How Much Damage Can A Few Gophers Do To My Farm?
What Problems Do Gophers Cause On Farms?
Gophers are rodents that oxygenate the soil, eat bugs, and mix surface soil layers, but their constant burrowing activity can be a problem on a farm or garden, making them one of the most irritating pests to deal with. They cause a lot of damage to homes and plantations, and that leads to a negative economic impact, including ruining fruit trees and vast fields.
But, how much damage can a gopher do to a farm? Can you deal with this issue by having only a few of these rodents in your yawn? Continue reading below to see the answer to these questions before contacting a trusted Chandler gopher trapper.
What Damage Can Gophers Cause To Your Home?
Gophers are extremely destructive due to their digging activity. It’s not difficult to see their presence because the damage they cause is very evident. They always start the damage in the lawns, which are very expensive to maintain. They do not only make holes in the earth but also make large tunnels and eat roots.
These rodents are underground experts, so they can easily damage your plants and flowers’ roots, which means a huge waste of money and time for all the maintenance that these garden works require.
They also destroy other installations while digging in, especially once they arrive at the house foundation. At this point, they often damage electrical cables, disrupt water, and many more. After that, they find their way to enter the house, and once they enter your home, they will take shelter inside your cupboards or through the plumbing.
The damages gophers cause in a house can be expensive to repair, and that’s why they are one of the worst household pests. Contacting an Gilbert gopher pest control company is often the best solution to trap these animals and prevent them from making colonies.
In addition to their damaging effect, gophers can also carry hazardous diseases like monkeypox, rabies, hantavirus, and plague. Similar to mice and rats, gophers’ urine stains your house’s walls, leaving a very unpleasant odor.
Gopher Control Tactics To Get Rid Of Them
There are several methods to get rid of gophers, but these two are the most common:
Trapping
Trapping is a non-toxic tactic that works well on small areas. The u-shaped, spring-type Macabee trap is the most common tool for this method. To use it, you have to find the main runway of the tunnel first. To do so, poke around in the fresh mounds. You will realize you found the main runway once the probe sinks 4 to 12 inches.
After finding the main runway, dig an opening into the tunnel and place at least two traps. Add a wire to each and anchor with a banner or flag for relocation. Be sure of leaving the hole open because the gopher will return as soon as it sees his burrow has been disrupted. Once it comes back, it will fall over the trap.
Contract Mesa gopher removal services if you prefer a better and more reliable service and you don’t want to trap the gophers by yourself.
Poison Baiting
Some homeowners and farmers use poison baiting to trap the gopher, but the farmer or user of this tactic must be very cautious to avoid affecting other animal populations (including pets).
Gopher baits are made of strychnine, a highly toxic alkaloid that’s very effective on them, but it can also be extremely harmful to seed-eating birds, hawks, owls, and even mammalian predators like foxes and coyotes.
If you apply bait into the main runway tunnel, check that not a single drop has spilled on the soil surface and close up the holes after finishing the application. Make at least three bait placements per fresh mound. You can also bait in the spring when gopher food is running out.
This tactic is often avoided because of the damage it can cause to other animals, besides, many homeowners prefer to trap the gopher safely instead of killing it.
There are other methods to trap gophers, including exclusion, flooding, and tunnel blasting, but trapping and baiting are the most popular.
Get Help With Arizona Gopher Removal Services
Gophers are one of the most annoying pests, and you should always get rid of them as soon as you see the first signs of their presence at home. Some companies like Gopher Guy AZ offer you the best services to get rid of gophers and other rodents properly so that you can have peace of mind.
Instead of trying complicated methods by yourself, contact Gopher Guy today to get a trusted, safe and poison-free solution for your rodent’s infestation.
Published by – Gopher Guy AZ