Noticing someone digging up your garden? Spending their days creating tunnels called “gopher towns,” gophers are active day and night, destroying landscapes and lawns in their path. They are especially attracted to moist, light soil with edible vegetation, meaning our lush gardens! Here are a few of our recommended products to keep these pesky critters out of your garden.
Before you start planting, pick up a few Digger’s Root Guard Heavy Duty Baskets. Available in one, three, five and 15-gallon sizes, the wire baskets are galvanized for increased durability and corrosion resistance. Allowing generous room for root growth and up-sizing, we love how easy these baskets are to plant in.
The one-gallon sizes are made for perennials, berries and vegetables. Use the three-gallon basket for group plantings of annuals, perennials and bulbs; this size is also perfect for your tomatoes, salvias, squash and peppers! Keep your roses, bougainvillea, wisteria and dahlias protected in the five-gallon basket. Providing six to 10 years of protection, the baskets can be removed end of season for reuse next year.
The new roots of a young fruit tree are a gopher’s favorite treat. Digger’s 15-gallon tree basket is created from the same material as their other baskets, but galvanized before weaving, thus allowing the basket to break down in three to five years - just in time for the tree to become established and resistant to gophers. (Most fruit trees are resistant after their third year.)
For plants already in the ground, we recommend Bonide’s MoleMax Granules. Repelling moles, voles, gophers, rabbits and skunks, it’s easy to use and safe around children and pets. Apply directly from the bag; broadcast or use a drop spreader in both live areas and territory that has yet to be invaded. Penetrating deep into the soil, one pound of the clean, dustless and biodegradable granules treats 500 square feet and lasts up to three months. It’s best to start on one side of the yard and work your way over, making it easy to know what parts of your garden still need to be treated.
Questions? We’re here to help. Stop in and let us lend a hand in protecting your garden from gophers' gnawing today!