I do not think that gophers will be attracted to the compost pile as there are usually no roots growing down from it that are edible for them. Rats might seek shelter there in the spring when they want to make a nest or fall when they are looking for a warm, dry place to overwinter.

I think that if you make a good hot compost pile, that is moist like it should be, neither will be particularly very much interested in it. I think that snakes will probably be inclined to go someplace where there is a good, reliable source of food and there are others of their kind to make a home. Kinda like them lady bugs that are released but do not stick around the garden long. But that is just what I think.
Bill P.

My compost piles are in the woods with plenty of rats and voles sharing the space. I have never in 15 years had them show any interest in compost. I do get salamanders and small orange colored snakes that feed on the bugs living in compost.Al

awesome, sounds good.

good to hear I will not attract more rodents...how about the gophers I already have? would a snake work and do you think a gopher snake would go after a smaller dog?

"would a snake work and do you think a gopher snake would go after a smaller dog?"

No to both questions. As gonefishin points out, convincing the snake to hang around to eat your rodents would be a problem. This issue would be exacerbated by the presence of a Jack Russell Terrorist. A good-sized model of that snake could kill and eat a small dog, but not a JRT. If your dog is young, you could train him to hunt your gophers. They were originally bred to hunt small game like foxes and raccoons. They don's kill them, though. They just drive them to ground. You'd have to do the deed.

I think Jack Russels are fiesty enough that the snake is in more danger than the dog.

And a well managed pile doesn't usually attracts snakes or rodents, however if they do show up; you can manipulate the mix - don't use kitchen scraps and keep the pile heavy on the brown side to discourage critters.

Thank you to everyone.

This advice is extremely helpful!

My pile is not well managed and does attract chipmunks and mice. This is fine with me because they stay there, well away from my house, most of the time. I wish I had a nice milk snake that would eat the mice though, but no luck.

Gophers? Do you mean woodchucks? Around here, it would take a mighty serious JRT to scare a big fat woodchuck. Try talk radio, it really works.

Woodchuck = groundhog
Gopher = well, a gopher... Smaller than a woodchuck, rounder and faster too. More like a skunk without the smell. We don't really get them in New England that I know of.

A friend has trouble with moles, he's got a whatsis that sticks into the ground and randomly makes a buzz and a clunk. Many fewer mole problems. Apparently they don't like the noise. Maybe it'd work for gophers too.

I'm surprised that you have a rodent problem with a JRT in the yard! I have a JRT, and I have almost no rodents. He hunts and controls them very well. He's caught mice, moles, squirrels, and even a rabbit. He also chases snakes when we walk in the woods, but he never can catch them.
Here's a picture of mine after he spent a few hours on patrol. Notice the smile!
{{gwi:141491}}

Ya, JRT's are bred as rat killers. I've seen pictures of piles upon piles of dead rats from a good day's work in a livestock barn from 2 JRT's.

Heck, they have to burn off that energy somehow- might as well put them to work.

Woodchuck is a serious sized critter. Gophers come in a number of varieties ranging up to small squirrel-sized I think.

Gophers, huh! I'm 15 miles n.w. of Phoenix. We have gophers and various kinds of snakes including the California King.

Haven't had any problem with rats or mice in my compost piles and there are rodents in this rural area. The gophers like to get next to and under the compost bins when the weather cools off. If you want to keep the gophers out of a particular area, trench lightly around the area and pour pine soil in the trench.

Bob
Central Arizona

I've composted for years and never had an issue with any kind of animal in my compost.

The compost cooled off a lot a while back, and I've been using the "let it sit" approach instead of turning etc as I did through the summer.

I took something out to the bin the other day and saw some dirt in a little pile to the side of the bin. The next day I saw compost spilling out the top and when I looked in I saw that it had obviously been thrust there from a burrow in the back of the bin.

I'm not sure what's in there, but I think I'll be emptying the bin this weekend. It's not finished compost, but it'll be close enough to finished by the time the garden is ready for planting (mid May around here).