Top 5 Myths About Gopher Control

We specialize in taking care of gophers so we often hear a lot of myths when talking with customers.

1. “I Have an Army of Gophers at My Property!!”

We hear this one a lot, especially because we price our trapping service per gopher so people are understandably worried that they have a lot of them on their property. Luckily gophers are actually quite territorial! This means they do not want to share tunnels with each other. If you have a really large landscape or live near open space it can increase the chances of having multiple but even then most properties have less than 10. We typically encounter between 1 to 3 at a time at most properties.

This can change during breeding season since that is the only time gophers will cohabitate but even then they don’t live in large colonies. We’ll maybe see anywhere from 2 to 6 if we encounter multiples.

The only places we have encounter what we would consider a gopher army have been schools and parks that have been left untended for a while so if you have an average sized yard then you’re probably safe from a huge gopher invasion!

2. Pesticides are Extremely Dangerous

While pesticides do have their risks, when you follow the label and safety instructions they can be a very safe means of controlling these critters. The bait we use for gophers in our gopher clean up service and our ongoing Gopher, Mole, and Vole Control Program is only ever injected directly into the gophers’ tunnel systems. It is never left on the surface for other animals or people to easily access it. The amount of bait it takes to kill a gopher is also quite small so if a large animal ingests that amount of bait it won’t have the same severe effects.

The bait we use is also a treated grain so whatever isn’t eaten will break down in a couple of weeks.

The risk of secondary poisoning is also relatively low, again, because such a small amount is needed to work its way through a gopher’s system it won’t be enough bait to really hurt an animal that eats a poisoned gopher. Gophers also tend to retreat into the deeper parts of the tunnel system when they begin to feel the effects so they’re not easily accessible.

3. Flooding Their Tunnels with Your Hose or Other DIY Options Will Get Rid of Them

Unfortunately flooding their tunnels is probably one of the least effective means of gopher control out there. Our typical hoses aren’t strong enough to create a serious flood and will just saturate the surrounding soil more than anything. Gopher tunnels are deeper and more expansive than we realize so the water from your hose simply won’t reach the deeper levels. The gopher mounds we see are just little doors they make to get dirt out of their way and find food.

Methods like putting bubble gum, certain essential oils, or other items in their tunnels are similarly not effective. Because they have expansive tunnel systems the areas we can reach won’t do affect the system as a whole. They’re more likely to just adjust their tunnelling to go towards a different area than leave the property entirely.

4. You Can Prevent Gophers From Coming onto Your Property

Sadly, there is no 100% guaranteed way to prevent gophers from coming back. As long as there’s soil and plants the gophers will find a way back in. Additionally, if you live near any open space your chances of having recurring activity automatically go up.

We live in their habitat so they’ll come and go as they please. Treating for gophers in nearby open space can help reduce their population but unfortunately there’s no way to completely eradicate them.

5. Gophers Hibernate During Winter

It simply does not get cold enough here in California for these critters to hibernate. This means that they are active all year long. You may see a reduction in activity on your property during the winter months but this is only because their food sources are more plentiful in the open space during this time of year. We get an uptick in activity during summer because the heat and drought causes all their food to die off in those spaces.