Gopher Control

Anyone that has ever run into gophers can easily find themselves agreeing with the old movie Caddy Shack, where Bill Murray starts to go slightly nuts try to exert a little gopher control. The good thing is that you don't have to go to the same kind of extremes as was seen in that movie to handle any gophers that you find in your lawn. Instead, try using one of these methods to help you exert that control and possibly even prevent any gophers from starting any problem at all.

• Recognize the signs. The first step in obtaining some gopher control is to actually recognize the signs. One of the biggest signs of having a gopher problem is finding a series of small dirt mounds or hills. But that may not be enough for you to go off of, so you may want to do a little bit of digging as well. Dig around the dirt hill and see if you can find any tunnels that lead away from the mound. If you are lucky, you may even find the gopher and get the chance to end the problem early.
• Chemical controls. While you can always purchase some poison or similar method for getting rid of a gopher, that can be a chancy thing if you are not a professional. Instead, try making a mixture out of chili sauce (such as Tabasco) and water. A decent mixture would be about one part chili sauce to three parts water. Spray that down the hole, and you should have no problem whatsoever getting rid of the gophers (gophers have somewhat sensitive noses, and as such really don't like the smell of chili peppers).
• Get a cat or dog. Cats and dogs love to hung, and can be a fairly effective method for removing or controlling gophers. However, there is usually a bit of a drawback when using this method. That drawback is that you can easily find yourself needing to repair the damage that a dog does when it tries to dig into the tunnels that a gopher leaves behind. This means that you may find yourself needing to do some major repair work on your yard.
• Last resort. A rather dramatic, and potentially expensive, method for obtaining some gopher control is to hire a professional to take care of the problem. These individuals have the time, experience, and tools that may be necessary to deal with the problem. In addition, many of these firms have a guarantee that goes along with their work. This guarantee will help prevent any recurrence of the problem.