How to Gopher Proof Your Garden

Protecting Vegetables, Ornamentals, and Raised Beds from Gophers in Southern California

Gophers are devastating to Southern California gardens — they eat roots, bulbs, and tubers underground, destroying plants with no visible above-ground warning until it is too late. A fully gopher-proofed garden combines exclusion methods for your most valuable plantings with professional control to eliminate gophers before they reach protected areas.

Gopher Wire — The Most Effective Exclusion Method

Gopher wire (also called hardware cloth or gopher mesh) installed below garden beds physically prevents gophers from entering from below. Use galvanized welded wire with 3/4 inch or smaller openings — chicken wire is too large and will corrode too quickly.

For in-ground beds: line the bottom and sides of planting areas with gopher wire before planting. Extend the wire at least 18 inches deep and bend the bottom outward (away from the bed) to prevent gophers from burrowing under the barrier.

For raised beds: line the bottom of raised beds with gopher wire before filling with soil. This is the simplest and most effective protection for raised bed vegetable gardens.

Gopher Baskets for Individual Plants

Gopher baskets — wire cages placed around individual plant root balls at planting time — protect specific plants without lining entire beds. They are ideal for:

Baskets are available at garden centers or can be made from hardware cloth. They should extend 12-18 inches below the surface and 6 inches above to protect against surface approach.

Gopher Proof Raised Beds

Raised beds with gopher wire on the bottom provide the most reliable protection for vegetable gardens. Use 1/4 to 1/2 inch hardware cloth, stapled to the bottom of the bed frame before adding soil. Overlap any seams by at least 3 inches.

Note that gopher wire in raised beds does not prevent gophers from being active immediately outside and around the bed. Plants that send roots through the drainage holes or that hang over the sides remain vulnerable. Professional gopher control around the perimeter of your garden remains the most complete protection strategy.

Plants That Tolerate or Resist Gophers

Some plants are less preferred by gophers due to taste, toxicity, or root structure:

No plant is completely gopher-proof. Even relatively resistant species can be damaged when gophers are actively tunneling through an area.

Professional Gopher Control — The Most Complete Protection

Exclusion methods protect specific planting areas but do not eliminate the gopher. A gopher active on your property will continue tunneling outside protected areas, damaging lawn, irrigation, and unprotected plants until it is eliminated.

Professional gopher control combined with gopher wire exclusion provides complete garden protection — the gopher is eliminated before reaching your protected areas, and wire barriers prevent any new gopher that enters the property from immediately reaching your most valuable plantings.

Call 909-599-4711 for professional gopher control with a 60-day guarantee throughout Southern California.