All Gopher Control Products
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All Gopher Control Products
|
Gophers present a more serious problem than Moles, including destruction of underground utility cables, water lines, sprinkler systems and irrigation pipes.
Damage is most severe in the spring and fall when gophers are active near the soil's surface. 
Pocket gophers are rodents from 5 to 14 inches long.
Pocket gophers have fur-lined pouches outside of the mouth, one on each side of the face. These pockets, which are capable of being turned inside out, are used for carrying food.
Their fur ranges black to light brown and white.
Pocket gophers heads are small and flattened, with small ears and eyes .
Gophers are solitary animals except when breeding or rearing young. Gophers are active year round, but are the most visibly active in the spring and fall when the soil is of the ideal moisture content for digging.

Gophers are extremely well adapted and built for an underground existence. The gopher lives most of its life beneath the surface where it digs a burrow system. A gopher can create large, horseshoe-shaped mounds that may cause damage to passing farm equipment. Additionally, its tunnels often interfere with irrigation systems, dams, fields, and homeowners' gardens. Gopher underground burrows can be very deep, up to several feet, and several hundred feet in length. As gophers dig burrows, pushing the soil to the surface, they leave a mound, usually in a fan shaped, Moles leave a conical shape.
Gophers can create up to 70 mounds per month in ideal soil. Gopher tunnels are larger in diameter and deeper than those of moles but are much less extensive. And, unlike Mole tunnels, Gopher tunnels are usually not visible on the ground surface due to their deeper location.
Another symptom of a Gopher infestation is to observe damage to roots, tree bark, seeds, bulbs and other plant parts in yards or farms.

Color: |
Black to pale brown |
Weight: |
6 to 14 ounces |
Length: |
5-14 inches |
Tail Length: |
4 inches |
Body: |
Powerfully built in the forequarters; fine, soft furl; short neck; small, flattened head; front feet with long, sharp claws |
Ears: |
Small |
Eyes: |
Small external |
Lifespan: |
1-3 years on average |
1. Gopher Traps:
For small numbers of gophers, control can be accomplished with the use of gopher traps such as Easy Set Gopher Trap
The key to effective gopher traps is to properly locate main tunnels and then correctly place the traps within the tunnels.
Gopher traps are most effective when they are placed in pairs in opposite directions in main tunnels as they will intercept gophers coming from either direction.
In addition to the main tunnel traps, gopher traps can also be placed in the lateral tunnels leading to mounds.
Main runways can be located by probing with a sharp stick or rod one or two feet away from a mound opposite the burrow plug.
Once the tunnel is located, it should be opened with a trowel or shovel to allow for the placement of gopher traps.
The gopher traps should be worked back and forth in the tunnel to loosen the earth.
After setting gopher traps, it is important to exclude light and air currents by covering the opening with grass clods, cardboard, or some other material.
All gopher traps should be wired to stakes to allow for safe and easy trap/carcass recovery as well as to prevent predators from removing the traps.
Gopher traps should be checked once or twice daily.
If a trap falls to catch a gopher within 3-4 days, it should be moved to a new location.
Trapping can be done any time of the year (as long as the ground is soft enough to permit digging), but spring is overall the best time to trap as this is when gopher activity is high and the ground is easy to work.
Gopher trapping in the early part of the year will help to maintain population levels by eliminating breeding females. After removal of any trapped gophers, it is wise (if it does not pose any hazard to children or pets) to leave a few gopher traps set in the burrows for a week or two because new invading gophers often explore vacated burrows before constructing completely new burrow systems.
Giant Destroyers
Recommended product would be Giant Destroyer Smoke Bombs , a gaseous product that is lighted and put in the main burrows.
Gopher Bait
Gopher Bait is another recommended product for Gopher Control
Active Ingredient(s):0.5% Strychnine
Strychnine treated grain bait for pocket gopher control. Subsoil applications only. Insert one tablespoon of bait into the gopher burrow system. One pound of bait will treat one to eight acres.

Whole Control is another recommended product, inhibiting the tunnels and burrows of pocket gophers.
It is a completely natural and effective way to work with gophers and moles. One qt (with a sprayer attachment )covers 5,000 square feet