Gophers and Moles: The Gardener’s Worst EnemiesGophers and moles are two of the most destructive garden pests. They tunnel through turf and chew on lily flowers. They eat full-grown tomatoes and bully me out of my home. It gives me great pleasure to give you advice about how to rid your garden of them. How to Recognize Which Critter Is Doing The DamageFirst, you need to determine which of these animals is doing the damage in the garden, otherwise you will not use the right treatments to rid your garden of the pests.Moles and voles make little tunnels—either above ground or just under the ground, kind of a miniature Oregon-trail through your yard. Gophers in the yard dig bigger burrows and deeper tunnels, usually marked by a larger pile of dirt and a blocked hole at the opening. Gophers and moles damage plants both above ground and belowground. If you see telltale signs of either living in your soil, and you witness the decline of some of your plants, without a lot of above-ground chewing damage, you most likely have a problem with these rodents and they are damaging your plants from underground. More About MolesMoles do not do as much plant damage as gophers, as they eat insects in the soil. Worms and grubs are their favorites. It is the runways they make in the turf that cause the most grief for gardeners and homeowners.If these are your main pest, they might have a large population due to a grub problem in your yard. If you can control the grub population, that will go a long way toward protecting your turf from mole damage. Once the food source goes away, so will they. Gophers Are VegansThese guys are largely vegetarians. They freely eat all parts of the plant in addition to putting holes in the soil.Trapping And Ridding Your Yard Of Gophers And MolesOwl PatrolFirst - before you trap, if you have an owl living in your garden, or can do anything to encourage an owl to live in the garden, they love to eat both of these pests. The Cat Trap Cats are also a great resource for natural pest control. In fact, I’ve heard that Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania includes cats as part of their IPM program. Each cat has its own gardener responsible for it, and the cats receive routine vet checkups. They are quite famous. (Now, I wonder if Longwood needs any Garden Gnomes to greet the guests. . . ) The Fido Factor Some dog breeds are also effective at rodent control. The human that own's the land that I garden bought a Rat Terrier, and the rodent population quickly reduced to zero. The Under Ground Fence You can partially control gopher damage to plants by putting in-ground wire fences around your plant’s roots. Bury the wire hardware cloth fencing 12 to 18 inches below the ground all the way around the plant or the whole garden. It works, but is a lot of work. Gnomes can’t walk through it either. Mechanical Traps If you must trap, the humane thing to do is use a Havahart trap. These traps allow you to trap the animals while they are alive and remove them to another location. You need to check your trap frequently and disinfect it between uses. The most effective mole traps are scissor traps that you place in active mole runways. These traps do kill them. A bit of vigilance and careful study will help you determine which pest is doing the damage in your yard and how to trap it. Happy gardening, Geefrank
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