(Newswire.net — October 23, 2013) St Paul, MN — While any week of the year may seem like a good time to try to get rid of the gophers living in your yard, early Spring and Autumn are the best times of the year to concentrate your efforts. So if you have a problem with gophers building tunnels through your yard, now is a great time to devote some attention to getting rid of these uninvited pests.
Ian Paxton, the editor for the website GopherGuide.com, explained that countless homeowners experience problems with small infestations of the American pocket gopher.
“For many property owners, the site of gopher mounds in their lawn drives them crazy,” said Paxton, “And some homeowners will try almost any method, no matter how impractical it may sound, to try to get rid of these pests. Unfortunately, they usually end up with poor, or at best, mixed results.”
Paxton recommends that homeowners first realize that gophers naturally exist in nature and provide a generally positive role in their environment.
“It’s great if a homeowner can just accept their gophers and co-exist with them,” continued Paxton, “My first recommendation to most people is that their first strategy would be to get their gophers to just gradually relocate to a different spot, such as an adjoining wooded area or field. If a homeowner can make their yard unfriendly to a gopher’s way of life, most gophers will try to find a better place to live by building a new home nearby.”
“Unfortunately, we really don’t have a good method for trapping a gopher alive and then relocating them, which would be the ideal solution in many cases, explained Paxton, “Since they don’t come above ground much, it’s almost impossible to catch them alive. And some local laws may actually forbid trapping and relocating them.”
For property owners who want their pocket gophers dead, Paxton believes that metal traps and poison pellets are the most effective techniques.
“The old-fashioned metal traps are still effective,” said Paxton, “Since they need to be put in the ground, they require a big hole in your lawn, plus they will usually not catch anything most of the time, so several different holes and attempts will be needed. And when they do work, the homeowner will have to dispose of the body, which some people are naturally put off by.”
Paxton indicated that poison pellets are the favored tool of choice of most homeowners, mostly because of the convenience they offer.
“If a person is going to use poison pellets, they need to make sure they are using it as safely as possible, making sure that all of the pellets actually make it underground to the gopher living areas,” concluded Paxton, “Poisons are convenient to use, but it takes months for the homeowner to really know if they are working or not.”
About Gopher Guide
The GopherGuide.com website provides tips that may help property owners get rid of pocket gophers, lawn moles and other yard pests. Interested readers can visit http://www.GopherGuide.com to read more.
Media Contact:
Ian Paxton
Email: Ian@GopherGuide.com
Contact: http://www.gopherguide.com/about.html