gophers and moles

am1too · #1 08/14/12, 11:13 PM

Got em both.

What can anyone tell me about their diging habits? Will a mole go deep into hard clay? Or do they just love sand? I have plenty sand about a foot to a foot and a half. I do notice no moles or gophers in the surface clay areas.

I think will plant lots of caster beans this spring.

Paquebot · #2 08/15/12, 12:16 AM

Moles eat only insects and grubs. Insects and grubs are mostly in sodded areas and that's where you'll also find the moles.

Martin

SilverVista · #3 08/15/12, 12:51 AM

What Martin said. Gophers are vegetarians and prefer crops with good roots. I ended up harvesting my potatoes a bit early this year when a gopher discovered the row and ran his tunnel right underneath. On the other hand, moles are carnivores and are most likely to dig where the soil is fertile and loose enough to support lots of worms and larvae. Gophers keep digging in search of new roots, but moles establish a tunnel system and then patrol it daily waiting for the worms and grubs to dig their way into the tunnel.

am1too · #4 08/15/12, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverVista

What Martin said. Gophers are vegetarians and prefer crops with good roots. I ended up harvesting my potatoes a bit early this year when a gopher discovered the row and ran his tunnel right underneath. On the other hand, moles are carnivores and are most likely to dig where the soil is fertile and loose enough to support lots of worms and larvae. Gophers keep digging in search of new roots, but moles establish a tunnel system and then patrol it daily waiting for the worms and grubs to dig their way into the tunnel.

Then a gopher is what cleaned my squash plant off to the above ground plant.

Moles are a good sign then.

ksfarmer · #5 08/15/12, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by am1too

Then a gopher is what cleaned my squash plant off to the above ground plant.

Moles are a good sign then.

Not necessarily. A moles prefered food is earthworms.

Danaus29 · #6 08/15/12, 12:51 PM

I've had moles decide their burrow needs to run right through my garden. IME, castor beans do keep them away.

Voles on the other hand don't seem to be affected by castor beans. But I keep dumping castor beans and bean shells into their tunnels.

Ana Bluebird · #7 08/15/12, 01:08 PM

It's voles I'm told that did in my garden and yard--lifted the plants up so the roots weren't into the ground much. Since I don't want to use poison because of the other animals, I read that flavored chewing gum in the runs would help. Anyone tried that?

Ozarks Tom · #8 08/15/12, 04:02 PM

We had moles until we got our "walk up" cat.

Had a neighbor years ago who tried to get rid of a gopher by pouring gasoline into the hole. They must build dens, or something like that, as he blew a 4' diameter hole in his yard.

julieq · #9 08/15/12, 07:57 PM

We have a huge garden area and eight acres of pasture out back. I've never seen a gopher or mole hole, however our outdoor cats keep bringing their little lifeless bodies back to the house and proudly displaying them!

Since we've been here since last October, I think our cats are now enlarging their territory and cleaning up the neighbor's lawn and garden areas! GOOD KITTIES!

VaFarmer · #10 08/15/12, 09:10 PM

I've had good results with Juicy Fruit gum, find the tunnel take a knife and slice and lift up a piece of dirt, drop the1/4 piece of gum in the tunnel and lay down the dirt clod. do this in many places and in a month walk and compress a bunch of the tunnels and if worked they're won't be an activity of thetunnels being pushed back up. I use the gum instead of poisions, had a real bad problem a couple of yrs ago and there gone now. The gum gives them constipation is what I'veheard, sh-t what a way to go...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ana Bluebird

It's voles I'm told that did in my garden and yard--lifted the plants up so the roots weren't into the ground much. Since I don't want to use poison because of the other animals, I read that flavored chewing gum in the runs would help. Anyone tried that?

Rooster · #11 08/18/12, 08:00 AM

I don't know this for a fact, but I have been told all my life that castor beans are poison to cattle. If you have any animals, you might want to check with someone in your area more knowledgeable or an extension agent about this. I have the same problem with moles and gophers. The only thing I know that works for gophers is a tractor mounted gopher machine, but I have heard it doesn't do any good for moles. I have been cussing them for over 30 years here where I live, and that has done about as much good as anything else I have tried. I just gave up years ago.

wogglebug · #12 08/18/12, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooster

I don't know this for a fact, but I have been told all my life that castor beans are poison to EVERYTHING

Castor oil beans are deadly poisons to everything. They have these shiny little seeds that are poison to whatever eats them - including toddlers. Castor Oil Beans kill KIDS, too. Far better to do without. One or two seeds will kill a kid. Better to do without.

am1too · #13 08/19/12, 11:02 AM

What would you folks think about 1/2 inch hardware cloth enclosures burried in the soil? I have been thinking also about 5 gallon metal buckets with 1/2 inch holes all around it. I think I could cut them in half and uses hardware cloth on the top half to make 2 baskets. Or one could run a basket trough say 4 ft long about 18 inches deep.

Danaus29 · #14 08/19/12, 08:31 PM

I don't have enough money to encase the entire garden in hardware cloth.

Yes castor beans and the plants are poisonous. So much so that a couple seeds can kill a small child. But if you have no small children and no pets or livestock to worry about they are an acceptable deterrent.