Gophers and your greens – three steps to gopher management
Publication – GreenMaster
Author – Zia Siddiqi PhD, B.C.E.
Date – August 2007
I chose to write this blog on gophers and their damaging effects to the environment. Gophers can create a problem on many golf courses. They are voracious diggers and since they consume fleshy plant roots, grasses, shrubs, trees and flowering plants they pose a great threat to all golf courses. They also chew utility lines and irrigation wiring, And you thought snow mould was bad!
The article I reviewed discussed three steps in order to manage your gopher problem. Step 1 – Review the problem. You need to look at what you’re dealing with. Where are the gophers located, what are they targeting and how many potentially you are dealing with. Step 2 – Control methods. The article gave several methods of control varying from repellant, baits and traps. repellents seem to work fairly well but gophers are very persistent so other methods work better. Baits and traps work the best. You have to make sure you position them in the right spots and monitor them frequently. Traps are most effective in spring and fall when the gophers are pushing up new mounds. Step 3 – Be proactive and work with a professional. If all of your methods fail try bringing in a professional to help you control your problem.
Finally, If you want to ensure that your golf course stays in tip-top shape you should try to stay on top of the problem. If you leave it to long then the gophers may attract other animals to the site. For example, badgers, weasels and other predators that may also disturb the golf course. Hope this helps with your gopher problem.
-Josh
