When you see them pop up on the side of the road, you might think how cute gophers are. However, when they start popping up on your lawn, you'll likely have a different opinion. Gophers can be quite destructive, and they are also quite difficult to get rid of once they move onto your property. Effective gopher control in Santa Clarita is possible if you know what to do and who to call. Excel Pest offers the prevention tips and gopher control treatments you need to stop a gopher problem.
Signs Of Gopher Activity: How To Spot Gopher Mounds And Tunnels
Identifying a gopher problem on your Santa Clarita lawn is the first step in getting rid of these pesky and destructive pests. Gopher control methods can vary, but one thing is essential to any gopher control method's effectiveness: finding out where gophers are spending their time. To do this, you have to be able to identify gopher mounds and tunnels.
Gopher mounds are actually quite easy to spot. If you see fresh soil in a crescent-shaped mound on your lawn, it got there because of gophers. You'll often see several mounds within close proximity to each other, and the dirt from each mound is usually collected on one side of the gopher hole, which may not be readily evident because gophers plug the holes with dirt when not in use.
Gopher tunnels can be identified by first finding gopher mounds. You may not see signs of the tunnels, but if you poke around for them near a mound, you may be able to find them. Gopher tunnels are typically built between 6 and 18 inches below the surface. If a tunnel collapses, you may notice an unexplained trench in your lawn.
Underground Hazards: The Risks Of Gopher Tunnels And Burrows
Trying out some DIY or natural gopher control methods can be tempting to Santa Clarita property owners who don't want their gardens destroyed. However, these methods are usually ineffective. Allowing gophers to remain on your property isn't only bad for your plants, as the gophers use them as their main food source; it can also be bad for the safety of your family.
The good news is that gophers themselves are not known to be harmful to humans. You won't contract a disease from them, and you're unlikely to come into direct contact with them. However, when they have dug tunnels and built mounds all over your yard, you could be at risk of injury. If you trip over a dirt mound or step onto an area where a tunnel is about to collapse, you could end up falling and injuring yourself. If you have children, you don't want to worry about them getting hurt every time they go outside to play.
Gopher-Proofing Your Yard: Effective Strategies For Gopher Prevention
Preventing gophers from moving onto your Santa Clarita lawn is easier said than done. That doesn't mean that it's impossible, though. Because they spend most of their time underground, you have to get below the surface to help prevent gophers.
First, install underground fencing around your gardens, flower beds, and trees you don't want getting damaged by gophers. You'll need to go at least 18 inches deep to make it effective. The fencing should be constructed of a heavy-duty metal wire mesh.
The second thing you can do to try to prevent gophers is to place at least six inches of coarse gravel around sprinkler lines and utility cables. Blocking their access to water will help make your lawn less attractive to gophers. Additionally, making both of these areas difficult to access will help prevent any damage to those systems as the gophers dig around.
The most effective way to keep gophers off your property is to enact ongoing gopher pest control. Learn more about what that entails below.
Don't Let Gophers Dig In: Contact Us Right Away!
Gopher control near you is available from Excel Pest. We offer one-time and recurring gopher control services, so you get exactly what you need to keep your Santa Clarita residential property gopher-free. We use a variety of methods to make sure that all of the gophers on your property are taken care of.
Both the one-time and recurring services include three to four treatments within a month's timespan to take care of the initial problem. Once that is taken care of, our recurring gopher control services include bi-weekly or monthly return visits to keep your lawn gopher-free. Contact us today to get started.