# Gopher Tunnel Question



## Jawbreaker (Feb 11, 2010)

Any ideas for backfilling gopher tunnels? I can catch the little bastards just fine but keeping them out of my backyard has been a challenge.

I have a field behind my house and they seem to be coming through the same tunnels. I have backfilled as much as possible and ran a stake through the tunnel in several places however the gophers just circumvent the stakes and continues through to the lawn. Should I try leaving the carcasses in the tunnel to discourage their friends? Most advice is appreciated.:thumbsup:


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## hortman (Nov 8, 2010)

Hello, Jawbreaker. Ken here with The Home Depot in the Chicago area.
Some days you just want to become Bill Murray and get out the plastic
explosives. From the slant of your question I’m going to assume that you
don’t want to use poisoned bait or gases. They can be effective, but some
people feel OK about using them and some people don’t.
The only thing I can think of as far as backfilling is concerned is to create a
physical barrier that they can’t dig around. Find some old screen doors at the 
dump or buy some metal screening. Sink it down about 18 inches and make sure
it’s wider than that. Use this at all the entry points that you can find. This will
discourage them to the point where they will hunt for easier pickings.
If that is too much of a project, then try the electronic gopher stakes. Put them
near the entry points. They work best in soil that is not compacted and/or has
a lot of clay in it. Good luck and take care. Here's a link for gopher control. http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/files/27165.pdf


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

Jawbreaker: Where are you located? Do you mean gophers or moles? Here in the northeast we have moles. A new and effective bait for them looks like large earthworms (nightcrawlers). I've seen it at Tractor Supply Stores. Maybe google mole bait, etc. Don't have any experience with it myself, though, but it looks interesting.


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