Why Gophers Are So Destructive And How To Get Rid Of Them
Gophers are cute little animals, but they are highly destructive. Even though they stay underground most of the time, they leave visible damage in their wake. You may not actually see any gophers, but you'll know you have at least one by all the mounds and tunnels in your yard. When you spot gopher activity, you want to call a rodent control professional who offers gopher control services before extensive damage is done. Here's why gophers are such a danger and how you can get rid of them.
Why Gophers Are Dangerous Pests
A gopher won't hurt you unless you scare it or try to hurt it. They hide most of the time, and they eat plants, so they're not interested in you or your pets for food. However, they do transmit some diseases like rabies and parasites like ticks, so you don't want them around. Their tunnels and mounds can also destroy your expensive landscaping. Even worse, you could twist an ankle in one of the tunnels if it collapses when you step on it.
Gophers chew through just about anything that gets in their way, including electrical cables and lawn irrigation systems. Another danger of having gophers around is that they attract predators like snakes and coyotes that add to your problems. Not only that, but your dog may dig constantly in the yard trying to get to the gophers, and that causes even more damage.
How To Get Rid Of Gophers
Most methods for getting rid of gophers involve killing them. They can't be lured into live traps easily, and if they are, there's the problem of where to release them. The exterminator might use a rod to locate the tunnels and then place snap traps in them. Since the gophers will die under the ground, there won't be an odor problem. Another method involves flooding the tunnel system with gas that kills them.
Poison might also be used if it's deemed safe in your situation. The exterminator assesses your property first and then determines the best way to get rid of the gophers in a safe and effective manner. The good news is that gophers tend to be solitary creatures, and they have large territories. If you have a small yard, you may only have one gopher to get rid of.
There may not be much you can do to prevent a new gopher from moving into your yard. If you have a garden you want to keep the gopher out of, then surround the garden by a mesh fence that's buried underground so the gopher can't tunnel through and get to your vegetables or flowers.