TRAPPING VS TOXINS
We are 100% GREEN, ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE, and NON-TOXIC
Trapping is the only TRUE METHOD of gopher elimination.
Trapping is non-toxic, works and you will actually see the results. There are no questions about the gophers location, if it'll be returning to your yard, and if it's having more babies. With trapping, you won't be worried about your children, family and pets being poisoned. With traps, your home will not be damaged by fire, explosions or smoke.
Unfortunately, too many people opt for the deadliest and most damaging methods possible. There is much information on this site, so you can get real facts about gophers, what works, what doesn't, and most importantly, the dangers associated with gophers.
The reason there are so many gophers is due to the misapplication of chemicals, poisons, baits, flammable gasses, water, gum, noisemakers, and the many other things on the market for gophers. Additionally, there are so many people who don't care; leaving the gophers to breed and spill over into their neighbors properties. The biggest offenders are the vacant homes and those banks and mortgage companies, that are ignoring the problems. You can read more by clicking here.
The Pest Control Industry wants you to believe that their chemicals and poisons work on gophers, as their products do for bugs and mice. Gophers are a totally different species and until these individuals understand this, they are conducting unethical business practices, selling products that will do nothing for your gopher problems.
When you consider the amount of pest control applicators, and they're all shoving arsenic, strychnine, using deadly gas, or flammables into the ground, you have to wonder where all of these toxins are going. They're not killing the gophers, the gophers simply seal off the tunnel systems, move over a few inches and dig another tunnel, creating additional damages. Those products end up in the water supply; groundwater, creeks, streams, and canals.
Poisoned baits are pushed above ground, (usually in a neighbors yard) where a child will quickly see, due to it's bright coloring, and ingest it. Birds are dying at an alarming rate, they also are eating these deadly baits and dropping into yards and open areas where dogs, cats and wildlife are ingesting and dying as well.
If you contact your local Pest Control, Department of Agriculture, and Game and Fish offices, they will always tell you that trapping is the most effective method for eliminating gophers. However, you will always find someone that will tell you that it's not cost effective, or it's too much work. Why? Because they don't know how to trap effectively.
Here is a great example. I was talking to a gentleman once who was trying to repair a major flood canal levee, after water had found it's way through one of the tunnels and blew out a massive section. I asked him why he didn't trap and kill the gophers once and for all. His answer? It takes too long, it costs too much money, and it's too much work.
This makes no sense! If you're paying an exterminator to come out and bait, gas or whatever method he is using to "control" the gophers, then you need to add up that amount of money and see the end result. You still have your gophers, in fact, you'll have your original gophers, PLUS those babies that have been born from neighboring properties.
When THE GOPHER GETTERS traps your gophers, we track and trap them systematically. As we trap the gophers, we use a method handed down through generations, to keep new gophers from entering your property. Gophers are extremely intelligent, and we take advantage of that.
When it comes to those Do-It-Yourself 'ers, know that you can be held liable for damages that you do, including destroying a home, pool or other structure, and poisoning of domestic, farm animals and children. While many want to use dynamite as soon as they see the first gopher mound pop up, or your prize apple tree topples over, save yourself time and money by doing the right thing, the first time.
Individuals trying to trap on their own will find that the gophers will have them figured out after the first or second kill. Many don't know how to handle traps correctly and will contaminate the traps, allowing the gophers to become aware of them.
You wouldn't hire a plumber to work on your heart, so do the right thing and hire a trapper for your gophers. THE GOPHER GETTERS specializes in gophers and has been trapping and successfully eliminating gophers from all types of properties for over 45 years. Typically, it takes us 3-4 visits and all of your gophers will be trapped and killed. The majority of our customers never have a gopher enter their property after we trap, but for those that do, we immediately respond.
HOME AND GARDEN STORES
Businesses are not helping the situation. They know that they make a bigger profit by selling these ineffective products. When people are told, "everyone has them" and "it's normal", know this - HAVING GOPHERS IS NOT NORMAL AND NOT EVERYONE HAS THEM!
Stores are placing the merchandise based on the highest producing volumes and greater profits, instead of what actually works. Are you noticing the prices? These are all products off a typical hardware store.
One thing that we find is that many of these stores are selling items for moles in states where moles don't even exist. Why? They are taking advantage of unsuspecting buyers.
Gophers will NOT eat baits because their sense of smell is so keen that they can smell those baits the second their applied. The gophers simply push the toxins out of their tunnels, leaving them on the surface and usually on top of their dirt mounds. This is when children and pets, even horses and cattle can ingest and be poisoned.
Smoke bombs and gassers don't work because gophers are much faster at blocking off a tunnel than a human is at lighting a flare. The moment you step onto your lawn or ground, the gopher already knows you're there. The gophers will immediately block off any tunnel system that has been compromised by someone opening up that tunnel. In about 20 seconds, an adult gopher can have a 6" wall blocking off their tunnel, keeping all fumes from entering their system.
Note where the gopher traps are in this picture? It's in a box, on the far left, without a sign. Traps are usually shoved near or at the bottom of the shelves, instead of being at the forefront and at eye-level so it's easily spotted. If more businesses did their part to educate their employees and customers as to the true method of eliminating these rodents, there wouldn't be such a population epidemic right now. These products are all expensive, and people are wasting millions of dollars a year on items that are not effective for killing pocket gophers. While it's great for their businesses, it's certainly not fair to you, the consumer.
NEED MORE CONVINCING
Gophers tunnel for extensive distances. The tunnels intersect with other tunnels in other colonies. These tunnels are connecting to dens which are found under bathtubs, shower pans, swimming pools, homes, highways, septic tanks, foundations, roads, utility lines, sidewalks, and even fuel tanks. Their tunneling is called "honeycombing". If a tunnel is tampered with, the gophers seal it off and dig a new tunnel system, further weakening the soils. The more gophers, the more damage. One gopher can move 300 tons of soil to the surface in a year. Most properties start with one gopher, and it's mate. Within 2 months, you can have 216! These rodents are smart, have become more intelligent with each generation and can easily outsmart most humans.
The pest control industry uses much stronger applications, that are regulated, but it doesn't mean they are any safer, or that the applicator will apply them correctly. I'm continually hearing from new customers that they were given controlled products from their exterminator, to apply on their own! This is a violation of law.
Currently, in Arizona, the Department of Agriculture has taken over the Office of Pest Management, previously known as the Structural Pest Control Commission. There are individuals who are once again trying to shut our services down by getting the word "devices" added to their rules and regulations. These individuals will do anything to keep green and safe companies from doing the right thing, and being in business. The EPA stated that each state must be balanced, with services that are equal, the pest control applicators on one side and the environmentally safe on the other. It all comes down to money, and keeping it in their pocket. If you want to get involved and read more, click here.
When it comes to pocket gophers, always use trappers that specialize in pocket gophers. Hire someone that understands trap usage, tracking and trapping. Make sure they hold their trapping licenses. Exterminators are for exterminating bugs, NOT gophers! While the Pest Control Industry wants to claim everything under the sun a "pest" so they can over-regulate and take more money, they have no business going after gophers unless they are trapping without the use of any baits, chemicals and poisons.
Here are the simple facts:
- Pocket gophers tunnel underneath homes and other structures
- Pocket gophers follow water and sewer lines into homes
- Pocket gophers den underneath bathtubs and showers
- Concrete is porous material and toxic gasses will filter through the concrete and the poisons will go into the home and can kill the occupants
- Trapping IS ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE
- Trapping IS NON-TOXIC
- Trapping IS GREEN
- Trapping IS HUMANE, when using the right trap
- Trapping IS SAFE around your home, yard, schools and communities
- Trapping GUARANTEES the gopher is D E A D - You can actually SEE the DEAD GOPHER and KNOW it will NEVER RETURN, nor having more offspring
- Trapping allows the trapper to kill gophers under structures where humans, pets and livestock are located.
- Trapping keeps the dead gopher underground until removal
Can the pest control industry say the same thing?
No, because:
- Poisons ARE responsible for killing children, pets and non-targeted wildlife
- Baits WILL kill indiscriminately; children, pets, birds, wildlife, etc
- Flammables WILL follow gopher tunnels under and into homes
- Gasses WILL follow gopher tunnels under and into homes
- Strychnine and Arsenic ARE always pushed out of the gopher tunnels, leaving those deadly poisons exposed to children and pets. When birds ingest these poisons, they take flight and die elsewhere, usually someone else' yard, where a dog or cat will eat it, becoming a secondary kill.
- Phosphate Gas, Strychnine and Arsenic, as well as many other toxins are continually being misapplied by pest control applicators, resulting in the poisoning of families, deaths of children, pets and wildlife.
- ALL chemicals, poisons, baits, gasses, etc., WILL enter into our aquifers, seep into the soils, grasses, gardens and crops.
DON'T BELEIVE it when ANYONE tells you that their controlled products are "safe" because they're NOT! These products are deadly! If they are using anything that is ingested, inhaled, produces toxic gasses, or blows up, then you, your family, pets, livestock and property can also be harmed.
In our decades of work and research, we have proven that gophers will not eat anything introduced into their tunnels and nests that is foreign. It doesn't matter if it's something pulled from a garden. The gopher will starve itself to death before eating anything it didn't forage itself.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
When you have gophers, and want someone to come and kill them, ask questions. ALWAYS make sure that you get a WRITTEN GUARANTEE that the gophers are actually being killed and will never return AND that their products are 100% safe, non-toxic, and green. If you settle for anything else; you, your family, pets, livestock and environment can and will suffer the consequences.
BEWARE of ANY company that will sell you noisemakers! THESE WILL NEVER WORK WITH GOPHERS! Gophers den underneath air condition units and pool equipment, where the noise and vibrations are much louder. We have many clients who had purchased these items from many sources, and not one ever got a refund. BUYER BEWARE!
Since gophers will use the sewer and water lines to enter INTO a home, then den underneath the bathtubs, avoid all deadly gasses, toxins, flammables and anything that can be pushed and mixed into the soils and left inside the walls, and most importantly, can cause an explosion or fire. You don't want to injure or kill your family over your gophers. You need to use common sense.
We hope you find the information you're seeking here, but if we haven't provided it here, please do not hesitate to e-mail us with your questions or comments. You can also find us on Facebook by clicking on the link. >> The Gopher Getters Facebook Page .