Gopher Control, Extermination & Removal

Pocket gophers, often called gophers, are burrowing rodents. Pocket gophers are well equipped for a digging, tunneling lifestyle with their powerfully built forequarters; large-clawed front paws; fine, short fur that doesn't cake in wet soils; small eyes and ears; and highly sensitive facial whiskers that assist with moving about in the dark. Gophers remain underground in their burrow system, although sometimes this rodent come above ground to feed, at the edge of a gopher hole, to push dirt out of a burrow, or when moving to a new area.

Mounds of soil are the best sign of a gopher's presence. This animal forms mounds as they dig tunnels and push the loose dirt to the surface. The gopher hole, which is off to one side of the mound, usually is plugged.

Pocket gophers live in a burrow system that can cover an area that is 200 to 2,000 square feet. Short, sloping lateral tunnels connect the main burrow system to the surface; gophers create these while pushing dirt to the surface to construct the main tunnel.

Gophers don't hibernate and are active year-round, although you might not see any fresh mounding. They also can be active at all hours of the day. Gophers usually live alone, except when females are caring for their young or during breeding season. A litter usually averages 5 to 6 pups. The gopher can live up to 3 years and can produce up to 3 litters per year.

The gopher eats and feed on a wide variety of plants. Gophers use their sense of smell to locate food and feed on roots and fleshy portions of plants they encounter while digging. The gopher sometimes feed aboveground, venturing only a body length or so from their tunnel opening. You can identify the feeding hole by the absence of a dirt mound and by a band of clipped vegetation around the hole. Gophers also will pull entire plants into their tunnel from below.

Pocket gophers often invade yards and gardens, feeding on many garden plants, ornamental plants, vines, shrubs, and trees. A single gopher moving down a garden row can inflict a lot of damage in a very short time. Gophers also gnaw and damage plastic water lines and lawn sprinkler systems. Mounds on lawns interfere with mowing equipment; ruin the aesthetics of well-kept turf grass and landscaping. They can create holes and soft spots that a person, horse or other animal could step in resulting in a fall, sprained ankle, and twisted knee.

Getting Rid Of Gophers

To successfully control gophers in Orange County and Los Angeles County, the sooner you detect their presence and take control measures the better. Wheeler's pest control may use the following to clear a property of gophers (trapping, baiting or fumigation) to clear your property. The method used will be determined once we see how extensive the problem is and where the gophers are in relationship to occupied buildings. Unlike other companies we have a regular follow up after we have treated your property to make sure the problem is gone.