How To Get Rid Of Pocket Gophers

In the movies, they're the cute and clever ones. In your yard, though, they're the pesky and pestiferous ones. "They" are moles and pocket gophers, burrowing, underground rodents that wreak havoc in the yard. While each has their own modus operandi, the telltale signs and results are the same: tunnels of destruction.

Here's how to tell the difference between a mole and a gopher.

Mole	Pocket Gopher
Food: slugs, grubs, earthworms, insects	Food: plants, roots, stems
Size: 6-8 inches	Size: 6-12 inches
Color: gray, black	Color: black, brown, reddish
Digging behavior: lateral, shallow feeding runways located just below ground	Digging behavior: continual digging and uprooting via a run system
Mounds: volcano shaped	Mounds: crescent shaped

Now try one or all of these ideas to help stop moles and pocket gophers in their tunnel-making tracks.

1. BAIT

The truth is, moles and pocket gophers aren't out to destroy your yard. All they really want is food- your lawn and landscape just happen to be the source of it.

To remove them, simply mimic their natural food source. How? By baiting an active tunnel.

For moles, try Tomcat Mole Killer Grub Formula or Tomcat Mole Killer - Worm Formula. For gophers, try Tomcat Mole & Gopher Bait. A single bait will usually deal with a gopher or mole in about 24 hours.

2. TRAP

Another way to protect lawn and landscape is with a safe, effective, no-spear trap like Tomcat Mole Trap. Be sure to set the trap in an active runway. To identify the active runway, look for a straight tunnel, often around your yard's perimeter.

The best time to trap? Spring and fall when rodents are most active.

3. REPEL

To keep rodents from making their home in your yard in the first place, repel them with their least favorite tonic, castor oil.

Naturally offensive to moles and pocket gophers, castor oil is best applied in early spring, mid-summer and early fall.

But because castor oil alone may get washed away or won't penetrate the soil, try Tomcat Mole & Gopher Repellent with GPT^TM ground-penetrating technology. It improves the ability of castor oil to mix with water so it gets deep into soil to keep rodents at bay.

4. DETER

Finally, to get rid of moles and gophers, create a hostile environment. Really. Simply interrupt their food supply.

This technique works especially well for moles since they prefer soft, damp soil where worms are more active. The easiest way to do inject a little hostility into their lives is to limit your lawn watering. Watering deeply just once a week instead of more frequently should make it a less attractive target for moles.

For gophers, try burying chicken wire or installing underground screening. These barriers can help limit access to plant roots-especially bulbs. One other idea is to create a buffer zone by removing rodent-friendly weedy areas and ground cover.