In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Controlling pests of bamboo

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ghmerrill
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In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

ok, so I rant and rave about gophers once in a while.......

any wonder why?

this was a 5 gal Yushania ancepts Pitt White I got from Fred this spring.
its not 5 gal any more
the red thing is a normal lighter, for size comparison

Image

they even like Pleoblastus humilis....

this is another plant I planted this spring

Image

i dont like gophers......
bambookid524
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by bambookid524 »

Wow, thats horrible.
And i though the squirrels were bad, just tearing up a fews shoots here and there. That problem was easily solved though, only costing me about $100 (for a highpower pellet gun) :lol:

But man, i have never seen anything like that.
How do you plan on killing :twisted: ...

errrr... i mean controlling them?

Im thankful i dont have problems around here with them. I dont even know if they exist in my neck of the woods.

...but with my luck, theres one poking his head out right now about to take a nice big bite outta one of my plants. :wink:


Good luck with them!
ghmerrill
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

I have tried gopher gas bombs, 3 different types of gopher poison bait, car exhaust fumes, drowning by running the garden hose down the hole, two types of gopher traps, granulated castor stuff, liquid castor oil......

the next on the list is dehydrated carrot.... I bought some liquid tomcat brand mouse poison, you mix it with water and soak grain in it to make rodent killer. im going to use dehydrated carrot, maybe some dehydrated apple, and see if the gophers will take that as bait.
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by Flashburn »

here is what I do. and I got all mine dead in a heavy area.

poison with a good poison and a metal rod to get into their tunnels to bait.


That kills the small ones. Then buy the large cinch traps . Cause if you dont the trap wont get the gophers if they are big boys. they will just pop the trap and leave you scratching your head. AND the best advice for setting the trap is put some grass over the exposed area of the hole the trap is in. enough to just let some light in. They focus on the hole of air and light and ignore the trap. Boom dead gopher by morning.

By cinch trap i me the ones with a plate and 2 wire clamps with a C bent in the ends. also make sure the trap has clearance to close.
Alan_L
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by Alan_L »

Yikes. Sure am glad we don't have gophers here.

A general word of caution about poisons: some of them are pretty dangerous to humans, and most are bad for the innocent bamboo-friendly wildlife too. Plus, some of them stay around for quite a while too.

That's why I stopped using Mole poison. Don't want to be digging around bare-handed in an area that I forgot I put poison in last year or the year before.

I'm not saying all poisons are bad and that you shouldn't use them because clearly there are cases where nothing else will work -- I'm just saying *be careful*.
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

I have not found a poison type that they will eat. I have tried the poisoned peanuts, the poisoned pellets, and the other type I found looked like a variety of seeds and grains and corn poisoned with something, and none of those worked. I tried the cinch type traps, as well as the one that has the metal spikes coming out of a plate, you are supposed to put it over an hill, and as the gopher pushes the mound up, it flips the trigger, driving the spikes down into the soil and hopefully the gopher- no luck with either.
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needmore
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by needmore »

Have you tried castor oil? It really seems to have helped with my moles & voles, but I don't know about gophers. I would prefer to find the dried castor granules but have not yet been able to source them.

FoxD gave me a plant I think is called gopher bane, and I've used it in hopes of vole deterrence but it does not seem to help. Perhaps there is a plant or the castor will drive them out of your yard? If you find a dead critter I'd also try burying it in their burrow, as they probably don't like stinky things.
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mantis
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Re: RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by mantis »

needmore wrote:If you find a dead critter I'd also try burying it in their burrow, as they probably don't like stinky things.

Put it's head on a stake as a warning to all other gophers.
ghmerrill
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

"put it on a stake"

that at least should keep the neighbors away! :lol:

castor has very little effect on them. possibly for a week or two after I put it in an area, but then, nada. It may be that as I put in on year after year, the levels in the soil will build up, and it will be more effective.

I got some castor beans, and am planning on planting them in a few places this spring, just not sure if they will work to keep the gophers out. I know the seeds are supposed to be poisonus, but not sure if the roots down in the soil are toxic, and if that will keep the gophers from burrowing through an area or not, but Im going to find out! gopher bombs seem to be the most effective, I can chalk up one confirmed kill from using those......
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Re: RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by foxd »

ghmerrill wrote:"put it on a stake"

that at least should keep the neighbors away! :lol:

castor has very little effect on them. possibly for a week or two after I put it in an area, but then, nada. It may be that as I put in on year after year, the levels in the soil will build up, and it will be more effective.

I got some castor beans, and am planning on planting them in a few places this spring, just not sure if they will work to keep the gophers out. I know the seeds are supposed to be poisonus, but not sure if the roots down in the soil are toxic, and if that will keep the gophers from burrowing through an area or not, but Im going to find out! gopher bombs seem to be the most effective, I can chalk up one confirmed kill from using those......
I think all parts of the plant are poisonous. I plant Castors and Daturas to discourage deer, though with the Daturas there is always the danger of deranged hallucinating deer rampaging through the neighborhood.
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ghmerrill
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Re: RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

foxd wrote:though with the Daturas there is always the danger of deranged hallucinating deer rampaging through the neighborhood.
if word got out around here that they were halucagenic, I may have a problem with things other than deer eating them!

maybe with the castor, since its all supposed to be toxic, the roots in the soil keep the gophers from tunneling around. have to see how that works this spring. either that or plant some daturas, and use that to forget the whole mess........
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by needmore »

Been growing the castor plants for several years hoping they would impart something into the soil to repel the moles and voles - no luck, but for me the oil spray does seem to work.
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Alan_L
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by Alan_L »

I've had a mole burrow right under a young (still only 3' tall) castor bean plant -- saw it rocking in that tell-tale way.

I grew one in the same exact spot for the previous 2 years too.

So I also haven't seen the plants do any good. If anybody wants any seeds though, PM me and I'll send you as many as you want. I've thought about grinding them up and sprinkling where needed, but I haven't yet gotten a grinder, and can easily spare some seeds.
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by marcat »

The use of the castor bean plant for Gopher control is to put the Beans in the tunnels . Very effective. Yes it is toxic EXTREMLey toxic. Down side.... If you have young children do not grow castor beans....ONE bean will kill a child. REPEAT ONE BEAN INGESTED BY A CHILD CAN KILL. Also be carefull if you do not have kids and use castor beans that your pets may eat gophers that have eaten a castor bean.
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ghmerrill
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RE: In a caddyshack-esque series of events.....

Post by ghmerrill »

so are the gophers supposed to eat the beans? they are pretty hard once dried, so do you use only the fresh ones? Im very curious about it. I definitely would prefer a non poison route, but at this point I think I need to bring the population under conrol, then work on diversionary tactics!
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