by R.A. Scott

Created on: November 24, 2010

Gophers are cute little rodents, aren’t they? Having said that they are not something you necessarily want hanging around your yard or garden. They will make a system of tunnels and dens underground that would make any architect jealous. Once they are established they can cause so many problems for gardeners and landowners. They’ll eat the roots of many plants causing them to die. While with other plants they will consume the plant itself.

So once you’ve determined that these are the rodents in question then it’s time to get rid of them. There are many ways to do this so let’s look at ways to kill the little guys. Some people suggest that you try to drown them. To do this just bring your garden hose over to the hole you’ve found and let loose with the water. They also suggest bringing a shovel with you so that if you see a gopher trying to escape his watery demise then just whack the sucker on the head with the shovel good and hard. This will crush his skull and then you have one dead rodent.

Hey, there are some that advocate bringing hell to their homes and setting them ablaze. If you pour some gasoline or some other highly flammable liquid into their dens all you have to do them is to set the liquid alight and BBQ those critters. Being the kids and roast some marshmallows.

If you own a gun of some sort you could simply blast them when they poke their heads up. This way will improve your accuracy and aim and you might have a giggle or two while you’re at it. You might want to check with your local by laws concerning the shooting of weapons in your area.

You could try poisoning the gophers. You can get some poison that will kill off your problem. But they will also kill off pets and kids so you might want to use those with care, if at all.

There are other ways to murder these rodents and many folks believe that is the way to go. There are many of us who would prefer to see the gopher live. So in order to do that you have to get traps. You can invest in traps or you could hire a professional to come in with their traps and catch those little offenders.

You’ll need to ensure that live traps are being used because some folks will want to use a trap that will kill the gopher. After the gophers are gone you could insist that they rodents be taken to an area that has no humans around and let loose upon the environment.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. Kill the rodents or allow them to live and transport them to a wild area nearby.

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