With the efforts of improving our ecosystem, it’s essential to have ways in which we can take care of our environment as vegetation in it. Gophers, for a long time, have had effects on plants, especially on the roots, thus leading to the death of most plants.
Given that they are small underground rodents, it could take time to notice the effects on the plant until it’s too late to save the plant.
Besides destroying vines and trees, they also destroy underground equipment such as sprinklers. As a result, the damages end up affecting the natural setup of the ground as well as drainage, hence the need to understand gopher exterminator strategies that will help us reduce the impact.
How Can We Identify a Lawn Infested by Gophers?
While checking on the plants to check whether they are prone to gophers or not, we check for the presence of horseshoe-shaped gopher mounds, half piles of loose soil with a plugged hole off on one side.
Root damage is another sign of gopher, which fresh mounds at the bottom of the trees or vines can identify. It is crucial to keep on checking for these issues in our lawns to avoid death to our vegetation. Another way to identify is by checking for tunnels that connect with mounds.
Gopher Exterminator Strategies
Trapping
Trapping is one of the most effective strategies that could be implemented to curb gophers. To understand the best type of gopher trap to use, it is important to get advice on what trap works best in your area. Traps are usually placed at the entrance of the tunnels, and they shut immediately when they detect the target animal. Some of the best gopher traps are Cinch traps, Macabee traps, and box traps.
Flooding
Flooding gopher burrows is another gopher exterminator strategy that one can implement by using a garden hose to force the gophers to leave the tunnel. This way, we find an opportunity to kill the gopher once they leave the tunnel.
Using Gopher Repellants
Some exterminators will make use of repellants to keep gophers at bay. This method uses nonlethal gopher repellant that deters gopher activities. This works by producing a smell and a taste that gophers cannot stand.
Use of Gopher Baits
Last but not least, gopher exterminators will employ baits. By using environmentally friendly rodenticide baits, the gopher gets to eat the bait. To prevent other animals that are not the target from eating the bait, the bait is applied below the ground, where the gophers tend to go through.
Types of Gopher
There are several types of gophers that the gopher exterminator strategies can be used to eliminate them. They include Botta’s pocket gopher, which is about 6 inches long and is rarely found above the ground—western pocket gopher, found in northern California.
Mountain pocket gophers, on the other hand, are found in high-elevation areas. Townsend’s pocket gophers are found in arid desert climates, where the lawns are grassy and overwatered.
In Conclusion
There’s a need to consult with professionals like Gopher Stop since some of the gophers are protected, so they can use the right strategies to curb them. Depending on the location, there could exist different types of gopher which would require to be handled differently.