Where Did These Gophers Come From and Why My Yard?

The most asked questions about gophers are; (1.) Why my yard and (2. )where did they suddenly come from? 

Who Gophers Chose Your Property

Gophers migrate from neighboring properties where populations have gotten out of control, or where food sources have become scarce. They also have a preference for cool, soft, well irrigated soil with good drainage and lots of tasty plants. So, as to why they pick your property, it may be that yours is just what they are looking for!

Understanding Gopher Habitats

The most important thing to understand about gophers is that they do not discriminate between, fields, forests, gardens, lawns, your yard, or that of your neighbor. Wherever food is plentiful, that’s where the gophers will be. Like all living creatures, they need food, water, and shelter to survive and our Southern California properties provide these commodities in abundance.

Gopher Basics: Species and Preferences

To understand gophers, let’s start with some Gopher basics. There are 5 species of gophers found in California, but the most notorious and numerous, in Southern California, is the Botta’s Pocket Gopher.

Pocket gophers are herbivorous and feed on a wide variety of vegetation, but mostly prefer fresh, tasty plants, shrubs, and trees, feeding on tender stalks and roots. They are burrowing rodents that are designed primarily as digging machines.  Their talent for digging holes and ruining landscapes is legendary.

The Behavior and Territory of Pocket Gophers

Being highly territorial, these rodents will defend their burrows to death from another gopher. Other than in mating season, they will seek exclusive control of large territories that can exceed 2000 square ft. and a network of tunnels that can total a mile in length. And by the way, their tunnels can be as deep as 6 ft. underground.

diagram of gopher burrow

Gopher Activity: Breeding and Young

Pocket gophers are loners except during the breeding season (spring and summer) or when females have young with them. The young develop quickly, remain in the nest for five to six weeks, and then wander off above ground to form their own territories. This is why in the spring and summer you will see gophers scampering above ground.
Gophers are one the most frustrating creatures to invade Southern California properties. Just when you think you have gotten rid of them, they reappear with a vengeance, leaving your yard or garden looking like a battlefield.

Why Choose Corky’s Pest Control for Gopher Management

This is why Corky’s Pest Control’s Gopher Control Service is so important.  It gets rid of gophers and alleviates the stress caused by unsuccessful, do-it-yourself failures, by eliminating active gophers and keeping others away from our customer’s properties.  And we do this with consistent, proven, successful gopher treatment plans.

Call Corky’s! 1-800-901-1102  and Schedule your service Today!