What to Expect During Gopher Breeding Season

For gophers, breeding usually occurs during late winter and early spring. This is typically the only time gophers will cohabitate.

Litter Size

Gopher litters usually average 5 to 6 young.

In non-irrigated areas, gophers tend to have 1 litter per year but in irrigated sites, gophers can produce up to 3 litters per year.

Gopher mothers only stay with the litter for a few weeks, after that they will be sent out of the burrow.

Baby Gopher Activity

During the breeding season is about the only time you will see gophers travel above ground, this is because the young gophers are dispersing to new sites to create their own territories.

Young gopher activity also looks different than their adult counterparts. Adult gophers are better at pushing dirt out into their mounds and plugging the holes while young gophers tend to leave behind more chaotic activity with multiple small mounds and slightly plugged holes. You can read more about adult gopher activity here.

What Can You Do?

Breeding season can have a drastic impact on your landscape since the number of gophers on your property can grow exponentially in a short period of time. The best way to preemptively combat this activity is to be on our ongoing Gopher, Mole, and Vole Control Program as we provide extra treatments during the winter months to reduce the population before breeding season occurs. 

Our ongoing service is available after we clear up any initial activity on the property and entails us coming out regularly to service your property about every 6 weeks. During the winter months we will walk any accessible open space near your property and place bait in areas of gopher activity. 

You can read more about our program here.

If you are currently experiencing what you think is gopher activity on your property please give us a call or submit an online form so that we can assist you!