San Diego: Vector Sector
October 3, 2022
Last Minute Winter Pest Control Can Still Help You This Year
December 22, 2022
Gophers may look like friendly and cute little critters, but they’re actually a serious pest problem. They're known for the holes they dig in your yards and are typically depicted as cartoon characters. The truth is that gophers are a reality, and we’ve got all the information you need to know about them here:
Size and Identifiers
In general, gophers range anywhere from five to fourteen inches long, including their tail. They weigh about a half pound, and are known for their cheek pockets. Like many rodent species, their cheeks are used to carry their food around. Gophers have long claws that allow them to dig, a short tail, and small eyes and ears. Another feature they share with other rodents is that their teeth are continuously growing, which is why they cause so much damage and are constantly gnawing on things.
**Fact: the western states house about thirteen different species of gophers.
Habitat and Diet
Gophers fare well in moist, porous soil. Because they live underground, they have to be able to dig around. They also enjoy living where there is plenty of vegetation because they typically eat plants. If they aren’t eating plants, they are using them for part of their shelter.
Gophers create extensive tunnels beneath the ground. Just like our homes, gophers have a sort of room for everything. They have a place where they can go to the bathroom, a separate area for living and eating, and they even create their own drainage tunnels. Gophers are pretty impressive animals, but because of their intricate, yet large tunnel systems, they create massive amounts of damage.
In one day alone, gophers will consume around 0.3 pounds of vegetation. While that may seem minimal, the damage builds day after day. Vegetation doesn’t weigh much, so in order to consume that much, they have to be making serious progress in your garden. Roots, shrubs, grasses, and trees are all gophers’ favorite foods.
**Fact: Gophers’ cheeks are fur-lined, and they turn them inside out in order to clean them.
Damage
Seeing piles of soil around your yard is an obvious sign of having a gopher problem. Another tell-tale sign of gophers can be spotted at the base of trees and shrubs. Gophers will gnaw on them, trimming the bottom of shrubs and roots of trees just above ground level. A less obvious sign of gophers is chewed up electrical lines, water lines, and irrigation systems.
Solution!
Mission Pest Control is here to help clear up your gopher problems. We have a number of treatments for gophers so that you can rid your home and yard of the damage they cause. Keeping your eye out for any signs, or scheduling a routine pest inspection can help keep gopher damage from happening to your home.
