How to Poison a Gopher
Did you ever want to poison a gopher? If you have gophers in your garden, you know how hard it can be to control them organically. One of the worst moments for a vegetable gardener is watching a tall tomato plant disappear underground. That's a gopher at work, pulling your carefully nurtured plant down to its lair.
In our latest video, about Getting Rid of Gophers, Tricia shows the organic controls for gophers, including creating barriers in your garden and setting traps.
Gopher Poison Can Endanger Children, Pets, and Other Wildlife
The poisons used in gopher bait will also harm other creatures like children, dogs, cats, and wild birds. BE SURE that you place the gopher bait securely underground. If the bait is not placed in the gopher burrow and is somewhere it can be reached by a child or a digging dog, you could have a tragedy on your hands.
Choices in Poisonous Gopher Baits
The active ingredient in Wilco Gopher Bait Type 2 is .005% diphacinone, an anticoagulant. This bait must be consumed by the gopher for 3 to 4 days in a row. Wilco Gopher Bait Zinc has 2% zinc phosphide and is effective when eaten once.
How to Identify a Gopher Hole
Before you place the bait in the burrow, double-check to be sure that the critter is really a gopher! Gardens have a lot of foot traffic from humans, pets, and wildlife -- and the characteristic, above-ground features of a gopher burrow can be rearranged, making it harder to identify the animal that lives there.
You have probably read that the gopher hole is at the corner of a horseshoe-shaped pile of dirt. In rocky or clay soil, you may not see the shape of the dirt pile, but you will still see the plug that the gopher leaves to block the entrance to its burrow.
Alternative Gopher Control Methods
If poisoning is not an option for you, there are many other methods available. Consider using gopher traps, repellents, and control solutions to manage gopher populations without introducing toxins into your environment.
If you have to poison a gopher, be cautious and ensure that is the only animal that will be affected in your garden.