Gopher Control Prep Sheet
This information is provided for your benefit so that you can get the most for your money. If your property is prepped we can work faster and possibly reduce the number of service calls required to do the job.
Many of you will have met these conditions already but for the rest of you, here they are.
These are the ideal conditions for treating gophers. The more conditions that are met the better.
1) Damp soil that is uniformly moist to a depth of at least 4" and has been for at least several days before treatment. Dry soil is difficult to work with and doesn't hold the gas well. Avoid having dry patches due to spotty irrigation.
Use of an automatic spray irrigation system (not a drip system) or a sprinkler attached to a garden hose that waters the area with a fine mist or small droplets. Do not hand water with a stream or jet of water from the hose. The force of the water will collapse the tunnels and obscure the gopher activity.
If you cannot irrigate your property it is best to wait for some good rain to help you out. We cannot work in bone dry soil. On the other hand, we can't work while it is raining or if the burrows are filled with standing water either. If your yard has soggy spots with gophers in it, (yes, we've seen that ) find a way to dry it out some.
2) Cut tall weeds several days before we come.
3) Mow your lawn a few days before or after but not the same day as your appointment. Mowers tend to crush the tunnels.
4) If possible, don't water the day of your appointment. If you have a timer that you don't want to change, don't worry about it.
5) The best time for us to treat gophers is when you have seen recent activity- within the last several days or so.
6) Don't disturb the mounds or tunnels. If you have been working on the gopher yourself (trapping, poisoning, digging, flooding, chewing gum, moth balls , human hair, urine, used kitty litter, incendiary devices), STOP! We need a happy, relaxed, perky, gopher in a pristine, undisturbed, fresh burrow system not a stressed out, soggy, ticked off gopher who has decided to move to the neighbor's yard via his underground network only to return to your yard 3 days later.
Seriously though, if you have been after the gopher yourself- and we don't blame you for trying- it is probably best to get your appointment a few days from now so that the gopher has time to resume normal activity and rebuild his tunnel system. When you see several new mounds or back-filled tunnels, the time is ripe.