Do Gophers Like Ranunculus?

"Fuzzy Little Foreigner!" -- Caddyshack

• The term "gopher" is often misused to describe squirrels or chipmunks. True gophers are pocket gophers, members of the family Geomyidae. Their many species are found throughout much of North America. Eastern pocket gophers (Geomys spp.) are found east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi Valley and down to the Gulf Coast. Western pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) occur from the Rockies to the Pacific and from south Canada to the Mexican border. The Mexican pocket gopher (Cratogeomys castanops) is found in the southwest U.S. and into Mexico.

A Tunneling They Will Go

• These burrowing rodents are rarely seen outside their extensive network of burrows. The name "pocket" comes from the external, fur-lined cheek pouches where they carry food and nesting material. They are well-equipped for the life they lead with powerful forequarters, large, clawed front feet for digging, tiny eyes, short fur that does not cake when wet and unique lips that can close behind their powerful front incisors to keep dirt out of their mouth. They are generally crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dusk and dawn, snoozing away the day snug in their burrows. Gophers dig two types of tunnels. Long, winding, shallow tunnels allow them to get food from above. Deeper tunnels hold food caches, sleeping chambers and storage areas for food and fecal waste.

Oh, The Damage They'll Do

• Gophers are vegetarians and eat only plant material -- nearly any plant material they encounter in their digging. This includes ranunculus bulbs, other fleshy bulbs, the roots of shrubs and vines, grass, tree roots and garden crops. Plants with long tap roots, such as alfalfa, are a favorite. They will also eat any above-ground plant parts they encounter at the entrance to their tunnels, often dragging whole plants down into their labyrinth. In areas with heavy winter snowpack, they will often gnaw the bark off trees as high as they can reach. You can identify gopher damage by the crescent- or horseshoe-shaped mounds of dirt they leave behind.

Resistance is Futile

• If there's any question as to who usually wins the man vs. gophers war, let there be no doubt -- it's the gophers. Gophers are notoriously hard to evict. Eradicating these pests is nasty business involving things such as poison, traps, drowning or bludgeoning. Trapping is the most effective, if the messiest, and not for the faint of heart. A number of traps are available commercially. Poke around in the soil with a metal rod or wooden stick nearby a gopher mound until the stick drops into an empty space 2 or 3 inches deep. Dig down until you expose the bottom of the tunnel. Set traps on both sides of this hole (gophers hate disturbances to their tunnel system and will try to repair any damages immediately). Cover the area with a piece of plywood and shovel dirt around the edges of the board so no light comes into the tunnel. Check the traps every other day. If you catch no gophers in three to four days, move to a new location and repeat the process.