Well, the country is bigger, that's for sure. Even bigger than the USA. But I think our Canadian robins must be a very different breed. Speaking of critters...I spotted Gordie the gopher running around on the lawn today, but the bad news is that he has been chomping on many more of Val's tender seedlings. You can imagine how thrilled she is about that. Not quite sure what her plan is, but I don't think it extends to giving him an invitation to stay here any longer.
These are not an easy problem to get rid of Keith. Trapping is your best bet IMO. Then take them for a long drive into the wild and release. But I'm unsure of this protocol in BC, so best to check first. I am aware of blocking their runs to force them above ground to allow for natural predation. This maybe an option for you. You will have your work cut out for you though to rid them off Val's tender young plants. Good luck.
I believe Val was looking up traps after she came in from checking her seedlings. We will see what happens from here.
I did some checking on these gophers, and without exception, they seem to burrow fairly close to the surface - depending on what roots they find for lunch - and invariably leave piles if dirt every few feet as they remove the soil from the burrows. Now I have no idea why it is that we cannot see a single pile of dirt anywhere. maybe we just have a very tidy gopher. This year we have seen the gopher going in and out of the rock wall just below the lower driveway. Last year, he was down on the lowest level of rocks near the old pool deck. I believe that Val got a short video of him last year, I will check with her. Incidentally D, the traps that I saw online, and in use, were fatal to the gophers.
I hope you keep a gun with you at all times Keith? Bears are not to be taken lightly at all. But I guess you know that.
Heck, I don't even own a slingshot, never mind a gun. About the closest thing we have here is a balloon. Do you think if we blew one up and popped it the bear would run away?
I wonder why that is? We have black-tailed deer around here; male and female in about equal numbers. I remember quite a few years now, before our fence was built, watching 6 males dueling in pairs just outside the window. It sounded like a chopsticks competition. This is not my video but gives an idea of the excitement.
They sure do make a mess out of that lawn. Further to the Gopher here. Our friends from just down the road used to have the big farm at the bottom of the hill, they still retain 15 acres of it. They came by this morning and told us that they had a big problem with Gophers there and in one year they caught about 80. So at least we know now where ours came from. But theirs always did the burrowing trick, whereas we still cannot find any evidence at all of any burrow. Now I am wondering if he (or she) is just an occasional visitor, rather than a full time resident.
If it has found lush green leaves Keith, then the Occasional visit will turn into very regular visits. Might start to being friends along for the picnic as well.
That very thought had crossed our minds. Considering our options, which include an above ground squirrel trap and poison bait.
Please think twice about using poison bait because any creature that might eat the dead gopher would also be poisoned.
Poison bait is definitely NOT our first choice. I will talk to a couple of long time locals who I know and see if they have a better remedy. One of them has a large farm so he may well have run into the same problem.
Hi Keith. While I have luckily never had to deal with gophers, I have had great success deterring deer and rabbits with a product called Bobbex. It sounds like it may be effective with gophers as well. Their website offers a few suggestions that you might find useful if you haven't tried them already. Good luck! Can That Cute Groundhog Really Cause Damage? | Bobbex
Thanks for the link Margot. I read what they had to say and looked at their product. Looks fairly costly to me, but may be one of those things that is necessary. Val has something called Animal be gone (may not be the right spelling), but I don't think she has been using it quite enough. I will make sure that it gets applied again tomorrow, although we have showers in the forecast, and I don't believe that's the best time to use it. Alternately she is not leaving the plants any longer in such an accessible place as previously, i.e. right in front of the greenhouse. The easiest solution might be just to keep the plants out of reach of the gopher. So that is the latest tactic.
You might think I had shares in the Bobbex company but I don't. I can't say enough good things about it . . . sure it is a bit pricey but it lasts a long time because it doesn't quickly wash off in the rain . . . I apply it only about once every 2 months to plants I know will be targeted. I've tried several other products including homemade ones but nothing is as effective as Bobbex in my garden. You don't need to spray everything of course because there are lots of plants deer avoid (usually) and you can't spray food crops. And, as you may guess, it smells to high heaven - a fragrance I've learned to love when I consider the protection it gives.
Many baby starlings are starting to leave the nest and are gathering in a big coniferhedge in our neighbours and our garden. It is most enjoyable to see but man can they make some noise!
I see alligator lizards like this from time to time but it's not the same as your guy is it? I wonder what yours is; do you know?
We always referred to them as Salamanders Margot. There would be lots of them if the weather had been particularly wet for a number of days. I'm trying to think how long they were, and I will guess about 5" including the tail of course.
