I've been thinking of ways to gopher-proof my trees before they go in-ground outside of using gopher wire. In my area the ground is so hard the gophers are in the top 12" of soil for the most part. What are your thoughts about just cutting off the bottom of the 5-gal (or larger) pot and planting pot and all instead of using gopher baskets? That way the roots are free to expand downward and the top foot or so (depending on pot depth) is protected from those varmints? Pros? Cons?

I would root prune first to minimize roots already circling the pot, forcing them down.

Sue

Wow!  In digging holes, we have discovered huge tunnels 4' deep, and I understand they can even go deeper.  BUT we don't have clay, so an easy dig...........until you hit a boulder!!  I think cutting the bottom would work fine!  We have voles, so we buy gopher wire by the roll, and circle the trunks with 1' high protection.  Keeps rabbits away too.  You could try placing some gopher wire in the bottom of the hole where you put your bottomless basket.  That would keep any adventurous gophers away from the heart of your trees, giving them time to recover from the root pruning attackers.

Way down on our hill, I've planted Castor seeds, and 5 plants are coming up.  Gophers will die if they try to taste a root of those, but they know better.  The plan is to use a probe around every important tree on this property, find a tunnel, and drop a few seeds for gophers to have for dinner.  I thought of planting spurge around each tree's dripline.  Gophers don't like spurge.  OH also!  drop ammonia soaked rags in the entrances of tunnels.  They will vacate that tunnel, and move.  So if you do that, you gotta keep it up.

Good luck!

Suzi

Not familiar with gophers...but my answer for most mammalian pests is get a dog and a gun (lead pesticide).

I've tried the spurge, didn't work. Dang gopher holes came up right next to them. I'll try the ammonia, thanks. kelby, I'm too close to other homes to fire a gun. No fence for a dog and dont want one. Thinking of a bow though, quieter!

You just saved me a ton of money!  I was ready to buy 10 flats of spurge!!  Just know, the ammonia soaked rag will only make the gopher move to a new tunnel, so you have to cover them all!  Let them move to the neighbors!  LOL!

Suzi

Why don't you want to use gopher wire? I have 4 acres LOADED with gophers, squirrels and voles. Every tree that goes in the ground goes into a Root Guard Gopher Basket. I leave the basket sticking up a few inches. Then, I wrap a three foot roll of poultry netting around that. So, the tree is protected from base of root ball all the way up the trunk. From what I understand, the roots will eventually grow through the basket and the basket will rust away. By then, the root ball will be big enough that the tree can tolerate some grazing at the ends of the roots by gophers, but they are unlikely to take out the whole tree. I haven't lost any trees planted this way to rodents.

The trees that I put straight into the ground (before I discovered these baskets) often tip over and I can see that they have been gnawed off at the base, which I find to be suboptimal.

...however ...if you have clay soil and it is poorly drained, then maybe your idea of partially submerged pot would be a good idea anyway, since that will improve drainage. I would still put gopher wire under it. I once had a large gopher hollow out a giant agave. Little jerk just came straight up from the bottom and then cut himself a little window about a foot up the base. Agave died a couple weeks later :(

Paul,
I'm not against gohper wire outside of the initial expence but they do rot out after a couple years. Even that old of a tree can still be killed by gohers so for me it seems wasted money in the long run. I had a 30 year old tree killed by gophers (it fell over, no roots). Yes, I would put wire at the bottom of the opened pot for a couple years of protection.

Thanks for the info...

Suzi, Yes save your money on the spurge. Even the video at the link Paul provided above mentions it doesn't work (along with chewing gum and laxitives). I'll probably skip the amonia and go for surer means (and I do mean MEAN). ;-)

Hi Svanessa,
IMO, you'll have to go more deeper.
You just had the same idea I had, but I was more sick of my trees getting messed up, that I'm using 80 liters trashcans - 67 cm of height with 20 cm over the dirt, so 50 cm under
the ground - That's a nice hole to dig ! Trust me, I've done 7 already - take a beer with you !
And then my bro, do you know what he told me ... He told me: " Don't you think they'll eat the plastic to make a hole ... and pass through ! "
Ok, I've started that 18 months ago - and for now the plastic is keeping them away; But I'm trapping them to keep them out of the plastic trashcans and out of the garden...
But so far they keep on coming back now and then ! So I keep up fighting them !
I planted jonquils which as castor oil plant are poisonous .

On my bigger ufti, they almost killed one jonquil, but the second is growing and multiplying, and it seems that since then, no rodent is left to keep messing !
As you said, they learned the lesson ... They no longer mess where there are jonquils .
Photos will come when the jonquil are in full blossom . The sight is pretty !

12ga.

The last holes they'll remember are the ones that were planted in them!

The point of the wire basket is to keep out the gophers until the tree gets big enough, not as a permanent gopher prevention. It is still cirtical, essential, mandatory (etc.) to kill any an all gophers that you can. Even if you have a tree that has a 2 to 21/2 in diameter trunk, the gop-her can still kill the tree.

Yes, they can dig way more than 12" deep if the are so inclined, and fig trees WILL incline them. Weigh cost of gopher basket versus replacing the tree. Should be a no-brainer.

Strong language, extreme redneck 'edness, not at all legal in New Jersey but with desirable results... You have been warned http://youtu.be/ux8L7hyIWVE

Is redneck'edness even a word?

Google "gopher blaster" There's a bunch of devices along the same line. You can make one yourself with an oxy-propane or oxy-acetylene torch. Adjust the flame for welding then snuff it out and stick the end down the hole. Use a spark plug for an igniter.

Gopher blaster looks fun. Maybe I can take my wife's oxy-acetylene torch and rig something up. Then again, maybe I'll end up blowing off my fingers for the sake of killing a gopher.

I shoot lots of squirrels with my .22 rifle, but gophers stay underground. I have killed half a dozen or so just by whacking them with a shovel. Often, when I'm working in the field, I will see gopher activity. If I see one popping his head up out of the hole, sometimes I can sneak up on it and whack it. I guess my rifle would work for that too, but it has a scope so not very good for close range. 

Other thing that works are those traps that you embed inside the hole. It takes some work to dig out the tunnel and properly embed the trap, but they work. 

I won't use poisons. Not only would I be worried that the poisons would find their way into my edibles, but may also present a threat to my chickens. However, I have seen smoke bombs for gopher holes. Anybody try those?

I was a big proponent of the gopher blaster type thing until we moved here.  We could get sued by neighbors if we blast a boulder onto their roofs.  Too many boulders and rocks to take that chance.  Going to be gopher wire baskets, and poison.  We don't have chickens or pets, so no worries about castor.  Going to look into that jonquil solution.  I'll see if they like this climate.

Suzi

Conibear trap #110

I've tried the gas bombs but they are not that effecient. The gopher can backfill the hole quickly to block the gas.

I've tried the macabee traps baited with peanut butter on the BACK of the trigger. Dam gopher had to pass over the trap, past the trigger licked the peanut butter off the back of the trigger walk back over the trigger and trap then BACKFILLED dirt over the trap. When I pulled the trap out it was still set...I don't know how he did it but I was in awe. This happened 3 times in two holes before I threw them in the trash.

I've looked at the rodentator (gopher blaster) at $1800 but having to lug around an oxy tank and a propane tank cabled to the rodentator on a hillside seems clumsy but it may be the best option overall. Maybe I can make some money off my neighbors and blow theirs up too? ;-)

There is no vegetation and no gopher activity where I plan to plant. I'm sure the digging and planting will draw their attention at some point. Maybe planting a deep border of jonquils will help keep them out and they are pretty too!

It's not the cost of the gopher basket per se, but how long before it rots out vs the plastic pot with wire at the bottom. I do plan to provide gopher protection, just want to do it effeciently.

There will be activity after you plant. They will find the fig trees.

Jon is right.  Water seems to make them think "dinner."  This is why I use gopher baskets for establishment of all our trees, and a gopher probe and poison is next.  Ammonia in the holes will make them move.  But they will just move over to your other trees, so thus comes poison or traps, and more ammonia.

I wouldn't give my right arm (too valuable) to use that rodenator, but I wish I could use it here.  I called, and you have to sign some liability thing........  PLUS, not cheap.  Poison is cheap! 

Suzi