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Lets start a "what Gophers eat" list.


BS Man about Palms

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Please tell me which palms of yours that YOU KNOW were eaten by a gopher.

I don't want to dig up ALL my unprotected palms, just the more likely to be eaten ones..

I'll start.

Bismarkia Nobilis

Dypsis slick willie/bef

Ravenea krociana

Any Ravenea rivularis downed by these mothers?

  • Upvote 1

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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They devour Phoenix roebelenii. I've seen my client's mature tall trunked ones suddenly come crashing down. Surprisingly some of them survived the attack with as few as one remaining root.

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Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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They ate my little grove of Chamaedorea stolonifera, 6 or 8 mature stems. Once I observed a stem being pulled straight downward into the ground, just like a television cartoon. :angry:

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San Francisco, California

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I have no experience with gophers, but as I was keen to read a bit about them, I also found this snippet on the Internet. Maybe one solution is to think about what they don't eat..

Has anyone tried this? It may only move them into your neighbours yard, so best tell them too!

"Some years ago, I discovered, by accident, that broken glass is a serious deterant to gophers and moles. In the yard of a 100-year-old home, I planted a garden in an area untouched yet surrounded by gopher activity. The one difference between this and the surrouding soil was the presence of an occational piece of broken glass. As it turns out, it was an the old household dump site where garbage was buried before the days of garbage service or municipal dumps. Subsequently, I have placed crushed glass under root balls upon planting and forced glass down gopher holes in lawns with great success."

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They ate my little grove of Chamaedorea stolonifera, 6 or 8 mature stems. Once I observed a stem being pulled straight downward into the ground, just like a television cartoon. :angry:

Saw the same once, only with a hosta and a vole.

Tom

Bowie, Maryland, USA - USDA z7a
hardiestpalms.com

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I have no experience with gophers, but as I was keen to read a bit about them, I also found this snippet on the Internet. Maybe one solution is to think about what they don't eat..

Has anyone tried this? It may only move them into your neighbours yard, so best tell them too!

"Some years ago, I discovered, by accident, that broken glass is a serious deterant to gophers and moles. In the yard of a 100-year-old home, I planted a garden in an area untouched yet surrounded by gopher activity. The one difference between this and the surrouding soil was the presence of an occational piece of broken glass. As it turns out, it was an the old household dump site where garbage was buried before the days of garbage service or municipal dumps. Subsequently, I have placed crushed glass under root balls upon planting and forced glass down gopher holes in lawns with great success."

post-1261-1208739184.gif

Coral Gables, FL 8 miles North of Fairchild USDA Zone 10B

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I have no experience with gophers, but as I was keen to read a bit about them, I also found this snippet on the Internet. Maybe one solution is to think about what they don't eat..

Has anyone tried this? It may only move them into your neighbours yard, so best tell them too!

"Some years ago, I discovered, by accident, that broken glass is a serious deterant to gophers and moles. In the yard of a 100-year-old home, I planted a garden in an area untouched yet surrounded by gopher activity. The one difference between this and the surrouding soil was the presence of an occational piece of broken glass. As it turns out, it was an the old household dump site where garbage was buried before the days of garbage service or municipal dumps. Subsequently, I have placed crushed glass under root balls upon planting and forced glass down gopher holes in lawns with great success."

post-1261-1208739184.gif

post-1261-1208739184.gif

test

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A little fox tail palm and pull into the soil and the trunk was completely gone, only the leafs were intack and standing up to fool me. Bad...critter!

What's the best way to get rid of them? There's cat here, but only help a bit. Pioson or chemical repellant? Insecticide in the soil help, but don't know for how long.

They don't like cycad.

-David

Edited by Madchemis
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Your concept here is flawed. Gophers eat everthing, trust me on that. The palms you listed may be there favorites, but I have lost just about every type of palm around to gophers.

Gary

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Rock Ridge Ranch

South Escondido

5 miles ENE Rancho Bernardo

33.06N 117W, Elevation 971 Feet

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I just had a Bismarkia nobilis and Phoenix Humilis that got butchered by a gopher :( Seems like all my others have been left alone for now.

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Chad

Growing my palms in the Murrieta, CA where it is 110*F in the summer and 27*F in the winter.

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My back yard is on the edge of a green belt with lots of gophers. In the past I planted at least 25 species of palms, ten years later the only palm left among the cycads and euphorbias is Nanahrops Ritchiana. My front yard is surrounded by concrete but they still get in. I plant everything in gopher cages. Recently my almost trunking double Dypsis Decipiens must have grown through the cage and they ate one head of that.

Tom

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BS man's garden!drool.gif

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John Case

Brentwood CA

Owner and curator of Hana Keu Garden

USDA Zone 9b more or less, Sunset Zone 14 in winter 9 in summer

"Its always exciting the first time you save the world. Its a real thrill!"

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They devour Phoenix roebelenii. I've seen my client's mature tall trunked ones suddenly come crashing down. Surprisingly some of them survived the attack with as few as one remaining root.

I wish some gophers would eat my Phoenix roebelenii... :rolleyes:

  • Upvote 1

Kim Cyr

Between the beach and the bays, Point Loma, San Diego, California USA
and on a 300 year-old lava flow, Pahoa, Hawaii, 1/4 mile from the 2018 flow
All characters  in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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They do love Bismarkia.

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Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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They'll eat pretty much everything Bill.

What they won't eat:

Cycads

Euphorbia

Has anyone had them eat an Agave? Agave americana seem to have an irritant in them when I cut them down.

Has anyone had them eat an Arenga engleri or Caryota? I'm wondering if Calcium oxalate exists in the roots to deter gophers.

  • Upvote 1

Matt Bradford

"Manambe Lavaka"

Spring Valley, CA (8.5 miles inland from San Diego Bay)

10B on the hill (635 ft. elevation)

9B in the canyon (520 ft. elevation)

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Hmm.

According to Dr. Darian, the gophers really really love Ceroxylons.

TO the point where they went out of their way to get to them and eat them.

That said, I'm with Gary: except for flat-out poisonous plants, gophers will eat nearly any plant, including palms.

Let's keep our forum fun and friendly.

Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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They'll eat pretty much everything Bill.

What they won't eat:

Cycads

Euphorbia

Has anyone had them eat an Agave? Agave americana seem to have an irritant in them when I cut them down.

Has anyone had them eat an Arenga engleri or Caryota? I'm wondering if Calcium oxalate exists in the roots to deter gophers.

My Agave sisilana is still leaning from having all roots chewed off by a gopher or squirrel. Thankfully, they grow out of without a hitch and it's fully rooted back in.

  • Upvote 1

Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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I kill the little bastards with a "cinch trap"

gets them every time

locate the hole

open up the hole at night with a soil knife

let the cool air drift down the hole

they hate cool air and will investigate within minutes

they trip the trap and are strangled

the whole process is over in 5 minutes.

no other method or trap works this well

(ask any pro - google it)

4113560340_836e3d3e79_b.jpg

cinch.jpg

Edited by trioderob
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i hear they especially like copernicia fallensis.

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the "prince of snarkness."

 

still "warning-free."

 

san diego,california,left coast.

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i hear they especially like copernicia fallensis.

one thing thats funny (or not so funny about that )

is the roots on those things ! man do they have huge root system.

anyway I am ready for those little bastards and there is a wild cat that is a

master hunter on my property. he is totally wild and on a number of occasions

I have seen him jump and pull low flying birds out of the air.

he loves gophers

:lol:

Edited by trioderob
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I read that gophers stand guard at the entrance to their tunnels and whistle to alert the other gophers when danger is approaching. Is that true?

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Must be hard to whistle with those teeth.

post-126-12820662438481_thumb.jpg

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Matt Bradford

"Manambe Lavaka"

Spring Valley, CA (8.5 miles inland from San Diego Bay)

10B on the hill (635 ft. elevation)

9B in the canyon (520 ft. elevation)

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Thank you. I'll be here all...uh forever.

  • Upvote 1

Matt Bradford

"Manambe Lavaka"

Spring Valley, CA (8.5 miles inland from San Diego Bay)

10B on the hill (635 ft. elevation)

9B in the canyon (520 ft. elevation)

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I see several posts on here about them not eating cycads, but they took out a small Encephelartos I had a couple years back. My yard is both large and varied, and I've found that they do their most damage around where there is grass and/or weeds. Most of them are around the perimeter of my lot (which has weeds that grow in the neighbors yards) and also around my lawn. There are large areas of my yard, however, that have never had a single gopher mound - in those areas I have proteas, cacti, and lava rock over the soil. Perhaps the dry ground and/or the lava rock above ground is a deterrent?

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Resident of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, San Diego, CA and Pahoa, HI.  Former garden in Vista, CA.  Garden Photos

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The business about the broken glass sounds promising since most commercially available gopher/rodent baits contain anti-coagulant (vitamin K as antidote); I guess strychnine and arsenic are too dangerous

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I get by with a little help from my fronds

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I use the gopher bait with Strychnine. It's awesome. You can get it at Grangettos.

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Resident of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, San Diego, CA and Pahoa, HI.  Former garden in Vista, CA.  Garden Photos

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No, then just I'LL be out of my garden. Gophers will still be IN IT.

:rolleyes:

  • Upvote 1

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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I use the gopher bait with Strychnine. It's awesome. You can get it at Grangettos.

Same stuff I use. The usual box store product takes a lot to kill them, but with the Strychnine, one piece and they are dead. It's the only way to go. Make sure the active ingredient is Strychnine, as Wilco also sells a product at the box stores in a similar container that has Diphacionon as the active ingredient, which is far less effective

Here's the product,

post-1261-12820915945316_thumb.jpg

Here's the applicator, very easy to use, push it in the ground, give the small handle a crank or two, then pull it out and you're done.

post-1261-12820915983787_thumb.jpg

  • Upvote 1

Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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Funny you bring this up since I was lighting gopher bombs yesterday. I was told putting bubble gum down the gopher hole kills them when the eat it.

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LA | NY | OC

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one benefit of the Strychnine is that let say you dont like the neighbors dog,

when he eats the dead gopher, no more barking in the morning !

same goes for Aunt Marys pesky cat

:lol:

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This is one side effect I worry about with the poison, but I've never seen a gopher on the surface holding onto his throat, gasping in it's final throws, so I assume they die sub-surface.

I did kill a gopher a few weeks back with my flip flop. I was watering and found a new hole so I stuck the hose in it to see if I could flood him out. Within a few minutes I see this gopher come out of the ground and the only thing I could find handy, was the shoes on my feet, so I pulled one off and whacked him to smithereens. The neighbors probably thought I'd lost it.

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Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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Damn thing is still out there returning to the scene of the kroc crime! Problem is I was so mad I destroyed the well established tunnels so I'm having a hard time figuring out where to put anything.

Rob, I don't have that one. Where did you get it?

Found my Wilco stuff, can't find my "rod". :(

  • Upvote 1

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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Just use a teaspoon. I just use that for the escape tunnels. I haven't bothered to find the main tunnel in years. They love the smell of the strychnine stuff - they come looking for it.

  • Upvote 1

Resident of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, San Diego, CA and Pahoa, HI.  Former garden in Vista, CA.  Garden Photos

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Damn thing is still out there returning to the scene of the kroc crime! Problem is I was so mad I destroyed the well established tunnels so I'm having a hard time figuring out where to put anything.

Rob, I don't have that one. Where did you get it?

Found my Wilco stuff, can't find my "rod". :(

Bill, I have one. Paid $50 for the damn thing and it is worthless. Come and get it. I now use the same poison others use here and find their hole, get a long spoon and dump it far back as I can, then cover the hole. Killed two this way so far this spring. I had one bury about 5 trap attempts. Poison got him.

  • Upvote 1

Len

Vista, CA (Zone 10a)

Shadowridge Area

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."

-- Alfred Austin

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