I Need Gopher-Proof Drip Irrigation!

[OnionPatch]

I'm so frustrated: I used drip irrigation in my orchard for several years and liked the way it saved water but gophers repeatedly destroyed the tubing. The worst part is that I wouldn't even notice most of the time because they chew their little holes in the underside of it. I tried both the 1/4 inch tubing and the 3/4 inch, they gnaw through them both. Sometimes my trees would suffer before I realized they were not getting water because some varmint had created his own drinking fountain. I spent every weekend repairing them.

Last year I switched to overhead watering. The amount of water I had to use to soak the trees sufficiently was/is phenomenal because of all the area in between the trees that ends up getting watered along with the root zones. Then there is the evaporation factor, which is significant in our arid climate. Also, I end up with tons of weeds when I overhead watering because of the extra area that is sprayed. With the drip, I could easily keep the orchard tidy by confining water only to the root zones of the trees. With overhead watering, the orchard has turned into a jungle!

I want to go back to drip. My question is, does anyone know of any type of drip irrigation that would be gopher proof? There must be something I could find that they can't chew through. Or do you have any ideas on how to make it gopher-proof? Getting rid of all the gophers is not an option. They are as numerous as the stars in the sky. :(

[NMDemDist2]

1. tin foil?

wrap the pipes in tin foil? they may bite it once or twice but it should deter them and you will be able to spot where they damaged it easier too.

[OnionPatch]

2. I thought of wrapping them with something

or snaking them through something, then I thought it would probably be easier to just use something they won't chew in the first place. There are certain heavy-duty garden hoses that I've used that they don't seem to mess with. Maybe I'll have to run heavy-duty garden hose to each tree somehow. The drip emittors don't fit onto garden hoses, though, so I'd have to find some sort of adapters or something. I have seen some metal things called bubblers that fit onto regular hoses, I think.

Every year it seems I have to figure out a new system. Eventually I have to hit on something that works well. :shrug: I was hoping I wasn't the only one who has this type of gopher problem and I could get some tips.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Hardware cloth underneath the drip lines may help.

Hardware cloth is recommended for under bulbs to keep the varmints from eating them. Because it's mesh it shouldn't interfere too much with the drip emitters' delivery of water.

[TygrBright]

3. Lay them in PVC piping?

At least the main lines... Just sink 1" PVC in 4 or 8 ft lengths (or whatever) and use the cheap fittings (elbows, Ts, etc.) with the thread connectors to assemble your lines. A pain in the tush and a lot of work, for sure, but it will last you years and give you some additional insulation against sudden freezes.

Can't think of anything else, short of getting a terrier and letting it loose in the orchard!

amiably,
Bright

[OnionPatch]

4. I like that terrier idea!

One of my dogs is part pit bull terrier, does that count? :)

Yours may be the ultimate solution. The sprinkler system is already done with PVC but the orchard has only three outlets. I have about 15 trees, so it would be some work adding the individual lines but only initially. After that I could sit back and watch my efforts "bear fruit". ;)

If I can't think of something easier by spring, I may just do that.

[appal_jack]

6. give them a drink of their own... or trap the buggers

Your gophers (or mice or rats or whatever) are probably chewing the drip lines because they are thirsty. I have had some success in reducing chewing problems by running a slow-rate drip emitter into an old bowl or cooking pot that has been buried to its lip every so often around the garden. That way, every time you run your drip system, you also re-fill these watering holes, giving your critters an easier drink than they can get by chewing through your lines.

The above method is the "vegan-friendly" one, and it should work to an extent (like I said, I've had some success using this method at "backwoods" gardens (wink wink, nudge nudge) where I could not check the drip lines frequently. But if killing small furry rodents does not violate your own code of ethics, I can also recommend from experience the simple rat and mouse traps, baited with peanut butter. The best set up I have seen is a hole drilled through the wooden platform of the trap, and one end of a 12" wire looped through said hole. Then drill another hole in a tin can that is big enough to let the trap sit inside and go-off when visited by your rodent-friend. Loop the second end of the wire through the hole in the can. Make sure you have enough slack in the wire to bait-and-set the trap outside the can, and then gently place it into the can laying on its side in your garden. This provides several advantages over just leaving traps around your garden in the open. 1) mice like enclosed spaces, and will be attracted to the cans. 2) the wire connecting the trap and the can will prevent an injured mouse or rat from dragging your trap away. 3) if you garden barefoot, you won't injure your toes if all your traps are inside cans. and 4) the traps rust a little more slowly if they have the can as shelter (in my humid climate, they rust eventually anyway).

Hope this helps! Happy gardening,
-app

edited for spelling and (hopefully) clarity.