As ridiculously funny as the movie Caddy Shack was, there is some painful truth to the damage gophers wreak and how tricky gopher control can get. Gophers spend their whole lives underground, where they build complex systems of tunnels. Within these tunnels, they eat by munching on roots and pulling plants into their tunnel, mate, and raise their pups.
The four large incisor teeth gophers are notable for continuing to grow throughout their lives, as do other critters in the rodent family, such as mice and rats. However, unlike most rodents, they are not nocturnal.
How Do I Know if a Gopher is in My Yard?
When looking out at a lawn with mounds of dirt, it may not be easy to distinguish between a gopher or mole problem. Both create extensive tunnels beneath the grass and spend most of their time underground. It will take a Critter Control specialist to identify exactly which pest is on your property.
Nice lawns make the perfect habitat for gophers. They love healthy, loose soil, so the better your lawn looks to you, the better it looks to a gopher too. Gophers love garden vegetables, bulbs, and other roots they come across. Their primary way of foraging for food is to eat through plant and lawn roots as they build their tunnels. One gopher will consume 60 percent of its body weight every day. This process can destroy the ecosystem beneath your lawn.
Gopher Damage
The unsightly mounds gophers make are just the visible damage they create. The tunnels they create weaken the ground you walk on and could cause a cave-in. And, by eating the roots as they dig, the grass will begin to die, causing brown patches in the lawn you’ve worked so hard to maintain the beauty of. Gopher problems also arise when the rodents feed on garden crops, ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees.
Getting Rid of Gophers
Gopher removal is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Gophers are smart animals that can easily outsmart an untrained person trying to capture them. And, with extensive tunnels crossing through your lawn, it’s hard to know exactly where they are. The best way to handle a gopher problem is to call a Critter Control specialist who will arrive with the right tools and training to trap the gophers safely and mitigate any potential damage.
Critter Control near me