I have never heard of gopher mesh or used gopher mesh so I wandered off for a tutorial. What follows is a first impression of the product from a long time peasant gardener for the well to do. It would make taking proper care of the landscaped beds other than the lawn a pain. As in a nightmare. But what do I know I don't have gophers and have no idea how long the stuff would persist in the soil.

I don't care what the lawn mower dude does, but keep it out of my flower beds. I'd get a couple of big cats.

Being a gofor for my wife's business gives me a different prospective, but does not qualify me to answer this: Unless you put something down that is not easily broken, I do not see the mesh as any more deterrent to a gopher than the many small plant roots that he probably encounters as he goes about his day.

From the human point of view, every time you plant something new you will have to cut through the mess to make the hole. This may be easier that plastic the previous owner of our house put down, but a problem just the same. Also when the weed roots become tangled in the mesh they will be much harder to pull.

I seriously doubt the wire degrades in two years; I have buried chicken wire and it‘s still intact 5 years later. I suspect your landscaper doesn‘t want to install it and rightly so.

Burying wire a couple of inches is a fruitless endevour as it will inevitably resurface with regular wear and tear and torrential rains.

Imagine wanting to plant something, you’d have to cut the wire AND make sure there are no sharp edges protruding upward to stab people and animals.

Set traps, dispose of carcass, repeat.