Cuz I have 1 or more and it/they ate my
new, beautiful Gaillardia "Fanfare".
The pic shows what's left of it--NOTHING!!
It's not the 1st plant that's disappeared, but
the Gaillardia was "The Straw That Broke
the Camel's Back" !!
I'm not a violent person, but I REALLY,
REALLY want to get rid of them.
The cat killed 1, but there is at least 1 more.
Help!!
I have no experience but suggest you do a "search forum" located top right side of screen. The only reason I'm referring you there is because you haven't had a reply.
Judy
Thanks Judy.
I'll give it a try.
Well, I think anything up to and including dhs or dws can be garden pest if they eat what they aren't supposed to.
Gophers, racoons, rats, mice, moles, squrirells and even prarie dogs are by nature garden pest. Good luck getting shed of them. The cat is a good start. Sidney
Blast em. (I hear they are good when BBQ'd.)
My Pastor suggested smoke bombs.
My DH said flares.
Anyone have any experience with these?
KE6KAD....here is a good bit of info on gophers. Very interesting reading and quite a few choices/avenues to try/take. Hope this is helpful to you.
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page731.html
Here is a website that lists many different ways to eliminate them: http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/gopher/gophercontrol.html
Sorry shoe....I thought of suggesting how kids used to eliminate them on the prairies but decided to search instead. Didn't think to check again to see if anyone else had posted.
hehe...heck, Lilypon! I'd love to hear the "kid's technique"! (I bet I might be familiar with it!) (Great fun!)
Hope you're doing okay ....surely must be cold as cubes up your way this time of year! Stay warm. Put shoes on if ya have to! ;>)
Actually shoe I wore my sandals 2 days ago.....temps were +11C and I had a bowl of ice cream while we wondered down Main Street. :) Miracles do sometimes occur! ;)
Thank-you Horseshoe.
I went to the site-very informative.
However, I'm wondering if a gopher is the
culprit as there are NO dead plants. The
plants just disappear.
Any ideas?
Oh, yes, We also have a cat, so we need to
take that into consideration. The site said
nothing about what to do if you have pets.
If it is a gopher find it's hole and pour water down it....have a snare ready and a strong stomach.
Lilypon..ate ice cream walking down the street!! Wowzers! Thought ya'll would be huddled near the fireplace!
KE6KAD...I just figgered when you said your cat got one that you had actually seen that it was a gopher. I can't really tell from your pic what kind of damage there is but it looks like holes have been dug. Disappearing plants could be the result of deer, rabbits, groundhogs. If no heavy footprints that should rule out deer. Rabbits tend to bite off leaves and nibble stalks but usually leave the rest behind. Groundhogs will devour all they can.
I'd have to start with looking for tracks of any kind.
Horseshoe:
No deer here.
No tracks either as far as I can tell.
Just no plants!!
The cat got one (I'm sure it was a Gopher),
in the summer, that's why I assumed it was
a gopher, but the site described dead and/or
half eaten plants. As you can see, all I have
is a slight depression were that plant was.
This pic shows where 2 Cannas once were.
I don't think we have Rabbits or Groundhogs
here. Other than Gophers, we have an occasional
Opposum, or Raccoon. I haven't seen any, but the
neighbors have seen Coyotes. Don't think anything
except the Gopher can be the culprit, but unless I
misunderstood the site; it doesn't seem to be their
M.O.
As you can see, there's just a slight
depression.
I dug around a little to see if there
was a tunnel under there, but didn't
find 1. Maybe I didn't dig far enough
down or around.
I tied the other Cana to a metal stake and
put rocks around it. It's still there. I don't
know if that did anything or It just hasn't
been back to eat it, yet!!
This summer we had holes in the lawn,
but now there are no holes, or mounds.
It's a mystery!!
Zowie! So the whole plant disappeared, even the roots?
I know squirrels sure love to eat bulbs and such...don't know if they go after canna bulbs or not. I'm at a loss for guesses at this point but will keep thinking about it. Sorry!
Horseshoe:
Thanks.
Everyone--Please keep your Thinking Caps
on. Maybe one of you will come up with
some ideas.
I'm going to try a perimeter of Daffodils
(their bulbs are poisonous) and onions.
I have watched as an entire pea plant disappeared underground. That was definitely a gopher. He had come up under the roots and just pulled it in.
I used water. But the soil was rather sandy and the water would disappear for hours. I dub great trenches around his network of tunnels and poured the water on for days.
Then I heard voices across the fence my neighbor, a widow, had a couple of firemen over. They were quite sure that it was fresh water but had no idea where it was coming from. This gopher could dig faster than the water.
Hehehe...how funny! Didja ever go over and tell them where the water was coming from!? Or just leave them completely baffled? *grin
I leaned over the fence and said, "so that is where my water went. I'm trying to drown a gopher."
The firemen turned and left without saying another word.
hah! That's hilarious!
Has the neighbor lady spoke to you since!?
Oh she had no problem with the water. She thought that it was a good joke on the fireman who had been inventing improbable sources for the water when they would have seen what was happening if they had looked over the fence.
Hah! Well...seems like you had your own little chapter of Caddy Shack in your back yard. Loved it! Thanks!
My DH tried the water in the tunnels,
thing last summer when there were
tunnels to see. Didn't help.
Then he tried the mothball, thing. He
got tired of crunching them up, so
he just threw several whole ones in
the hole. Next morning, there they
were. The gopher had cleaned
house so to speak and the mothballs
were laying just outside the hole!!
Freddie was a kitten last summer
& she killed 1, but just 1. (sigh).
