Sink Holes and Pocket Gophers - Say It Isn't So!

Over these many years, I have seen some major sink holes, some that are small, others that can swallow cars.

Sink holes are caused by water traveling underground and hollowing out pockets, which, as the water either flows more forcefully, or dries up, the surface shifts and caves in.

If you're driving down a road and you don't know the sink hole is there, you're vehicle can drop in and can be seriously damaged.  I've seen some shallow sink holes, others I've seen have been 2, 5, 8 and even deeper than 10' deep.  The more water that flows through, the deeper the damage.  This happens often when flood irrigation is used, and near rivers, canals, earthen dams and lakes.  The best thing to do is avoid using water for controlling gophers.  It doesn't work, and the damages will always be significant.




 In this yard, a homeowner refused to stop using his garden hose on his gophers.  Even after we started trapping on the property, he continued shoving his garden hose into the tunnels in the front portion of his property, and this is the result, near the back of the 5 acre lot, near a creek.  This sink hole was close to 6' in depth and large enough to swallow one of his young kids that played in the back yard.

These sink holes are extremely dangerous, since they are unstable soils that will shift and cave in.  If a small child or pet were to fall into one, the soil can bury them instantly.

This is a dangerous and very expensive method that will never work for eliminating your gophers.



Gophers are one of the most destructive species on the planet and are responsible for the loss of crops, fields, and the irrigation water that is needed to sustain those crops.

As you can see in this photo, the water was washed out from the field and even before the water and mud has dried, the gophers are already busy tunneling and cleaning out their tunnels.

Gophers do swim, their coats keep them buoyant and they design their dens so water cannot enter them.