What to do about gophers

If you live in Carmel, Pebble beach, Big Sur, Pacific Grove or Monterey the odds are you could have gophers eating the roots of your plants. One pesky gopher alone can destroy your entire landscape. Symptoms of gopher damage include wilting leaves, chlorosis, defoliation and ultimately death. Gophers burrow underground creating dirt mounds and holes as they tunnel around your garden eating your landscape plants.

When dealing with any pest problem, an integrated approach is usually the best way to manage the issue. One preventative approach is to use Gopher baskets at the time of planting to protect your investment. This can reduce the chances of gopher damage but unfortunately they can still climb over the basket and reach your plants. The other issue is the wire basket can girdle the roots of your plants as your landscape matures and the roots tangle up with the gopher basket.

Repellents can be another non lethal way to deter gopher herbivory. Peppermint, coffee grinds, cat feces and castor oil have been known to repel gophers. Ultimately detecting the problem early and taking action is the best approach.

Trapping the gopher and removing the pest from your garden is sometimes the only viable option. Professional services are available in the local area if you need this kind of help. The use of resistant plant varieties is another way to keep your landscape safe. Some plants gophers don't select to eat. They don't care much for plants like Rock Rose, Society Garlic, Scented geraniums, Rosemary and Salvias. If you need help planning your landscape and your worried about gophers let us help you.