Blooming Paperwhites Dancing In The Sunlight
I can’t say enough about the effectiveness of combating gophers “the green way” with bulbs. I owe my good friends at Easy To Grow Bulbs for the “aha” moment, when I learned that planting any type of jonquil, paperwhite, or daffodil bulb, in a somewhat strategic mass planting in your yard and garden will effectively deter gophers in a very green and very beautiful organic way. It is a gopher solution that is simple and appealing.
Last year I wrote about the benefit of planting bulbs to deter gophers around my chicken coop in the related VGG post, Narcissus Bulbs Naturally Deter Gophers, and how effective it has been. I also planted bulbs around the perimeter of my potager to deter any gopher invasion, as shown in the photo above.
Jonquil, paperwhite, and daffodil bulbs once planted in the ground send out a year-round message to deter gophers, rabbits, and even deer in their immediate area. These particular bulbs send out a “toxic fragrance” or odor that animals sense even without biting into a bulb. However, if these bulbs are bitten into, they have the capability to burn a gopher’s tender mouth and cheek tissues. The result is a natural tendency for gophers to move away from the area where you have planted your bulbs, hence limiting their food source, and population. It takes a little while, but it really works.
I love this green solution because it is humane to wildlife, your bulbs look fantastic when blooming, and they bloom year after year. Your initial investment is your time involved planting your bulbs, and a generous amount of bulbs planted in your gopher problem-related area. Plant your bulbs one after another in a line 3″-4″ apart, or planted randomly throughout a flower bed amongst your other plants. Once your bulbs bloom, cut them back after they are spent and dried. You won’t see them for the rest of the year, yet they are sending out their gopher-deterrent message year-round.
Please share how you combat gophers in your garden and yard. Do you have any other green solutions for gophers?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I think this is a fabulous idea and many people around here use this very same method. I must say, I’ve made the mistake of waiting until I had everything landscaped the way I wanted it. I should have just jumped in and dropped some bulbs into the ground. However, my two new cats have made quite a dent in the rodent population since I adopted them. Not quite as human, but certainly natural.
Amy, cats are a good thing, too. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal
I love this idea. I’ve been using a bloodmeal/chili pepper concoction (by Uncle Ian’s), and it has helped but it’s not completely effective. I won’t kill them, but I’d really like them to move elsewhere. This makes beautiful sense.
Barb, it works well. Just start in a small problem area and give it a little time. It has made my gardening life a lot easier. Thanks for you comment…VintageGardenGal
Your idea of narcisus is so much better than moving to the fth floor of a high rise.
I can relate to the gopher problem but my particular bugaboo is moles. Every spring the melting snow reveals their mounds in the grass and even in the garden beds. I just go around raking down the mounds and making sure any upheaved plants are firmly pushed back in place. I have an angel statue so I’ve named him Ulrich after the obscure saint in charge of mole deterrence but other that we live in relative harmony, the moles and me. Ants on the other hand plague me in their numbers, hosting aphids and nesting among my plant treasures. If anyone has a surefire ant anihilating plan please let me know!