Gopher Control

(Pictured above, fresh gopher mound, not yet plugged)

If you are experiencing a gopher problem, we can help!  We use only ethical methods to deal with problem gophers and never use poisons.  The most common gopher in our local region is the Pocket Gopher, Thomomys bottae.  This species is commonly called Botta’s Pocket Gopher.  We offer different options for gopher control and choose the method best suited to your property.  We do not use poison.

Gophers are members of the rodent family.  At maturity, pocket gophers are approximately 7 to 10 inches long, including the tail, and weigh 5 to 8 ounces.  Males are larger than females.   Botta’s pocket gopher eats only vegetable matter and enjoys a wide variety of plants.  In the wild, they love young shoots and grasses.  They also eat tubers, roots, and bulbs.  They can pull entire plants from beneath the ground by the roots.  Pocket gophers don’t eat outside their burrows and spend approximately 90% of their lives beneath the ground.  They are a prey item to many other species of animals, so remaining safe underground is a survival instinct.  Pocket gophers eat almost entirely underground, feeding on roots and sometimes pulling plants into their extensive tunnel systems. 

Pocket gophers aren’t choosy and live in all soil types.   Even dense clay soil is no deterrent because pocket gophers not only eat with their powerful teeth, they use them to dig!   Burrows are an extensive system of sleeping, food storage, and latrine chambers and are often 5 feet deep, and a comprehensive system of tunnels allows them to forage for plants by detecting roots. 

They create extensive side tunnels to dispose of excavated soil.  On the soil surface, we identify activity areas by the fan-shaped mounds they deposit above ground.  The entrance is usually plugged up and remains hidden for protection.,

Pocket gophers are beneficial animals in the wild.  They loosen compacted soils, and their burrows and tunnels catch valuable snowmelt.

When pocket gophers decide to make their homes in agricultural or residential areas, they can cause tremendous damage.  When digging burrows, they will chew through irrigation pipes, utility service lines, and can destroy lawns, vegetable gardens, ornamental plants and trees.  In addition, their tunnel entrances and shallow feeding runs can cause severe injuries to people and livestock.   

High Desert Wildlife Control  760-961-5980