Gophers will eat the roots of trees, bushes and succulents as well as the above ground vegetation like grass, flowers and ground cover. Plants eventually die from being eaten by the gophers.

Gophers pop up and eat the blades of grass in a lawn. They make large mounds of dirt. The mounds are the excavated dirt from making more tunnels. They also borrow up to the surface and harvest the blades of grass, stuff it into their hamster-like cheeks and store it into their underground “pantries”. You get bare patches of lawn and lots of little mounds from this. Their underground tunnels can collapse causing low spots in the lawn and tripping hazards.

Gophers create mounds of dirt on rockscapes and mulch landscaping from their tunneling. They also chew through drip lines and eat the plants in landscapes. A gopher can chew right through any weed barrier.

Gophers like to borrow under concrete sidewalks, foundations and driveways. The tunnels they create under the concrete weaken the underlayment and can cause cracks over time.

Gophers chew through drip and PVC irrigation lines and can even chew into and tunnel through drainage pipes. Gophers will follow and chew through underground wires for lighting and irrigation control valves.

Although gophers typically don’t pop up through artificial turf, they do like to tunnel under it and create mounds around the edges of the turf. Artificial turf has a gravel or compacted DG underlayment that gophers find attractive to create their homes under for safety.

Gophers eat the roots of:

• Bushes and flowers, especially rose bushes
• Trees + citrus, fig, avocado and palm trees
• Succulents – jade plants, agaves, aeoniums, and aloes

Gophers pop up above ground and commonly eat the vegetation of:

• Lawns and ornamental grasses
• Ground covers like kurapia

Yes. In the case of dogs and cats, gophers frequently bring fleas and mites into the yard and transmit them to your pets. Gophers can carry diseases like rabies as well.

Horse ankles can be badly hurt when their hooves fall into the collapsed gopher tunnels and open holes.

You can’t. All effective gopher traps and poison baits kill gophers. Sonic repellents typically don’t work well because gophers often are only commuting into your yard on a daily basis just to eat your lawn or bushes, but live outside your property. The annoying sound of a sonic repeller won’t be a bother to them in this case.

Castor oil repellents typically don’t get rid of existing gophers due to the territorial nature of the animal. If you are able to eradicate your current gopher infestation with traps or poison then you can apply a castor oil based repellent to make the ground and vegetation smell and taste bad to gophers. By eliminating your yard as a food source you stand a chance of keeping new gophers from returning. Just be sure to apply the repellent regularly (monthly) to keep it fresh.

Although many gardening groups and online articles will say that plants like lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus will repel gophers, any experienced gopher exterminator will tell you they don’t. Pros see gopher mounds in and around these plants on a daily basis. If the only plants you planted were the so-called gopher repellent plants, then you probably won’t attract gophers into your yard.

Trapping with cinch traps inside gopher tunnels or trapping with a GopherHawk style trap is the best way to get rid of gophers. If you don’t want to trap for gophers yourself, then hiring a reputable, professional gopher removal service is the best way to get rid of gophers.

In California and some other states, strict regulations make poison baits less effective, restricting potent options to licensed professionals only. Moreover, these baits endanger pets and wildlife—such as the local hawks and owls—which can experience secondary poisoning by consuming contaminated gophers. If you are going to use poison, then only use a properly licensed, professional gopher exterminator trained in the safe and effective use of poisons.

Gopher tunnel fumigation and flooding sometimes works - usually when a gopher has just shown up in the middle of a yard or under a concrete walkway. Gopher tunnels are often more extensive than we think and gophers account for drainage in the building of their tunnels. If the gas or water technique isn’t successful then the gopher will just make a new tunnel system or come back a few days later and you’ll see a fresh set of mounds.

Newly planted trees and bushes can be protected from gophers by using a gopher basket. Gopher baskets are a metal mesh designed to surround and protect the new plant’s roots and allow them to grow. Garden boxes can be lined with 3/4” (or smaller) wire mesh (not chicken wire) to keep gophers out.

Relying on cats and dogs to control gophers is not a good strategy - they only occasionally catch a gopher. Some dog breeds, like Rat Terriers, instinctually hunt gophers, but the digging they do to a yard is often more destructive than the gophers themselves.

Owl boxes can be setup on larger properties to encourage owls to roost. Orchards and vineyards set these up and owls will control a certain percentage of all the above and below ground rodents.

It is hard to predict Nature and if gophers will come back after they’ve been exterminated. The longer a gopher infestation has been around, the higher the chances are of new gophers coming back to your yard. Bigger properties or those next to wilderness are also subject to higher rates of gopher re-infestation.

You should call a professional gopher exterminator when:

• You need to remove the gophers quickly to avoid costly damage to new landscaping, irrigation or if you have an upcoming event in your yard.
• You are not up to getting your hands dirty with digging and trapping gophers or disposing of their dead bodies.
• You have more than one gopher. Multiple gophers can breed and DIY attempts can get frustrating quickly if unsuccessful.

Hiring an experienced, licensed and insured professional gopher exterminator costs $300 to $500 depending on the size of the gopher infestation. A good pro will have a good online reputation, offer a service warranty and will be known for having good communication, on-time arrival and upfront pricing.

Trapping for gophers is the most effective and eco-friendly way to remove gophers. CO2 gas fumigation or the installation of owl boxes can also be used. Castor-oil repellents can be used to keep gophers from coming back after they’ve been removed. Avoid poison baits as they can accidentally kill pets or the natural predators of gophers like snakes, hawks, etc.