If you’ve seen pictures of gophers, you may think they’re cute animals. If you see one in your yard, your first reaction might be excitement at seeing a new wild animal. However, as soon as you realize how much damage gophers can cause in your yard, you may change your mind. These animals are considered pests for a reason—because they cause serious damage to properties. In this article, we’ll cover some of the dangers of having gophers, and we’ll let you know how to save your yard.
Is That A Gopher In My Yard?
How can you identify a gopher? Gophers are large rodents that live in underground tunnels. They’re tan or brown in color with short necks, short snouts, and long whiskers. Just because a gopher is living in your yard, though, doesn’t mean you’ll see it. Gophers prefer to stay underground as much as possible. They dig complicated tunnel systems and don’t need to spend a lot of time above ground. If you have gophers, the first thing you may notice are holes in your yard, which could be gopher tunnel entrance and exit points.
What’s Wrong With Gophers?
If gophers are living in your yard, you’ll probably see the damage they cause. They’re herbivores, meaning they eat plants. If you have a garden, it may begin to disappear as gophers feed on it. Gophers also eat the roots of plants. This means they could be killing plants or trees in your yard without you even noticing–until it’s too late. Given enough time, your plants will begin to wither and die. You may have no idea why your plants are dying, but if there are gophers underground, they are responsible.
Because gophers dig long tunnel systems, they can cause damage to the integrity of your yard. They may destroy driveways, walkways, and flower beds. Your yard may begin to look uneven and you could begin to find large holes, mounds, and dips across the lawn. This can be dangerous, as someone walking in the yard could trip on the holes that gophers leave behind. Gophers can build tunnels quickly and cause a lot of damage in a small amount of time. The longer they live near your house or business, the more damage will be done to your yard.
How Can I Keep Gophers Out?
There isn’t a lot you can do to prevent gophers. They can be incredibly difficult to stop once they decide they want to live in your yard. If you spot gopher holes, or actually see a gopher, call the professionals who have direct experience in working with these pests. Smith’s Pest Management specializes in gopher control.
We offer non-toxic options for gopher elimination. If you have a gopher problem, we’ll inspect your property to determine the best plan of action. This may include the use of traps to remove gophers. We may also use carbon monoxide to remove gophers from your property without causing any risk to you or your family. This treatment targets any gophers in the area and is humane and safe for the environment.
Smith’s Pest Management can conduct year-round gopher control. We’ll visit your property for routine checks, so that you can rest assured that gophers won’t make their home in your yard again. Our inspections will allow us to spot gophers the moment they arrive and eliminate them before they cause problems. There’s no reason to live with a gopher infestation, call Smith’s Pest Management.
