5 Quick Fixes to Protect Your Yard from Gophers – Do Them Now for a Flourishing Spring Garden

Gophers are a huge problem for gardeners in much of the US, destroying plants from Minnesota (nicknamed the 'Gopher State') to California, and even Florida. Any yard where the soil conditions suit their tunnelling tastes or is brimming with food sources is likely to attract these destructive creatures.

In fact, there are several mistakes attracting gophers to your yard you may be unknowingly making. From leaving entry points open, to not protecting your most vulnerable plants, and even overwatering your yard, there are numerous things that make a garden more appealing to them. Identifying these problem points is the first step to getting rid of gophers.

To help you out, I take a closer look at the top five reasons you might be under attack from these hungry critters, so you can stop gophers eating your prized plants and keep their numbers down using natural pest control methods – including using these peppermint oil rodent repellents on Amazon.

1. You’re Giving Gophers Free Entry to Your Backyard

In states like Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, gophers appreciate the flat, open terrain that makes burrowing and foraging easy. And they make no distinction between open country and private backyard.

So, if your yard is open, they’ll come right in and dig their tunnel networks. These are where they hunker down for shelter and protection, and where they stash often huge hoards of food.

For this reason, one of the best things you can do is install barriers under the ground (gophers can burrow 3ft deep). You could also install deep garden fencing, blocking gophers from getting in.

Important, too, is the material and mesh size of your chosen barrier. The most durable barriers are made of stainless steel (like this wire mesh from Amazon), while a mesh size of 3/4" will keep even young gophers out and allow plant roots, worms and water to move freely.

2. You’re Leaving Plants Unprotected

If you suspect gophers are to blame for failing plants, the tell-tale signs will be there in the form of piles of loose soil at the entrances to their tunnels.

But, you’re not necessarily nothing wrong, says Nicole Carpenter, President at Black Pest Prevention: ‘Gophers may want to explore any yard, even if there's nothing super attractive – that's because almost any yard has grass roots, plant roots, and areas with soft soil that they love.’

Because gophers are underground dwellers, preventative measures such as surface repellents or noise stakes won’t help.

However, what can work, says Nicole, are underground barriers: ‘You can either install gopher wire baskets (like these from Walmart) around specific plants you want to protect or put in gopher wire around garden beds or lawn — the key is to bury it 22-24" deep.’

Of course baskets are much simpler to install around new plants, but there’s no reason why you can’t dig up existing plants and kit them out with gopher-proof baskets before replanting.

To avoid shocking your plants, make sure you dig them out with plenty of soil around the root ball, ideally during late autumn or winter in their season of dormancy.

The fibrous root system will eventually make its way outside of the basket, but the main roots of your plants will remain protected inside.

Shop for gopher baskets at Amazon – they come in a huge range of sizes, starting at 1 gallon.

Nicole Carpenter

Nicole started working at Black Pest Prevention when she was in high school, and continued working there while attending N.C. State University. Eventually, she became the CEO. Black Pest Prevention is a company that helps with pest control in Charlotte and serves both North and South Carolina.

3. You’re Growing Gophers’ Favourite Snacks

Gophers love all kinds of different plants, from grass roots to bulb and flowers, but some of their go-to meals include tubers and root vegetables, as both are energy dense and easily available – they don’t even have to come out from underground.

So, if you’re planning a kitchen garden, do factor in gopher protection to keep all your hard-won harvests from ending up in a gopher larder underground.

Laying gopher wire below any new veg beds 2-3ft deep should stop these furry fiends gaining entry from below, while a firmly secured protective cage above ground will keep them from nibbling at anything else.

'To protect raised garden beds from gophers, you can use gopher wire or hardware cloth, but install it horizontally under the bed to make it work as a protective floor,' says Nicole.

'It's crucial to bend the wire up along the inside edges of the bed by about 2-4". This creates a small lip that blocks gophers from squeezing in through the corners where the bottom meets the sides. Don't use plastic garden mesh or chicken wire because gophers can chew through it,' she adds.

Shop for gopher wire at Ace Hardware.

4. You’re Overwatering Your Backyard

As well as appreciating a reliable source of easy-access and nutritious food, gophers love to burrow and are attracted to backyards that have plenty of soft, easy-to-dig soil. It’s not that they like wet soil in particular, but loose, damp soil often makes it easier to tunnel through.

‘Mulched garden beds and raised beds are perfect spots for gophers because they mean moist and soft soil that's easy to dig in,’ says Nicole.

‘In areas with gopher activity, it's crucial to avoid overwatering as overwatered garden beds and lawns with constant irrigation are major attractants,' she explains.

Of course plants need water, but perhaps you could afford to cut back on lawn irrigation. Grass is a tough plant and the majority of lawns will easily survive a dry spell and spring back into life after the next spell of rain.

If you're putting in a lawn, consider a drought-tolerant grass species to help combat any gopher issues. When it comes to beds and borders, choose drought-resistant planting here too and look for ways to reduce watering, including directing water right at the base of your plants, during their first growing season only, in order to get those roots deeply established where they can then find their own water source.

You can also use an irrigation system on a timer (like this kit from Amazon) to prevent excessive watering.

Mulching your backyard can also encourage gophers for the same reasons. If you’re relying heavily on mulch to retain the moisture in your soil, then you’re contributing to that easy-dig earth that gophers love.

Again, try direct, targeted watering instead and cut back on the mulching.

5. You’re Growing the Wrong Ornamental Plants

If you’d rather tackle the problem of gophers in your yard by adjusting your planting, then there’s plenty that can be learned.

Although on the whole gophers don’t seem to be particularly choosy when it comes to plant material, it does seem that there are some species that they rarely, or never, touch.

The first of these is euphorbias, a large group of plants that contain toxic milky white sap. These include varieties such as Euphorbia characias (hardiness zones 6-10), with its vibrant lime-green spring flowers and handsome grey-green foliage – you can purchase Euphorbia characias starter plants on Amazon.

Then there are the cactus-like euphorbias such as crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii – hardiness zones 9-11) and candelabra cactus (Euphorbia ingens – zones 10-11), which are happiest in dry, desert-like conditions.

Lavender (US hardiness zones 5-9) and rosemary (zones 8-11) are also plants that gophers take little or no interest in, while members of the garlic family such as Tulbaghia violacea (society garlic) and pelargoniums seem to survive where gophers are active.

Shop rosemary at Perfect Plants Nursery and lavender starter plants at Walmart.

FAQs

Can You Use Peppermint Spray to Deter Gophers?

Yes, peppermint spray (like this from Amazon) can be used around the yard, vulnerable plants, and entry points to discourage gopher presence in your garden. You can also apply it directly to any tunnels you find.

Now you know the mistakes attracting gophers to your yard, you can turn your attention to preventative measures. Combining a range of the solutions above will provide stronger protection. Many of the ideas in our guide to keeping rats away from the yard will also work for gophers.

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