What's This Pile Of Dirt??

Many times, we are asked, "Is this from gophers, or are our neighbors dumping this in our yard?"

This IS a gopher mound, and from the size of this one, a mature gopher, around 6 months old.

One gopher is capable of moving 300 tons of dirt to the surface in a year.  When this amount of earth is moved, and by more than one gopher, your property can sustain many foundation problems.  Without the dirt underneath a home, the concrete will start to crack and shift.  Many believe that this is normal "settling" which is not true.  There is a big difference between "settling" and gopher damages.  Gophers also create large dens along the walls and underneath swimming pools, patios, carports and other structures.  Unfortunately, when the soil is removed, it weakens the structure.

When a pool is involved, a gopher can cause extensive damages in only days.  The pressure from the water, can easily blow out the wall of a swimming pool, or crack the walls and cool decking, especially around fixtures.  Additionally, the gophers will always utilize the pipes and waterlines from the pool equipment to the pool and jacuzzi. If you see gopher mounding around any pipes and utility lines, expect much damage, and usually, multiple generations of gophers.

Many are not aware that gophers are able to enter homes.  Gophers will travel along sewer and water lines to enter into a home.  Many contractors do not pour concrete where the bath tubs will be installed, since the tub hasn't been purchased yet.  By leaving this open, the gophers follow the line into the home, and will give birth to many generations of gophers.  Most home owners will not be aware of this damage, until they notice drainage problems, a strong urine odor, the walls are swelling, and dirt and fine sand along baseboards and around pipes.  What is required by that time is that the fixtures are pulled out, all gophers are removed and the space filled with concrete.  This is a major job, and my trappers and I over the years have done this on many occasions.  There are many hazards to doing this; severe bites and attacks, respiratory illnesses and we can pick up a host of parasites and microbial illnesses.

Many think that gophers tunnel a small distance, like mice or ground squirrels, which is far from the truth.  Gophers tunnel underneath roads, highways, canals, ditches, homes and basements.  Many of the road and highway damages that you see are caused directly from gophers tunneling, and also the water that follows the tunnels, then erodes away the soil.  Over time, the roads crack, sections will crumble and what do road crews do? They spend your tax dollars by slapping down some hot tar to seal those cracks and breaks, but they do nothing to stop the damages from occurring in the first place.  When there are gophers, they must be trapped and killed, in order to stop the damages from reoccurring.

There have been many instances where irrigation, natural flooding and even a neighbor forcing water into gopher tunnels has caused massive failure of surfaces, roads, foundations and to pools.  Never use water as a means to controlling your gophers.  Remember, you are liable for any damages you can cause to your home, neighbors, and community.