps
If you have tried all the measures under the sun, and have still not emerged as victorious in getting rid of gophers, then try hiring a professional. Professional experts are skilled at using just the right measure and chemicals which would ward off moles. They mostly use Aluminum Phosphate which has a tendency to react with the moisture content present in the soil and the atmosphere and forms Phosphine which is a deeply toxic gas. It is normally effective in one spray only and there is no residue which would be left by after the usage of this chemical. The best part is that it is not harmful for other pets of your house as it specifically targets the rodents. However, this option involves quite a lot of cost, so go for it only if your budget allows.
