To apply Gopher Goo:
- Collect the materials you will need:
- funnel
- soil probe or trowel
- garden hose or water source
Gloves are not necessary since the material is non-toxic.
- Find the gopher hole or burrow that you want to fill, gently open it up enough to insert a soil probe or larger sized funnel into it, and apply 1-2 ounces, about a small handful, of the dry Gopher Goo granules by pouring it into the hole.
- Add enough water to wash the material down the hole and fully saturate it. A few minutes with your garden hose on high is usually enough to wash the material down so it fills the lower sections of the hole.
We suggest you wait 15-20 minutes to see how much of the hole is filled once the Gopher Goo material has swelled to its full size (it swells between 300-500 times the size of its granular form), and if it is not full you can simply repeat the above until the hole or burrow is full.
If the material over-fills the hole and swells above ground level simply use a trowel and remove the excess material and put it into another hole for use there, or place it elsewhere in your garden to nourish your plants as it breaks down. Gopher Goo will break down naturally into a soil additive over a few years, filling the burrows while it feeds your plants. You may apply Gopher Goo at any time of year.
Deeper burrows usually require more product, and often if you find a burrow (or home) you can actually catch the gopher in it if the material is used first thing in the morning when they like to be home sleeping. We suggest you plug any access holes or surface burrows first and then start to fill the ‘home’ burrow to not allow the gopher to escape.
Slurry Method:
Gopher Goo works best and fastest if you slurry it in a bucket or watering can with its tip removed. This application method requires that you mix with water first, stir it well, and let it expand a bit before you put it in the hole. Add the product to the container in a ratio of 1 part dry Goo to 5 parts water and stir or agitate thoroughly and then wait . . . 5-10 minutes is plenty of time for the product to begin to expand. It will continue to expand in the gopher hole but this gives it a head start and gets all the particles separated for full expansion.
We also use Gopher Goo in conjunction with traps to drive the gopher to the traps. The Gopher Goo product confuses and disorients them so they make careless mistakes and run into the waiting traps. We like the cinch traps, the black hole traps, or the old school spiked Macabee traps.
“Got a gopher? Go for Goo!”
