# Electronic gopher repellant; Does it work as advertised? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641 "2007-08-06T16:29:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/1 "2007-08-06T16:29:37Z")
A gopher has taken up residence in my garden, and I want it to go away. I’m not going to go all _Carl Spackler_ on his ass - I prefer not to use poison, or explosives, and I’m really not crazy about the prospect of trapping it. Electronic repellent, however, sounds ideal. No mess to clean up, no bodies to bury, it just makes life in my garden unbearable (for gophers, at least). Perfect. There’s plenty available on-line, and I think I can get one off the shelf at Home Depot for about $35 (I’ve found one on the net for $19, and another for $50). Can anyone attest to the effectiveness of these things\*? _Please let’s get some valid opinions before we hijack this in favor of Nazi Groundhogs from Hell._ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/2 "2007-08-06T17:41:10Z")
Haven’t tried that but I’d also be interested to see if this works. I can tell you what DOESN’T work… Fencing Marigolds Dog poop Groundhog-eating dogs Organic spray ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/3 "2007-08-06T17:52:11Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Haven’t tried that but I’d also be interested to see if this works. I can tell you what DOESN’T work… Fencing Marigolds Dog poop Groundhog-eating dogs **Organic spray** [/QUOTE] I’ve had limited success with a simple cinamon water mix…roughly 80/20. Limited being, when I forget to spray my lettuce, it’s gone in a day or two. When I don’t forget, it’s untouched. How big is your garden? And don’t those sonic dohickies come with a moneyback guarantee ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/4 "2007-08-06T18:36:35Z")
Are you talking about those things that are supposed to emit a high-pitched noise that will scare the buggers off? A few years back they got sued off the market for not working, but they seem to keep popping up in new incarnations. I’d be wary of these devices. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/5 "2007-08-06T18:39:15Z")
Well, they sure as heck don’t work on mice in our experience. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/6 "2007-08-06T18:56:25Z")
Coyote urine doesn’t work either? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/7 "2007-08-06T19:14:18Z")
**Philosphr** - it’s my uncle’s garden but it’s in my backyard (we have a sort of lord/serf thing going on here, and I provide the protection! 🙂 ) I believe it’s uhm…let’s say 15’x10’ He bought some $30 bottle of spray. Not sure what it was - it reeked of garlic. I’m also not sure if he sprayed it on the plants themselves or just around the perimeter. I’m guessing NOT on the plants because they’d be stinky too. How does your cinnamon lettuce end up tasting? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/8 "2007-08-06T19:18:41Z")
Where is **Scylla** when you need him? (Years ago, **Scylla** started a thread about the “Evil Nazi Groundhogs” that were taking over his farm. I think that the original thread has been lost though.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/9 "2007-08-06T20:52:03Z")
I don’t think we have many electronic gophers around here. Ours are mostly just the biomechanical ones. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/10 "2007-08-06T21:21:06Z")
I’ve read up a bit, and I think I’ve settled flooding the burrow, and then smashing the gopher’s cute little brains in with a shovel when it tries to escape. I’m still open to suggestions, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/11 "2007-08-07T01:42:24Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] I’ve read up a bit, and I think I’ve settled flooding the burrow, and then smashing the gopher’s cute little brains in with a shovel when it tries to escape. I’m still open to suggestions, tho. [/QUOTE] Flooding never works for me. Apparently, the groundhogs design their burroughs with drainage and flooding in mind (which makes them smarter than FEMA,) Have a heart traps with corn are currently working well for me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/12 "2007-08-07T07:22:32Z")
Yes, those electronic things work- a little. Gophers _might just_ avoid your yard, given a free range choice. It’s like playing certain music to keep the kids from hanging out in your parking lot. Can the kids still come in? Yes. Will they still come in? Yes. But if there is another lot just as nice a half-block over, they will likely move there. And those “ultra-sonic” deterrant are about that effective. :dubious: Which is why they don’t work so well with mice as with mice the choice often is your house or death. In fact, some really have no effect at all, as **Johnny Hildo** sez. I used a gopher bomb with good effectiveness. You can buy them at the local feed store. They emit poison gas, they don’t really explode all that much. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/13 "2007-08-07T12:22:19Z")
Yeah, what **DrDeth** said. One of my roomates in my old shitty college house had a squirrel infestation in the crawlspace between the ceiling of his room and the roof of the house. He got the ultrasonic device. After he turned the device on, he would hear the squirrels come in, make angry chattering noises for about 10 mins and then leave. Repeat persistently every 1/2 hour. Finally, after about a week, they stopped coming in. So, it certainly isn’t a rodent force sheild - but (at least in this case) it works. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/14 "2007-08-07T13:25:24Z")
[QUOTE=Scylla] Flooding never works for me. Apparently, the groundhogs design their burroughs with drainage and flooding in mind (which makes them smarter than FEMA,) Have a heart traps with corn are currently working well for me. [/QUOTE] 🙂 I’m looking at Havahart traps now. I’m not thrilled at the prospect of drowning a caged rodant, but I guess it beats the shovel. I’ve also got a call into a professional exterminator. I’m curious how much a professional hit on a gopher costs. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-gopher-repellant-does-it-work-as-advertised/414641/15 "2007-08-07T13:50:52Z")
Professional exterminator is $395 (flat rate). :smack: