Gophers: Who Is Pulling My Carrots Underground?
Plants disappearing underground? It's a Gopher. Learn to tell the difference between fan-shaped Gopher mounds and round Mole mounds.
You are watching your garden. Suddenly, a carrot wiggles, shakes, and then vwoop—it disappears into the earth like a cartoon.
That is a Pocket Gopher.
Unlike Moles (who eat worms), Gophers are strict vegetarians. They eat roots. They will kill your rose bushes, your fruit trees, and your vegetable garden by eating the root ball from below.
The Mound Test
How do you know it's not a mole? * Mole Mound: Perfectly round, like a volcano. The hole is in the center (plugged). * Gopher Mound: Crescent-shaped or fan-shaped. The hole is off to the side and plugged with a dirt cork.
The Wire Mesh Solution
Trapping gophers is hard. Poison is dangerous for dogs.
The only 100% way to protect a vegetable garden is exclusion.
When you build a raised bed, staple "hardware cloth" (metal mesh) to the bottom before you add soil. Gophers can't chew through steel. If you are planting a tree, use a "gopher basket" (a wire cage for the root ball). It's a pain, but it's the only way to save the tree.