[justkidding]

Originally Posted by me_dennis

So I noticed a critter digging a hole in my back yard last night up on the retaining wall. I currently don't have anything planted in the retaining wall yet, but I want to stop the problem before it spreads. I suspect it could be a gopher, based on my research on Google. The mound is fan shaped, and I can't really see any vole trails, since there is no grass up there. The only vegetation up on the retaining wall is a bunch of weeds that spread from my deadbeat neighbour. Anyone have any tips on how to identify what kind of critter it is, how to get rid of it before it spreads, and how to prevent an infestation? I plugged up the hole with the dirt mound for the time being until I find a more permanent solution.

I have heard of something called the Giant Destroyer, which is a smoke stick that releases sulfur gas to smoke out the critters. Apparently the City of Calgary uses these.

Also, would this be something that I could file a complaint against my neighbour? I've had so many issues with this neighbour. Their retaining wall is not doing it's job properly, which causes dirt to fall into the drainage swale between our houses, causing a blockage. This resulted in a flash flood last summer. Also, they never take care of their weeds, so I'm constantly having to pick weeds from my yard.

If it's a mound and not a hole it might be a pocket gopher. We had one last year and we tried everything including the smoke sticks. Nothing worked until we called an exterminator and they recommend a special box filled with poison. That sucker was gone in two days.