Pocket Gopher Control
Pocket Gophers can be a major headache for both the agricultural and landscape industries, as well as the average homeowner. Their mounds can ruin the aesthetics of a well kept yard and cause severe plant damage as they feed on roots. Their burrows pose personal liability problems to homeowners, businesses, school districts, and various other municipalities as persons can injure their ankles in rough uneven areas. Additionally, burrowing activity may lead to irrigation problems, excessive water use, and erosion problems. On slopes, gophers can be particularly menacing as erosion can help contribute to slope instability and ultimately failure, which has become a major factor in recent litigation cases in California.
Critter Busters, Inc. provides rodent and pocket gopher control services for homeowners and large scale situations that most other pest control companies cannot or will not handle. Some of our experience includes gopher control at homeowners' associations, commercial shopping centers, cemeteries, golf courses, school districts, parks, and various other local, state and federal municipalities.
Pocket Gophers (Thomomys spp.), so named due to their fur-lined external cheek pouches (or pockets) that they use for carrying food. These rodents have powerful forequarters, large-clawed front paws, and lips that close behind their large incisors that they can use for digging. Gophers can live in a burrow system that can extend from 200 to 2000 square feet and can tunnel 200 to 300 feet per night. Since gophers are solitary animals a burrow system generally consists of only one gopher, unless they are mating. Gophers can have 1 to 3 litters per year with 5 to 6 born per litter. Their offspring usually stay with the mother the first two months and are then sent to burrow in their own systems. Gophers do not hibernate and are thought to be active at any hour of the day and year.
Pocket gopher control is dependent on a thorough understanding of their general biology and behavior. Large scale problems require development of a site specific plan that is tailored to fit the environment and safety of our clients. Management on a large scale basis or when a property borders open space typically requires an initial treatment to limit and control the current gopher population to manageable levels. A continuous monitoring program is then recommended to prevent severe re-infestation problems.
Call us today at 1-800-273-6059 for your FREE consultation and let our team of experts solve your gopher problem today with GUARANTEED RESULTS.
Upon contacting us we can provide you with a free estimate and recommend a gopher control program based on factors such as the size of your property, time of year, infestation level and the potential for new gopher migration.