Gophers
California Gophers: A Nuisance or a Friend?
California gophers or pocket gophers are small, burrowing rodents generally brown or gray in color and have long, slender bodies, clawed front paws, and strong front legs designed for digging. They have fine, short fur that keeps wet soil out of their skin.
These proficient diggers use their whiskers to help navigate dark, elaborate underground tunnels. Although they have four large front teeth, California gophers are able to close their lips behind their teeth to keep soil out of their mouths, even while using their teeth for digging.
What Attracts Gophers to Your Yard?
Several things attract gophers to your yard, including food, shelter, and water. Gophers are herbivores, so naturally, they are drawn toward vegetation. They love to eat root and tuber crops, grasses, shrubs, flowers, and even lawns. If your yard has rich vegetation, it is waving invitation cards to gophers who will most likely burrow and build tunnel systems, which is their home.
How Deep Do Gopher Tunnels Go?
Their tunnel system is a series of narrow, underground burrows that lead to various wider openings such as the main nesting area, feeding areas, food storage, and waste holes. These enlargements are formed into a sphere with the nesting area layered with dry grass or similar vegetation.
These tunnel systems can cover an area of 200-2,000 square feet with the main runway located parallel to the surface and about 6-18 inches below. Gophers typically nest and store their food as deep as 6 feet. Tunnel systems that cover a larger area are usually found in areas with dry landscaping in order to be near an adequate amount of food resources.
Learn more about what California gopher tunnels look like underground.
Signs of California Gopher Infestation
It’s rare to see a gopher hanging around outside in broad daylight as they spend most of their time doing things below ground level. When you see newly-dug mounds of soil, that could mean one thing — there’s a gopher in your midst! They love to dig tunnels and push the loosed soil up above the ground, leaving horseshoe-shaped mounds of soil on the ground.
Gopher infestation would become evident if you start seeing damage to your lawn, plants, flowers, and trees on top of the newly-dug mounds of soil. Damage to your water line may also indicate that gophers have found their way underground.
How Do You Get Rid of Gophers Permanently?
Gophers don’t ever abandon their tunnels unless you do something to get rid of them permanently. You can take steps to make your yard less attractive to gophers. This includes removing food, shelter, and water sources. You can also use deterrents to keep gophers away from your property.
Seek Help from Gopher Control Experts
California gophers are not harmful to human health. However, some may find them a nuisance when they begin damaging lawns, crops, and gardens.
Pro Pacific Pest Control can help without using any harmful chemicals. We offer QualityPro-certified gopher control treatments like fencing, trapping, and flooding tunnels with water to eliminate California gophers. We also use safety-compliant fumigation and rodenticides, if necessary. Learn more about our Gopher Control & Removal Service.
Call Pro Pacific Pest Control at 800-901-1102 to schedule a FREE inspection and estimate.
Gophers, Mice, Pest Control, Rats, Uncategorized
Give a Mouse An Entrance…
…And he’ll move right in!
As seasons change and the weather starts to get cooler, mice, rats, and other rodents are looking for warm, cozy place to wait out the weather. Of course, no one wants rodents taking up residence in their home (after all, they don’t even pay rent)! But once a rat has food, water, and shelter available, they have no intention of leaving!
So what can you do to prevent a rodent takeover?
The first thing you need to do is make sure there aren’t any openings that a rodent can get access through… the most popular entryway being your garage. That means making sure your door weather seal is installed properly and undamaged. It also means that you’ll need to make sure to avoid leaving your garage door open for extended periods of time, as rodents will leap at the opportunity to get inside where it may be significantly warmer.
Checking the foundation of your home is another way to deter rodents. If caught early, you can prevent rodents from entering the home via gaps in your foundation. Remember, rodents can squeeze through incredibly small openings… AC lines and similar piping holes can be prime targets for infestation points.
After looking “down low,” be sure to look “up high” as well… rodents can get onto your roof via branches that overhang the home, then search for spaces to get into your attic! Be sure to trim back those branches as a deterrent to any acrobatic mice who may feel like “dropping in.”
Whether you’re trying to prevent a rodent invasion or dealing with one already, it appears your best bet is to act quickly. And if you’re thinking of waiting out winter in hopes that they might pack up come spring, think again! Once they’ve started nesting, they won’t stop!
That’s when you know it’s time to call a professional!
Ants, Cockroaches, General Pest Control, Gophers, Mice, Pest Control, Rats, Silverfish, Spiders, Uncategorized, Wasp
Springing Into Cleaning (AND Pest Control)
Spring is officially underway. For many people, that means the long arduous task of “Spring Cleaning.” Most of us will spend a weekend or two cleaning the house of old, unwanted clutter. For other people, it means (FINALLY) putting the Christmas tree/lights away. But aside from a tidier home when guests arrive, spring cleaning can be excellent for your home when pests arrive.
Often, the miscellaneous clutter that we accumulate (and leave forgotten in a nook, corner, or box) makes prime real estate for pests to move in. Low-traffic areas, such as attics, garages, and closets, can become safe havens for rodents and insects to move in and stake their claim.
At Pro Pacific Pest Control Escondido, we’re big supporters of pest prevention over pest extermination. We’ve mentioned it several times before, but it’s far easier (and cheaper) to prevent an infestation than it is to evict one. Here are three handy tips for your spring cleaning efforts to keep the bugs at bay:
1) Drain the Tub… And Everywhere Else.
“I’ve had a very ruff day.”
Moisture creates an ideal spot for many bugs, and often entices them to set up shop wherever they can find standing water. Rodents (such as shiprats and sewer rats) will often find sources of water and decide to set up shop nearby — often within the walls or even in the attic of your home! Mosquitoes use stagnant puddles for reproduction and can often swarm nearby as a result. Silverfish LOVE moist, cool, dark places, and you’ll often catch them scurrying away if you flip on the light in a crawlspace that is not properly sealed. reptiles and other pests will also seek out similarly cool, damp places. Eliminating these sources of water can go a long way to not only preventing the hassle of insects, but it can also prevent disease such as dengue, malaria, and others that are carried by mosquitoes and their kin.
As you’re doing your annual cleanse, check your home to make sure you don’t have a leaky faucet or pipes. Although Southern California doesn’t have to worry about pipes freezing over the winter months, pipes which have not been used in a long time or are in disrepair can be the catalyst for a full-blown invasion!
2)Dust Those Bunnies!
Cleaning in furs. Lucy has always been a class act.
Ever run face first into a spider web? NOT a fun feeling! The flailing, spit-takes, and panicked shuffling that results can be embarrassing, to say the least. One way to avoid such nestings is to sweep and dust nooks, crannies, and eaves inside and outside the house. In some homes, it is harder to reach these areas because a ladder is needed.
This is a prime task for your friendly neighbourhood pest control company! After all, who wants to drag a ladder out of storage, put it up, sweep, climb back down, and repeat the process all the way around (and inside) the house? Pest control companies often have the equipment to do these task quickly and efficiently.
Basically, though, you want to target all those “low traffic” areas in and around the home. Corners, closets, and eaves are prime spots for spiders to set up shop.
3) Don’t Be A Packrat.
“Eat your heart out, chipmunks.”
We get it, some things are just too cool to get rid of, or there’s something “nostalgic” about them, or… well, we’ll admit that maybe we’re just being lazy at times. But keeping those odds-and-ends, scrap materials, or “vintage” goods from the local flea market can cause you more headache than you realize.
Keep your home clear of clutter. If you have a shed or workstation in your backyard, be sure to clean (or at the very least organize) any discarded pieces of wood or tools. Rodents love to nest in piles like those and it can ALSO be a prime location for bees and wasps to form nests. In fact, we’ve seen a bee’s nest between two garbage can lids that hadn’t been moved in months! Clearing out spaces like these can go a LONG way to helping your pest control efforts, and a little bit of effort on the “front end” can keep your cost down in the long run.
___________________________________________________________
Of course, we offer FREE inspection/estimates for pest control and can identify potential trouble spots and offer ongoing solutions to keep your home safe (and beautiful) throughout spring and into summer.
Gophers
What Do Gopher Tunnels Look Like Underground?
Unlike most other pests, when gophers infest a property, they do not use home structures to nest, but rather they reside just below the surface in a tunnel system. Their tunnel system is a series of narrow, underground burrows that lead to various wider openings such as a main nesting area, feeding areas, food storage, and waste holes. These enlargements are formed into a sphere with the nesting area layered with dry grass or similar vegetation.
The burrow system can cover an area of 200 to 2,000 square feet with the main runway situated parallel to the surface and about 6 to 18 inches below. Nesting and food storage areas will be located as deep as 6 feet. Tunnel systems that cover a larger area are usually found in areas with dry landscaping in order to be near an adequate amount of food resources.
Short, lateral tunnels connect the main runway to the surface and are covered up by a mound. The mounds can be seen on the surface and are shaped similar to a horseshoe. The open side of the mound is the direction the tunnel is pointing in the ground. The logic for this is that gophers use their claws and incisor teeth to throw soil backwards towards the surface while creating the burrows so a pile builds up in the opposite direction. On top of the mounds are plug holes that seal the entrance and also act as a barricade for predators.
Below is a diagram of a gopher’s burrow system to illustrate the structure and enlargements.
Gophers have many predators including snakes, coyotes, skunks, and more. Snakes could easily enter a gopher’s burrow if the plug was not in place. Gophers do not venture too far from their underground infrastructure, and for even more security from natural predators, feed holes are created near above ground food sources. These holes allow for the gopher to feed without being any further than a body’s length from the entrance – limiting the time on the surface and decreasing the chance of becoming prey.
The quality of the soil and the depth of the tunnels are important to the survival of this mammal. Shallow soils can collapse easily making the system insufficient, while soil with high moisture content can uphold well. Another factor to consider is the atmospheric and exhaled gases that must penetrate through the soils to the surface. Porous soils that permit drainage are ideal for this gas exchange from above ground to the underground and vice versa. Heavy moisture or high clay content in soil will make the ground not suitable for a gopher burrow system.
Pocket gophers can continue to expand their burrows as needed to find food or for mating. Males generally create a more linear burrow system, as opposed to a complex, divided system as it provides a better chance for the male to encounter a female’s burrow. However, gophers are very independent and a male and female will not share the same living space much longer after their young are born.
The infrastructure can continually be changing as gophers seal off areas or dig new pathways as needed for food or mating. Underground water lines or sprinkler systems can be damaged by the incisor teeth of a gopher as they create burrows. Trees can also be damaged during the burrow process from root pruning or clipping.
In the video below, a inside glimpse of a burrow is caught with a camera and displays a gopher’s ability to shovel dirt around to close off a previous runway. The video also captures the gopher feeding on vegetation and the almost effortless shuffling of its body within the limited space to accomplish the sealing.
The above diagram will help to visualize the tunnels when using gopher control methods, especially using a probe. The gopher burrow system is an intricate underground infrastructure that is efficiently setup to meet the needs of this subsurface mammal that could be living right underneath your toes – literally.
General Rodent, Gophers, Mice, Rats
Rodent Control in Murrieta and Temecula – 50 Dollars OFF!
Want an effective rodent control treatment for less money? You can save BIG today with this special offer to all Temecula and Murrieta homeowners. We appreciate the business from residents in our service area of Southwest Riverside, so we are providing this $50 off rat control service offer (below) exclusively to Temecula and Murrieta residents. Click the image below to print your $50 off savings for rodent control, but hurry, offer expires 04/30/12:
You can expect a quality rat removal service that you won’t have to think twice about- Your rat infestation will be gone!
Guaranteed Service. Free Estimates. Great Savings – Call Today
Our rodent removal specialists will position traps and bait stations that optimize the rat control plan. Your family and home will be protected from the risks of having a rat infestation. You will benefit from the following:
- Save Money – One-time fee ($50 savings) for a guaranteed rodent control plan-100% effective!
- Convenient Scheduling – A tech is ready to service your home. We work around your schedule.
- Rodent-Free Home – Proven successful removals with specialized products and techniques.
- Immediate Results – After our initial treatment, rodent population will decrease. Guaranteed!
- Protection to Home and Family- Avoid damage to your assets and diseases to the family.
Remove your rodent problem the right way-and for $50 off. Click the link below to print your ticket to savings. All Temecula and Murrieta homeowners don’t have to worry about rats anymore. Call now to save on your rodent control service!
Ants, bed bugs, Bees, Birds, Cockroaches, Fleas, General Pest Control, General Rodent, Gophers, Mice, Pest Control, Rats, Silverfish, Spiders, Ticks
Pest Control Solutions – Diagnose Your Pest Problem Today!
Click through the options below for pests that could be infesting your home. Each pest has Do-It-Yourself Pest Control Tips & Recommended Services. Some services link to a webpage that gives you more information. All recommended pest control services are performed by Pro Pacific Pest Control – And are guaranteed!
Get solutions to pest problems today!
Contact us for an inspection & estimate on any pest control service!
General Rodent, Gophers, Mice, Pest Control, Rats
Rodent Control Tips to Protect Homes & Plants in Corona
All vegetation (gardens, trees, plants, etc.) face an endless challenge in Corona. In the summer, the dry, warm air dehydrates the greenery. Watering has to be done daily during sundown to avoid evaporation of the water before it reaches the plants roots.
Conversely, during the winter, rodents and other animals are a threat to your plants. The plants are a food supply and they will attract rodents to your home. So, you must protect your plants and trees to deter rodent and pest invasions.
Below are some tips to keep rodents away with a few products that enhance your pest control plan:
- Tree Wraps & Guards – Protect the tree bark from gnawing creatures by covering the base with commercial tree wraps and guards. They are usually made with vinyl, paper or high-density polyethylene making for a durable defense against pests. Wraps & guards should be removed when growth resumes in the spring to prevent girdling.
- Wire cages – place a cylindrical cage around the tree. Cages should stand at least a foot from the ground to keep small rodents away and your tree safe.
- Repellents – available in sprays, granules, or ultrasonic devices that release scents that turn pests away or devices that emit high-frequency waves that annoy pests. The effectiveness can be minimal compared to the mentioned products above.
Our rodent control specialists offer FREE evaluations of your home to maximize your defense against pests. Your home and plants will be fully protected from our professional rodent control plans. Call our Corona office today to get free recommendations for an effective rodent control/ pest control plan.
General Rodent, Gophers, Mice, Rats
Rodent Control Checklist for San Diego Restaurants
It is a perpetual effort for restaurant owners to maintain a clean, sanitary environment. However, constant cleaning and enforcing pest/rodent proof techniques can keep pests out and health code violations at bay.
In San Diego, while roaches and other pests can infest a restaurant at anytime of the year, rodents usually invade structures during colder months. Restaurants need to establish a rodent control plan that will keep rodents away. With an effective rodent control plan, you won’t have to worry about a rodent infestation. Also, your clients will leave satisfied without getting sick from food that has been contaminated by rodents.
Here are some steps San Diego restaurant owners can enforce to make for a rodent-free establishment:
- Rodent Proof/Exclusion – The beginning of your rodent control plan. This will prevent rodents from entering the structure. Inspect the interior and exterior walls and roof for any openings (cracks, crevices, holes) the size of a dime. All dime-sized openings should be stuffed or covered with a durable, flexible material (ex. steel wool). If you are a tenant in a complex, contact the property manager for solutions to rodent proof your unit.
- Keep All Food Secure – All food including waste food should be safely secured. Trash receptacles have a secure lid on top. When storing food make sure is it in packaging or sealed container in refrigerator/freezer/pantry. Foods stored in cardboard boxes should not be left out in open and preferably in a pantry or cabinet with closed doors.
- All Surfaces Clean – At the end of a job task and work day, wipe counter tops and work areas clean with disinfectant spray. This will significantly reduce your chance of rodents.
- Reduce the clutter – Everything should be off the floor (3 feet up) and you should have easy access to clean underneath tables and countertops. This will not allow any spots for rodents to live or hide. Also, this helps with cleaning the entire floor area and prevents piece of food from being hidden under objects. Rodents also like dark place so leaving a light on in the kitchen area could help your rodent control plan.
- Use Rodent Traps – if you are experiencing a rodent infestation, quickly call a rodent control specialist. They can strategically place rodent traps to capture all the rodents. You will want to avoid rodent control sprays or poisons in a food establishment since rodents can expose food to toxic chemicals. Also, chemicals may take a few days to kill rodents and they can end up dying in between walls. A rodent control professional is the best option.
Many restaurants around the nation are being closed by the health department due to violating health code. A Pennsylvania restaurant was closed because of excessive rodent droppings found near counter tops, fridge, and water heater.
Huge fines are issued for rat infestations like these. San Diego restaurants can avoid citations and the risk of losing the business with a well executed rat control plan. If you suspect rodents in your establish, contact us now for a professional rodent control inspection for FREE.
General Rodent, Gophers, Mice, Rats
Coronado Pest Control Specializes in Rat Control
Are rats or mice infesting your Coronado home? Are you looking for a rodent control method that will immediately start reducing the rat/mice population? Well you have a pest control company right in your neighborhood that specializes in this particular pest.
Roof rats are the most common rodent infestation seen in Coronado. The humid, cool air that fills Coronado Island makes for pleasant living conditions for rats. At this climate and with a covering over their head (your roof), the rodents can reproduce quickly. Your home can soon be a empire of rats.
To get rid of mice or rats, you must execute a detailed plan. A complete rat removal requires an extensive set-up. A decent amount of traps and secure perimeter protection devices (bait stations) will expunge all rodent problems.
Our Coronado pest control technicians have the experience to know which baits will attract the rat to the trap or station. You can be assured your pest problem will be gone.
If you want a pest control company that is familiar with the pests in Coronado, Call Pro Pacific Pest Control now. Receive a rodent control inspection and a detailed estimate for FREE. Call now!
Gophers, Mice, Rats
Rancho Santa Fe Rodent Control Is the Rodent Removal Solution
Are rodent problems getting in the way of your daily tasks? Are they making you feel unwelcome in your own home? These are common problem with rodent infestations. You shouldn’t settle with rats nesting in your attics or crawlspace. Then, at night have them crawl inside of your home.
Rodents will feast on your food- Contaminating food items with disease. Rancho Santa Fe homeowners can protect their families with a reliable rodent control service. Be relieved knowing that your rodent problem will be gone after you call us.
Successfully removing rodents yourself is uncertain- And tons of work. Also, there is health hazards involved when broadcasting store-bought rodent baits. You must distribute the baits and traps where rodents will find them but children won’t.
Our trained rodent control technicians can locate the source of the rodent problem and create a custom removal plan. Expect your rodent population to significantly decrease after our initial visit.
If you suspect rodents in your home, call for our free inspection service. You don’t want rats in your home for long. Rodents can cause fires in your home. Recently, a home in Colorado burned to the ground after a pack of rats chewed through propane lines.Rats will gnaw on almost everything- surfaces as durable as a lead pipe.
Rancho Santa Fe can get rid of rodents for good. Pro Pacific serves homes in Rancho Santa Fe and all of San Diego County.
Contact us today for a fast response and an effective rodent control service!