animals

Questions about controlling gophers, moles, squirrels and other critters in your garden? Master Gardeners Gil Patrick and Bonnie Wagner will discuss these and any other animals pests that you have questions about.

Last updated: Feb-2004

Moles are 6”-12” insectivores that feed on grubs, millipedes, ants and earthworms. They do not hibernate and have a high metabolic rate so require lots of food. Their main foods are grubs and earthworms. Signs of mole infestation are mounded soil and heaved runways which are most visible in fall and spring. They do not eat roots or bulbs but their tunneling disfigures lawn and gardens.

What You Can Do

• Trapping is the most effective method of control.
• Less effective methods include baiting, gassing and repellents.

Biology / Identification

Moles have velvety blue-black to gray mohair-like fur, a slender snout, needle like teeth, with flattened feet ,claws and inconspicuous ears. They can grow from 6'-12" long depending on species. Moles may be distinguished from meadow voles, gophers, and shrews by their naked, pointed nose that extends well in front of the mouth. Small eyes and ears are concealed by fur. Their spade like forefeet are wider than they are long. Discharged mounded soil and heaved runways are indicators of this pest's presence. The Eastern mole is the most common mole found in the eastern US, the most troublesome species on the coast of Oregon and Washington is the Townsend's mole , the Broad-footed mole can be found in California.

The Eastern can be found from the Atlantic to the foothills of the Rockies and from Southern Canada to the panhandle of Florida. All moles can be damaging but the Eastern mole is by far the most widespread. It is better described as the common or grey mole. It is the strongest of the group and is most often associated with tunnels and or mole mounds by residential homeowners. Moles are not rodents, but belong to a group of mammals called insectivores. Moles have a very high metabolic rate and, therefore, have to consume large amounts of food.

Last updated: Jan-2004

Pocket Gophers are among the most frustrating of all pests in the garden. They feed on the roots of plants killing them. Horseshoe shaped mounds of fresh soil are one sign of their presence in the garden. Gophers do not hibernate, live alone (except when breeding) and have 1-3 liters per year.

What you can do

• Gophers are nongame mammals and may be killed or trapped anytime or in any legal manner.
• Trapping is an effective control method. There are two types of traps: the box trap and the Macabee trap. The box trap is easier to use if one has not used a trap before but requires more excavation. Traps should be set in pairs facing opposite directions
• Poison baits require placement in the gopher’s main tunnel and taking care to be sure that light is eliminated from the run. A probe is useful in placing the bait. Check for fresh mounds each day to determine one’s success.
• Wire baskets may be used to protect individual plants.
• Remove weeds creating a buffer band of bare soil may help.

Less Effective Methods

• Flooding is usually not effective.
• Fumigation doesn’t work because gophers seal off the tunnels.
• Repellents have not been proven to be effective by research
• Gophers become accustomed to frightening devices such as vibrating stakes, ultrasonic devices and wind powered pinwheels and then ignore them.
• Placing chewing gum and laxatives in burrows does not appear to work.

Maintenance

Constant checking for signs of gopher activity is essential to prevent reinvestation.

Resources

• UC Pest Note on Pocket Gophers

By: Sandra Todd
Last updated: Jan-2004

Remember: skunks have some beneficial habits — they eat insects and rodents.

What you Can Do

“Make your yard inhospitable to skunks”:

• Remove outdoor pet food and water bowls.
• Store pet food in animal proof containers.
• Gardens should be harvested frequently and windfall fruit picked up.
• Food should never be intentionally left out for wild mammals.
• Seal up house from access, including porches. Slotted metal vent covers are preferable to screen wire in keeping skunks from entering houses through foundation vents.
• Offensive sprays (such as coyote urine).
• Shooting is permissible to remove skunks from unincorporated rural areas.
• Use beneficial nematodes in the spring to kill grubs, which are a favorite food of the skunk and the major cause of lawn damage.
• Call Santa Clara County Vector Control to come out and assess the situation. If Vector Control deems it necessary, they will trap the animal and dispose of it according to their regulations.

What Doesn’t Work

• We do not recommend trapping because of the difficulty of disposing of the live animal. However, live trapping is permissible in both urban and rural settings.
• There are no federally registered pesticides for control of skunks in or around buildings.

Resources

• Managing Skunk Problems
• Skunks: Co-existing with Urban Wildlife

Santa Clara County has several species of tree squirrels: the native Western Grey and Douglas squirrels, and the introduced Eastern Grey and Red Fox squirrels. Most tree squirrels are classified as game mammals by the California Fish and Game Code, and are protected. They can only be taken (killed) during hunting season. However, the most common as well as the most troublesome tree squirrel is the red fox squirrel, and this is not protected. It may be taken at any time and in any manner the land owner or tenant chooses that is legal. It is not legal to discharge any firearms, bee bee guns, pellet guns or slingshots in Santa Clara cities, suburbs or unincorporated suburban area of the county. It is legal to shoot the above mentions arms in unincorporated rural areas with permission of the sheriff.