If gophers destroyed your lawn last spring, you want to avoid a repeat this year. It's time to get started on the control tactics. Once gophers start digging holes, it won't be long until they've wreaked havoc on your entire yard. Unfortunately, gophers don't just dig holes. They also dig a system of underground tunnels, which allow them to destroy more of your yard. To get rid of them, you need to take quick action. Here are four steps you can use to get rid of gophers before they destroy your yard.
Change Your Landscaping
If you struggle to control the gopher population in your yard, change to your landscaping. If your yard is saturated with plants that gophers love, they'll return year after year. To get them out of your yard, incorporate a few plants that gophers try to avoid. Some of those plants include narcissus, castor bean, and euphorbia lathyris. These plants have an unpleasant taste that repels moles. For the best effect, scatter the placement of these plants around your yard.
Add Some Unpleasant Odors
If you're tired of dealing with moles every year, add some unpleasant odors around the yard. Gophers have poor eyesight, which means they rely on touch and scent to make their way around your yard. Because of that, gophers are touchy about odors. As soon as you see the first gopher hole pop up in your yard, go heavy on the unpleasant odors. Place things like coffee grounds, dead fish, and pet waste inside all the gopher holes you find in your yard. The foul odors send the gophers running.
Turn the Volume Up
If gophers have taken up residency in your yard, turn up the volume. Gophers have poor hearing. Too much sound makes things uncomfortable for them. One way to keep gophers out of your yard is to introduce plenty of sound to your gardens. Wind chimes are a simple way to add sound to your gardens. But, if you have a significant problem with gophers, place a portable radio near the entrance of the holes. If you have multiple holes, use more than one radio.
Hire a Professional
If you have a gopher problem, and none of your home remedies have worked, bring in the professionals. Pest control companies have a variety of effective methods for removing gophers from your yard. One of those methods is the gopher trap. Once the gophers are trapped, they're removed from your yard.
Can you sit down and make a list of critters you don't like? Chances are, most of the critters on your list will be household pests. You might list cockroaches, ants, spiders, mice, and rats. Maybe you also mention termites, which are not very creepy, but can absolutely destroy your home. Coming into contact with any of these critters can be disheartening, but pest control companies are there to help. Learn more about this industry and how pest control professionals work right here on this website. We know spiders and ants can be creepy, and we want to give you the information necessary to keep them away.