Gopher Wire Installation Instructions

Recommendations for gopher basket and gopher wire installations

Gopher Wire Baskets

Gophers Limited Inc stainless steel gopher basket 1 gallon size

Gopher Baskets are very easy to use and install and we recommend them for perennial plantings, especially young fruit trees or roses. You can make them out of gopher wire or hardware cloth. Stay away from making them with chicken or aviary wire.

Gophers Limited manufacturers stainless steel gopher baskets and wire for a lifetime of beauty and protection.

Pre-formed and ready to use, they conveniently come in the same sizes as the pots you buy plants in.

Gophers Limited Inc 5 gallon stainless steel gopher basket planted

So, just transfer your plants to our baskets and you are ready to plant. No messing around with flattened baskets that need shaping and extra care to avoid pockets of air under the plant.

Leave a 3-4 inch rim of the basket above ground to keep gophers from from invading from the surface.

What Customers Say…

Here are some project pictures using your awesome product. This one in my own neighborhood in SV. This one was really fun as this project was funded by “the kids” who wanted to surprise their (aging) mother who was on vacation visiting family in Japan. We went with a more ergonomic design (higher beds), a high-end organic veggie soil mix, and of course, Stainless Steel Wire from Gophers Limited to protect the plants & paths. Thanks again, Gophers Limited. Although you don’t see the your product in the final photos, your product is vital towards achieving not only a quality end-product, but a lasting one💪. Steve Woodruff, TurfDoctor Turf & Landscaping

BEFORE COMPLETION

Here are a few pictures of the project I recently completed at 250 California, Spring Hill Elementary, Santa Cruz. All are pleased. Your product (4’x100’ stainless steel rolls) made this challenging project SO much easier than it could’ve been. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating other projects have been (using galvanized “gopherwire”). Simply….inconsistent with obvious malfunctions at the manufacturing plant😳. Seriously, once we pinned the proper “overlap” (4-6”) and aligned the roll, it rolled down the entire 100’ slope EXACTLY in place as to not require pulling and repositioning. Awesome. Thanks Gophers Limited! Steve Woodruff, TurfDoctor Turf

BEFORE COMPLETION

Gopher Wire Installation Instructions

Professional Installation with Gophers Limited Stainless Steel Gopher Wire

Completed Lawn Project New Sod Rolls Gopher Wire Rolls, installation tools and equipment Steel border installed Laying out wire with a 4-6 inch overlap Installing landscape staples Trimming of wire flush with metal border Leveling soil layer under wire with a Vibraplate Adding a 2 inch buffer layer of soil on top of wire layer Smoothing soil buffer with a landscape rake Wire trimmed around fixtures New turf cross section Shows layers of wire/soil buffer/sod Completed lawn section Installation contractor for this project Project coordinator

We get a lot of questions about the proper way to install a wire barrier to prevent gophers and moles from damaging lawns. It can be a very costly mistake if the wire barrier is not installed properly. The cost of the installation is an investment. Add the extra cost of installing the wire and the cost can be daunting.However, in areas of mole and gopher populations this step is worthwhile, if done right.

The Quality of Wire Matters

I have seen many installations where the wire used was aviary wire, like chicken wire but with half inch diagonal mesh instead of one inch. This kind of wire was not meant to be buried and will fail in a short period of time. Our stainless steel gopher wire is 18 gauge, 3/4 inch square welded mesh.There are other options on the market, but this is the best and longest lasting.

Important Tip:

If the sod is installed directly on top of the wire gophers will go under it and pull the grass down through the wire and moles will push piles of soil up through it defeating the purpose of the extra expense. Proper placement is to install the wire and then cover it with one to two inches of soil and then lay the sod on that. If you exceed one to two inches then gophers and moles will just tunnel in between the sod and wire.

Contractors sometimes try to talk you out of this extra step but be firm, this is the step that makes the extra expense work.

I like to see the wire laid so that the leading edge of the wire or the part the is shingled under the next is toward the invading gopher or mole.

This usually means that if the lawn is next to the house, the second row of wire goes under the first and so on. Just think of the animal tunneling under the wire. You want the seams to be layered so that if there is a small opening it is away from the direction of the tunnel.

Holding it down

Sod pins

The wire is held in place with sod pins or landscape staples. Nylon zip ties or hog rings can also be used to secure wire seams. The staples are placed about 2 to 3 feet apart. Again, be very careful to have tight overlaps of 4-6 inches without buckling or openings.

(1) Gopher Wire Installation (2) Gopher Wire Mesh Layer (3) Loading Soil On Wire Mesh For Buffer

Another approach is to just build up borders and add gopher wire mesh and soil buffer on top of existing damaged lawn

(1) Lay and secure gopher wire over existing lawn (2) Add soil buffer (3) Install new sod

Gopher Wire Installation Instructions

Vertical Wire Mesh Gopher and/or Mole Barriers

Sometimes a vertical barrier is more appropriate for a garden area or to fence a wild area and home area. I recommend a trench 2-3 foot deep and install the wire with a ninety degree bend to the outside. Leave at least six inches of gopher wire fence above ground because gophers also invade from the surface. Attach to a fence or border.

Drawing of a gopher wire vertical barrier installation

Wire connected to a fence (1) Rolling out the wire (2) Dirt onto 12 inch outward bend (3) Vertical barrier with 6 inches exposed (4) Roll wire in a 'return loop' at the end. Critters will go around and not find a way in.