Preventing the Gopher Population From Becoming an Infestation
The new approach to pest control is known as integrated pest management, and it is all about understanding how pests work and using that knowledge to limit their numbers. Limiting pest numbers using the integrated system means selecting the least toxic means of control possible, in order to minimize the potential harm to organisms other than the pest involved.
Integrated pest management also means recognizing that in many cases, total elimination of the pest in question is just not possible. Even with the incredibly dangerous and toxic campaigns used for the last five decades or so, no pest was ever totally eradicated; part of the secret of being a good pest is to be resistant to a lot of forms of poison control and so on, and to reproduce so quickly that some portion of the population is bound to survive. Pest control today is more about managing a certain number of pests to ensure that they do not get out of control; fortunately small mammals such as gophers are easy to manage in this way, and unlike insects smaller rodents may actually have a local population wiped out or at least forced to go elsewhere with good management. And the key to this management is prevention.
In all cases of pest prevention, the most important factor is denying the pest in question access to the food and shelter options which they prefer. Here are a few thing that you can do in order to prevent gopher numbers from exploding.
* Encourage natural predators. A lot of people don’t like snakes, but they are absolutely lethal when it comes to gophers. There is nowhere that a gopher can hide from a snake, so having a few around means a gopher population that will never get out of hand. Other gopher controllers include birds of prey such as hawks and falcons, and even domesticated animals like cats and dogs will have an impact on local gopher populations.
* Make underground barriers. This can be tricky because you have to dig about a foot and a half down in order for the method to be effective. The idea is that every time you dig a new flower bed or garden, create a barrier which will keep gophers out, even from underground. We tend to think that all burrowers get way under the surface, but in fact gophers don’t dig too deeply. Putting aviary wire and even wine bottles around a newly planted area will keep these underground eaters out.
* Use repulsive scents. There are a few different plants that you can use to keep gophers away, because they seem to hate the smell. In fact any strong smelling plant will do around the borders of your garden, and garlic and onions are particularly effective.
Remember that there is just no way that we will ever get rid of gophers completely. Not only is it impractical, it is also undesirable; they are an important part of the balance of nature even though they may interact badly in civilized surroundings. The key is to minimize their impact on your own existence, and this is best done through prevention!