Last year's rose pest was the vole. The twelve voles I trapped after the damage started devoured four to six roses whole. And they swallowed up a large number of other plants.

This year's pest has been the pocket gopher. The clue that the new holes in the ground were not voles came from the fact that the vole traps, which had a pretty good batting averaged last year stopped working altogether this year. So I bought four Gophinator traps.

http://www.traplineproducts.co...

I've caught two pocket gophers in two days. And the daily damage level has dropped way down. Pocket gophers are vigorous, energetic excavators!

I've planted castor bean plants near spots where I've observed pocket gopher activity, hoping to make my garden a little less attractive as a place to colonize.

I also ordered a barn owl house. Hopefully, I'll attract some owls, and they will do the work for me. I'm also hoping that they don't simply feast on the many lizards that live in the garden, because lizards are doing a great job keeping insects at bay.

We too have pocket gophers but they have yet to eat any of my roses or vegetables. My dogs have dug up a few plants trying to catch the little beasties. (They are no good at it.) What the gophers do eat, however, is holes in my irrigation hoses. Thirsty but not hungry?

Caught two gophers with the "gophinator" traps. Digging in the garden ceased. And much of the nibbling has, too. Some small animal comes through the fence near the edge of the garden and nibbles on the fresh growth on roses in two places there. Not sure which animal. All I ever see is the damage.

Wow... As a teen, one of my jobs was to bait or shoot the gophers that were the bain of my mom's veggie garden & her roses & gladolias. Shooting gophers is not fun as it's hard to hit 'em, unless you grab the wrong ammo & grab the 12gauge slugs rather than the buckshot. Oops :).

Oops!

I'll have to keep that in mind, though I think I'd get arrested for trying that here.