Gopher Infestations | Allpro Pest Services

Gophers are well built to maintain a habitat underground. These gophers have small flattened heads with small ears and eyes and can be anywhere from 5 to 14 inches long. They rely on touch to maneuver and have fur-lined pouches as cheeks that are used to carry food. This is why they are also known as pocket gophers.

Even though gophers are small they infer big problems. Problems such as damage to sprinkler systems, waterlines, and even utility cables. During the spring and fall months is when the soil is moistened to the gophers’ preference. This is when gophers are more active towards the surface and can be seen without difficulty.

As a gopher digs its tunnels, it pushes the soil up to the surface causing a fan-shaped mound. When the soil is most ideal for the gopher it can leave up to seventy mounds in one month. A gopher can also leave a horseshoe shape mound which can potentially be dangerous to passing equipment.

Gophers remain solitary for most of their three-year lifespan unless a mother is still attending to her young or during mating season. Mating season is typically at the end of winter or in the early spring. They can have up to three litters a year, consisting of five to six gophers a litter. When the young reach approximately one year of age, they then move onto their own and establish their own territory.

The majority of a gopher’s life is lived underground, where it creates tunnels and digs a burrow system. Gophers can dig their burrows extremely deep, up to a few feet, and can dig tunnels a few hundred feet long.  One single acre of land can accommodate up to sixty gophers.

Due to the severity of the gophers’ burrow system, this can cause detrimental damage to irrigation systems, fields, and beautiful gardens. One gopher can create a number of tunnels in one day.