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Pocket gophers - Thomomys bottae are an amazing species of rodentia. These are tunneling machines that are extremely difficult to kill because of their high intelligence, sense of smell and tunneling designs.
Pocket gophers live nearly their entire lives underground in their dens and tunnels, coming aboveground to get over or around items, to push soils out of their tunnels and to forage for food. They can survive flooding, even deliberate flooding that some people have unfortunately have done.
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The gestation for pocket gophers is 13-14 days. Litters range from 4-8 in a litter, typically 6.
MATURITY:
Maturity for a pocket gopher is 17 days.
REGENERATION:
Less than 30 days. One fertile female can move into an area, produce 4 within 30 days, take 3 of those 4, add the original mother and multiply them by the 30 days, you then have a possible 120 young. Gophers will continue to breed throughout all stages of life.
COLORING:
Gophers come in a wide variety of colors, shades and designs. From white, to black, to black with orange spots, to cinnamon and stripes. Much has to do with the location they are in globally. They are covered in fur, their sensitive tails are lightly coated with fur, as are their hands and feet. The bottoms of their feet and hands are hairless.
BODIES:
These muscular rodents are designed with long sharp digging claws on all fours, they have top and bottom teeth that will continue to grow throughout their lifetime. They have molars that are used to crush rocks and grind roots. Gophers will bite and usually, will not release unless killed.
The pocket gophers is named due to the pockets that are located on the sides of the cheeks, which are large, fur- lined; perfect for items scavenged, foods and even transporting young.
Pocket gophers are thick-bodied their legs are muscular and perfect for digging and moving soils and rocks.
Pocket gophers are hypersensitive to their surroundings and their desire to dig. Pocket gophers will work continually, foraging and tunneling, digging and chewing, while taking quick naps throughout the day and night. They feed on all types of roots and plants, while marigolds produce a bitter milk that the gophers do not consume, the gopher can pull the plant below surface, to utilize for den material. This is a female ritual, not male.
MORE:
There are many misconceptions about gophers.
Too many people who are reading old information and putting their own spin on things. We've spent years studying these rodents and have proven research from them.
SOLITUDE:
One of the greatest misconceptions is that "gophers like to be alone!"
Gophers share tunnels with their mates and even generations of their young.
In times of food shortages, outside gophers will come into the area and share tunnels until they've set up in a new area and breed.
Gophers are NOT Prairie Dogs, Squirrels, Badgers, Woodchucks, or Moles. While there are many species of gophers, there is a major difference. Our Canadian friends like to call Prairie Dogs gophers. When you hear of their shooting contests, they are for prairie dogs. If anyone tries to shoot a gopher, they will grow old waiting.
WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T:
In a nutshell? Traps. Everything is is a total waste of time, effort and money. There is only one single trap that we recommend, contact us for more information.
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- Plants
- Water, garden hoses and flooding
- Poisoned baits
- Poisonous gas
- Flammable gas
- Noisemakers
- Flares, smoke bombs, firecrackers and exhaust fumes
Plants: Will not work, not even a gopher plant. Marigolds are not something gophers like to eat but a pregnant female will use the plants for den material. Marigolds are best used in landscaping and to help keep bugs down.
Water, garden hoses and flooding: Will never work AND you will destroy your foundation of your and neighbors homes, pools, walls, roads, hillsides, etc. Whomever came up with this idea, doesn't have any common sense.
Poisoned baits: Will not work!!! Regardless of what any pest control company tells you, there is a scent on everything they apply. Maybe they can't detect an odor, but a gopher certainly can. The gopher will push the bait above ground where birds, pets and even children can eat it. When birds eat the bait, they drop anywhere, where dogs and cats can eat them, which will additionally poison and kill them.
Poisonous gas: WILL NOT WORK AND EXTREMELY DEADLY TO HUMANS - DO NOT USE THIS METHOD FOR GOPHERS - EVER! Pocket gopher, like many other burrowing rodentia, tunnel alongside and underneath homes. Concrete is porous and these highly toxic gasses will get into the homes. There have been cases throughout history of humans being killed by this method; 2 very little girls in Utah and another girl a few years ago, and her father was an exterminator. The bottom line is that Pest Control and Exterminators have no clue where the gopher tunnels are and when they use this type of product, they are endangering you and the public.
Since the recent deaths of the little girls in Utah, the US EPA has changed the labeling of this type of product. It cannot be used in ANY residential setting. IF any exterminator suggests to use this, refuse. There are still too many reckless individuals in business who care nothing about the safety of your family and home, and only about making money. Be careful.
Flammable gas and forced gas systems: Before you do this, THINK! If you can't see the gopher tunneling underground, how can you know where the gas is traveling to? How will you know that you're not about to blow up a wall, house or pool foundation, bathtub, interior wall to a home or even yourself? There have been significant damages to property and injuries to people, including serious burns because of this method. Gophers however will have a tunnel blocked off with a 4" thick wall before you can have the tunnel filled with gas. The gophers hear you walking above ground as as you are walking, they are leaving. Once you've left the area, they simply return. This method was designed for more open burrowed systems; ground squirrels and prairie dogs, but because many people confuse the name with the species, they are not taking care of the problem the right way. That being: pocket gophers must be trapped.
Noisemakers: Of all the products that are being sold for pocket gophers, these are the most ridiculous! They are useless! Consider this; if a gopher dens underneath a air conditioning unit, that turns on and off all the time, and vibrates continually, why would anyone think that a little battery or solar powered noise maker do the trick? Those machines cannot permeate through soils, will not chase off any pocket gophers and these companies are taking advantage of unknowing homeowners that are desperate to get rid of their gophers. I personally would like to see all my customers throughout the years file a class-action suit against these companies for all the money they've spent. Oh and forget about trying to get your money back if you want to return them, not one single customer of mine got a penny back for theirs, regardless of the company.
Flares, smoke bombs, firecrackers and exhaust fumes: No, not even these will work on pocket gophers. Same as the others, the gophers simply block off the tunnels. While you may get lucky and get a very young one, the typical litter size in 6 and there are generally several gophers in one area. Once you start using anything other than traps, the gophers will have YOU figured out and you will only make the situation worse.
The bottom line is this; got gophers? get a trapper!