Author Topic: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?  (Read 2517 times)

WaterFowler

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I will start planting small trees in about a month and I would like to know your experiences with gopher predation on small trees. I purchased a roll of chicken wire and will going down about 12-14" below the surface to protect many of them but this will be a pain the the butt to do for all of them.

Last year they killed:

Lots of guavas, which I planted all around the ranch to provide a good microclimate/shade protection for future small trees before I realized castor bean plants work much better.
2 tamarind seedlings
2 jackfruit seedlings
1 3 foot sweet tart mango(this might have just been rot since I waited a couple of months to pull it after it died)
1 white sapote seedling
1 banana
I know for a fact they don't seem to like any of the annonas but the weather here kills these off just fine so it doesn't really make a difference I guess

I plan on putting these in the ground:

White sapote
Tamarind
Ice Cream Bean
Barbados Cherry
Mango seedlings
Starfruit
Feijoa
Mamey

Which of these in your experience, gophers seem to munch on and which do they tend to ignore? Along with any other trees they tend to like or ignore, for future reference.




marklee

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2018, 12:52:26 PM »
They love bananas

knlim000

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2018, 08:52:22 PM »
it's easier and shorter to list what they won't touch.

I got plenty of gophers at my place. That's why I have most of the plants in pots.  I know 100% they won't touch:
cherimoya

I'm experimenting with cassava this year into the ground and see if that will poison them.

simon_grow

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2018, 09:46:12 PM »
Gophers can create a massive network of tunnels under and around your foundation. Their tunneling combined with rain and time can cause major damage to your foundation. I recommend doing everything possible to get rid of the gophers. You may have to call in a professional.

Simon

spaugh

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2018, 11:03:09 PM »
I will start planting small trees in about a month and I would like to know your experiences with gopher predation on small trees. I purchased a roll of chicken wire and will going down about 12-14" below the surface to protect many of them but this will be a pain the the butt to do for all of them.

Last year they killed:

Lots of guavas, which I planted all around the ranch to provide a good microclimate/shade protection for future small trees before I realized castor bean plants work much better.
2 tamarind seedlings
2 jackfruit seedlings
1 3 foot sweet tart mango(this might have just been rot since I waited a couple of months to pull it after it died)
1 white sapote seedling
1 banana
I know for a fact they don't seem to like any of the annonas but the weather here kills these off just fine so it doesn't really make a difference I guess

I plan on putting these in the ground:

White sapote
Tamarind
Ice Cream Bean
Barbados Cherry
Mango seedlings
Starfruit
Feijoa
Mamey

Which of these in your experience, gophers seem to munch on and which do they tend to ignore? Along with any other trees they tend to like or ignore, for future reference.

How are you watering your trees?  What type of sprinkler heads or irrigation do you use?  Gopher problems can be worse with higher flow heads where water pools up normally.  Then when there is a gopher tunnel all the water goes into the tunnel and not to the tree roots.  Where a sprayer or micro sprinkler type head wets a large area and doesnt suffer from this problem.  The large area soaks slower and never runs in the tunnels. 

For what its worth, I have acres full of gopher holes but never lost any plants to gophers.  My neighbor clued me in on the watering issue.  He claims its usually lack of water when tunnels interfere with irrigation.  I don't bother trying to control them at all.  But we do have plenty of snakes and other predators here that may be keeping them in check.  My trees dont seem bothered so I dont worry about it.

Check out youtube for ideas how to use traps on them.  There are also videos of how to pump propane and air into the holes and nuke them.  You can also run a hose and pump lawn mower exhaust etc into the hole and suffocate them.  They also have spike sticks to inject poison pellets into the tunnels.  And there are mesh gopher bags and 1"chicken wire etc.  Lots of options.

Let us know about the watering thing.  Im curious if that theory holds water.
Brad Spaugh

WaterFowler

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2018, 02:12:55 PM »
I think I'm going to take your advice and switch over to large coverage spray emitters on the trees over 3 feet. Right now, I have bubblers on each side of the trees, but they don't cover the entire 360 area of the tree. Reason being, the emitters are cheaper. I can get a bag of them for $10-$15. But like I have learned the hard way so many times in my life. Don't go cheap on things you already have a lot of time and money into.

I have those gopher Cinch traps. They work pretty good. I just don't have the time to look for new holes and set the traps constantly. If I see snakes on the road, I always bring them to the ranch, and put them in the gopher holes. In fact 3 days ago I lifted some rolls of shade material and there was a kingsnake and a larger gopher snake curled up together. First time I have ever witnessed 2 different species of snakes cohabitating. Especially since the kingsnake preys on gopher snakes.

spaugh

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2018, 02:59:43 PM »
I have used bubblers but they tend to flow way too much water into too small of area in too short of time.  Basically pools up around the trunk of the tree.  And you need a basin to catch it or you get a river.  And if you have gophers, you get an underground river and roots get robbed of water. 

I have tried all sorts of sprinkler heads.   What I've settled on is a 1/2" riser with male threaded tip on every single tree.  Then I can screw any tip onto those.  I use 1/4 circle (90 degree) shrub heads aimed at the ground to make a big circle around the tree maybe 6ft diameter.   Or on on other trees I am using a 1/2" female to 10/32 female adapter that allows me to screw in micro sprinklers.   You can get spider pattern or full circle spray pattern sprinklers or the little spinning micro sprinklers that all have 10/32 threaded male bottoms.  I like the spider patter the best and have about 50 trees with those on them and another 50 trees with the quarter circle shrub heads on a separate zone.  All of these setups are less than 2$ a tree.

I can photo the different setups later if you want to see them.
Brad Spaugh

WaterFowler

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2018, 03:32:51 PM »


I can photo the different setups later if you want to see them.

That would be awesome spaugh. I already have an idea of what I want to do, but would like to see your setups first before I make my purchases

behlgarden

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2018, 03:59:28 PM »
Figs - I lost 3 trees to them, they ate entire root up to the ground and trees fell to the ground.

spaugh

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2018, 05:35:59 PM »


I can photo the different setups later if you want to see them.

That would be awesome spaugh. I already have an idea of what I want to do, but would like to see your setups first before I make my purchases

What kind of piping do you currently have?  Maybe snap a photo of a setup. 

Im not at home but this is a useful part if you are using 1/2" pvc hard pipes and risers.  Then any micro head can go on it.

https://www.dripdepot.com/product/shrub-riser-adapter-with-10-32-threads-by-global

Keep in mind if you are using the type of heads that throw a mist circle type pattern that they will be more impacted by wind than a spider type spray.  You get better coverage with misty circles but they don't do well if your property is in a high wind area. 

Post what you have and what you are considering.  I will post more stuff later on.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2018, 05:37:54 PM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

WaterFowler

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2018, 11:36:09 PM »


I can photo the different setups later if you want to see them.

That would be awesome spaugh. I already have an idea of what I want to do, but would like to see your setups first before I make my purchases

What kind of piping do you currently have?  Maybe snap a photo of a setup. 

I'm using simple 1/2" tubing (soft) with those cheap "spider type" emitters.

spaugh

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2018, 12:10:19 AM »
poly tubing and spider drippers should work pretty well if they throw out 2 or 3 ft diameter.  You probably have to run them for many hours at a time to feed a decent size tree.  You are also in the real desert so things may struggle in general there even without the wildlife.  Thats a pretty extreme weather area there right?  Mango trees would probably be a good thing to grow. 
Brad Spaugh

Coach62

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2018, 08:47:12 AM »
it's easier and shorter to list what they won't touch.

I got plenty of gophers at my place. That's why I have most of the plants in pots.  I know 100% they won't touch:
cherimoya

I'm experimenting with cassava this year into the ground and see if that will poison them.

If they won't touch cherimoya then perhaps they won't similar plants?  Barbados cherry?  Just spitballing here.  I'd own a good .22 with a scope for sure.
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Bruce

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Re: What small tropical trees do you find are most susceptible to gophers?
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2018, 01:44:06 PM »
poly tubing and spider drippers should work pretty well if they throw out 2 or 3 ft diameter.  You probably have to run them for many hours at a time to feed a decent size tree.  You are also in the real desert so things may struggle in general there even without the wildlife.  Thats a pretty extreme weather area there right?  Mango trees would probably be a good thing to grow.

The ones I have in the city do really well. Much better climate. More humidity, less wind and cold. The ones I have on the open ranch are more of a challenge. I'm just starting to figure out what spots, whether it be because of the soil, up against one side of a tree or structure, etc, are working best.

Coach62. I keep a single shot 20 gauge loaded with steel shot (don't want lead in my soil)outside of the gun safe for this reason but I rarely find time to use it.