Gopher control by targeted tunnel trapping

Gophers push up crescent or fan-shaped mounds of fresh soil with the hole plugged off to one side, and you rarely see the animal. Moles leave volcano-shaped mounds and raised ridges, and are uncommon in most of LA. Ground squirrels leave open burrow holes and are active above ground in daylight.

They eat roots, bulbs and whole plants from below, girdle young trees, chew irrigation lines, and leave mounds that ruin lawns and create tripping hazards. Tunnels can also channel irrigation water and undermine slopes and hardscape edges.

Trapping in the main tunnel is the most reliable method: the technician probes to find the active run, sets traps in it, and checks them on follow-up visits. It is targeted, works in all seasons and leaves no bait for pets or wildlife to find.

Not completely, since neighboring yards and open land keep supplying them. Wire baskets around new plantings, hardware cloth under raised beds and lawns, and regular monitoring catch newcomers early before they rebuild a tunnel system.

One gopher typically occupies one tunnel system, so most yards clear in one to two weeks of trapping. Large properties or yards next to open land may need ongoing monitoring visits.

Rarely for long. Gopher tunnels are extensive and often sealed off in sections, so smoke and gas cartridges leak out or miss the animal, flooding mostly wastes water and softens soil for more digging, and vibrating or sonic stakes have little evidence behind them. Gophers adapt quickly to disturbance. Trapping in the active run, followed by physical protection of plantings, is the method that consistently ends the problem.