The Gopher Wars

Banishing a nemesis without chemical warfare

(Revised February 16, 2025)

Our defense seems to be working. When we moved here six years ago, gophers knew this was their territory. We are not big fans of chemical warfare, nor did we find any use for field contractors. No, this was our war, and we planned our strategy well.

The first step was to change the battlefield. The lawn was scarred from past battles: holes, trenches, and mounds of dirt any child with toy green army men would have relished. Removing the lawn was an easy decision. Lush lawns are easy for gophers to dig in, and the moist soil acts as a field pantry to feed hungry gopher troops with rations of grubs. Changing our lawn to a decomposed granite bocce court (actually, petanque) surrounded by drought-tolerant plants has completely disinterested the enemy.

We then turned to the hillside, where full-grown shrubs would die overnight. Ninjas! Quietly chewing roots where no one could see, then suddenly the shrubs would wilt from lack of roots...no amount of water would quench their thirst. Phase two meant introducing new plants that gophers distaste, euphorbias at first, but daffodils became our land mines. Gophers hate them; eating their roots and flesh makes them sick. We are using them close to more sensitive plants. When gophers find them, they turn in their tunnels and go elsewhere. Plant enough mines, and they leave. Below is a list of plants that appear to withstand gopher intrusions.

We're planting new plants in gopher cages made of chicken wire. This is only for plants that stay relatively small. Our soft pathways, such as the decomposed granite, also have a wire mesh layer. If gophers penetrate these defenses, their tunnels are along the periphery. We continued to plant more daffodils of different colors for specific areas of the gardens. I think this will cause future gophers to go somewhere else. Well, that and our one soldier, a cat that stealthily hunts gophers like any solid assassin would do. Gardening is a constant battle, but one we welcome. Besides, we're looking forward to the beautiful daffodil blossoms in the spring.

Our well-respected Bay Area Sloat Garden Centers provides an initial list of plants resistant to gopher attacks. They also mention vulnerable plants, including Miscanthus, an ornamental grass. At the time of this writing, the Miscanthus in our garden has not succumbed, so that is a wait and see. The following list combines personal experience and lists from sources as they become available. Note: the listed common names are the most common in this area. Other common names exist, so referring to the scientific names is recommended.

The following links will take you to some but not all species within each genus.

Trees

• Arbutus: madrone, strawberry tree (native and non-native species)

• Callistemon: bottlebrush

• Citrus: lemons, oranges, grapefruits, etc.

• Eucalyptus: gum

• Fraxinus: ash

• Ilex: holly

• Michelia: michelia (see shrub from for additional comments)

• Prunus: specifically apricot, according to Sloat. This surprises me, since apricots belong to the genus Prunus, which includes plums and cherries, two fruit trees with vulnerability.

• Persea: avocado

• Punica: pomegranate

Shrubs

• Arbutus: compact strawberry tree

• Buddleja: butterfly bush

• Callistemon: bottlebrush

• Ceanothus: wild lilac (native and non-native species)

• Cistus: rockrose

• Citrus: lemons, oranges, grapefruits, etc.

• Coleonema: breath of heaven

• Escallonia: escallonia

• Euonymus: multiple common names depending upon species

• Grevillea: grevillea

• Heteromeles: toyon (native)

• Hydrangea: hydrangea

• Ilex: holly

• Lantana: lantana

• Lavandula: lavender

• Michelia: michelia (Interestingly, the genus Michelia belong to the Magnoliaceae family, so are Magnolias also resistant?)

• Nandina: heavenly bamboo

• Nerium: oleander (larger species can be trained as small trees)

• Rhaphiolepis: Indian hawthorn

• Ribes: gooseberry, currant

• Rosmarinus: rosemary

• Salvia: sage

• Westringia: coast rosemary (to be clear, it is not a rosemary)

Perennials

• Artemisia: wormwood

• Begonia: begonia (semperflorens, A.K.A. fibrous, primarily used as annual bedding color)

• Clivia: clivia

• Dietes: fortnight lily

• Digitalis: foxglove

• Euphorbia: euphorbia

• Festuca: fescue (for fescue lawns, gophers can still be very disruptive and damaging)

• Heuchera splendens: coralbells (It is unclear at the time of writing if other Heuchera are resistant. However, I have grown several native and non-native cultivars with luck).

• Juncus: rush (native and non-native)

• Leucanthemum x superbum: Shasta daisy (It is unclear at the time of writing if other Leucanthemum are resistant)

• Nepeta: catmint

• Nierembergia: cup flower

• Penstemon: penstemon

• Salvia: sage

• Tulbaghia: garlic (not to be confused with culinary garlic, Allium sativum, which is also resistant and noted under bulbs)

• Vinca minor: periwinkle (curious that Sloat specifically does not include Vinca major, considered an invasive in California)

Bulbs

• Allium: onion & garlic (both ornamental and edible species)

• Amaryllis belladonna: naked lady lily

• Muscari: grape hyacinth

• Narcissus: daffodil

• Scilla: squill, bluebell