Question
Good morning,
    We had our yard professionally landscaped about 3 years ago. Gazanias were selected as a bedding plant for a slopes. They had been doing fine till just about now. Areas have been dying off in patches and we have now also been invaded by gophers. We have used numerous sonic devices to repel the gophers, but without positive results. What should we do? Thanks in advance for your advice.
                   Desperate in California

Answer
So your Gopher won't leave your Gazanias alone?  Funny you should say that.

Another family is dealing with the same problem somewhere else (http://www.agpix.com/view_caption.php?image_id=13170&photog=1).  See the photo captioned "Valley Pocket Gopher in garden pushes soil from hole."

When desperate people ask for advice about getting Gophers out of their garden, I usually tell them to bring out the heavy artillery: A Shock and Awe campaign.

Maccabee Gopher traps have a reputation for being very effective, although I have not personally used them.  Farm supply stores carry these.

Once of the problems here is that the main Gopher tunnel can be 1-2 feet down.  The newest tunnel is usually the best - perhaps the only - tunnel to trap your Gopher.  Use carrot tops and fresh greens for bait.  Check the traps daily or more.  You must stay on your toes.

Flooding the tunnel seems like a possible solution.  But some experts, such as the California Extension Service, insist that tunnels are too labyrinthian to make flooding possible.  Those who try it use a garden hose.  It is rarely permanent unless the poor Gopher happens to drown.

Some people fill the tunnels with smoke from smoke bombs or road flares.  Critics say the Gophers will just plug up the tunnel when it sees smoke, but some poeple insist they have used this method to get Gophers to move out of their lawn.

Smoking them out is much more effective.  

Smokebombs on the market are also said to work.  Even better are long-burning road flares - and you can pick these up at any auto supplies store.  Light the flare carefully and stuff it underground, into the tunnel, then shovel dirt back over opening and step on that to seal the tunnel.

Watch the rest of the lawn for the escape route at the other end of the tunnel; when you spot it, plug up that end of the tunnel.  Do this over several days, wherever you see a tunnel.  Diligence usually pays off.

Getting these varmints to set up house in someone else's real estate is sometimes as easy as buying a cat.  Some people swear by garter snakes, although these can be hard to come by.

There is also a castor oil remedy that I don't like because it hurts the Gophers: You mix Castor Oil and Detergent with water and spray this stuff at the entrances to all the tunnels. The Gophers get this on their fur and try to lick it off; it gets into their digestion and eventually kills them.

Some people sprinkle used cat litter, dog poop, or urine (from whatever source you can find) at the tunnels.  This is a psychological deterrent with DANGER written all over it.

Human hair and flavored bubble gum are also considered mole-unfriendly.  How effective they are depends on the Mole(s).

University of California Extension, meanwhile, posts data for Gopher victims like yourself  (http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/1808/42.PDF).  They track Gopher digging at 100-150/ft per 24 hrs.

This underused South African native blooms at different times of the year.  It needs light, sandy soil and is highly drought tolerant, a necessity for West Coast survival.  Full, baking sun will get blooms to open fully - most will stay closed on cloudy days or at dusk, although recent hybrids billed as the "Daybreak Series" resist this habit.  Gardener Graham Rice has written some glowing words in his book, "Discovering Annuals", about this flower: "On sunny banks along the drive or at the front of a property facing a road, sweeps of 'Talent' gazanias may cause passing drivers to swerve in shock and astonishment - so avoid this planting if you live on a bend," he says.

Anything that beautiful is worth saving.

Once your gopher/mole problem is under control, you can replace your damaged plants just by rooting cuttings from the plants you have left.  With all that California sunshinet, I'd guess they will root quickly.

Shock and Awe.

Never surrender.

Keep me posted.