I am happy to report that after battling gophers for almost an entire year, we have successfully trapped and gotten rid of 2. One of them was particularly chunky, as she/he had been living off of our hearty winter garden. As you can see, the onions escaped unscathed. We harvested and dried them last month.
Sadly, our 2 foot trench and three days of back breaking work did NOT stop the rodents. Our Ag Assistant, Isaiah, believed there was an underground labyrinth of computer technology and smarts created by evil gopher underlords. At one point I was inclined to believe him.
Having gophers in one's garden, I have found, can be an unbelievably discouraging experience. Not only do they create unsightly holes and mounds, but they snatch garden goodies before they are ready for harvest, which upsets even the kindliest of gardeners.
So how did we do it? A brand new trap called "the Gophinator" did the trick. Within a 24 hour period, we caught both perpetrators. Now I can look forward to adding additional crops to the garden. We still have a few tomatoes, peppers and eggplants that escaped unscathed. And a few short vine cantaloupes. I'm going to add some pumpkins next.
