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Gopher removal services
Gophers (also commonly referred to as pocket gophers) are rodents that can destroy your lawn and garden. These small rodents spend most of their lives building complex tunnel systems under your yard to protect themselves from predators. Just a single gopher can cause tremendous damage to your lawn.
Gophers are pests, and if you want to stop the damage to your garden, crops, or lawn, then call the gopher removal and wildlife control experts at Western Exterminator for the right solutions.
Contact your local gopher experts!
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Gopher identification
What do gophers look like?
- Size: 4-5” in length. Gophers are larger than mice, but typically smaller than rats.
- Color: Range from black to brown to white.
- Body: Stout bodies with small ears and eyes, no neck, short legs, and feet with large claws.
Signs of gophers in your yard
Gophers can be hard to spot because they spend so much time underground. Often you will not know that you have a gopher problem until you spot the damage.
Dirt mounds and tunnels
Gophers will create mounds, holes, and tunnels all throughout your yard. A telltale sign of gophers on your property is the mounds of fresh soil shaped like horseshoes or crescents.
Gophers burrow to the surface and create “feed holes” to reach vegetation on the surface. Gopher tunnels are usually six to 12 inches below the ground. These tunnels run parallel to the surface and often include one main tunnel and then numerous branching tunnels.
Vegetation damage
Gophers love to snack on the roots of trees and other vegetation. They are herbivores and enjoy all kinds of vegetables, particularly alfalfa and dandelions. If a tree you planted starts leaning and you notice the telltale dirt mounds beneath it, check to see if the roots are still there. If they're not, then you likely have a gopher problem.
How to get rid of gophers
Though there are DIY methods to get rid of gophers, they are not a complete fix to a gopher infestation. Removing gophers from your property requires the expertise and tools that a professional pest control company, like Western Exterminator, can offer.
To eliminate gophers on your property, your Western Exterminator Technician will use one of the two control methods below.
Trapping
Underground traps will be placed to eliminate gophers humanely. Traps will only be effective if you have a smaller gopher population in your yard. Because of gophers’ complex burrow and tunnel systems, traps are not recommended to eliminate a large population of gophers.
Burrow fumigation is the best method to remove large colonies of gophers on your property. Burrow fumigation treatments remove the gophers underground by filling the area with a lethal gas and then closing off all tunnels and exits.
Get rid of gophers with Western
Gophers occur in most areas of the Western United States and are a particular problem in areas such as Novato and Bakersfield.
The Technicians at Western Exterminator can identify the type of pocket gopher that is infesting your yard, eliminate it, and offer advice on how to prevent their return. Call us at 800-937-8398 or contact us online to discuss your gopher problems.