Gopher Problems in Newly Landscaped Yards — Why New Plantings Attract Gophers
Homeowners who have just completed a significant landscaping project — new sod, new plantings, a redesigned garden — are frequently dismayed to find gopher mounds appearing within days or weeks of completion. This is not bad luck. Newly landscaped areas are actively more attractive to gophers than established landscapes for several specific reasons, and understanding why helps set realistic expectations and motivates prompt treatment when activity first appears.
Why New Landscaping Attracts Gophers
Fresh root growth is the most palatable food source available. Newly planted trees, shrubs, and sod produce fresh, actively growing root tips and young root tissue that is more nutritious and easier to consume than the mature, fibrous root systems of established plants. A gopher that detects the chemical signals of fresh root growth in your new landscape will be attracted to it and move toward it actively.
Disturbed, loose soil makes tunneling easy. Landscaping projects involve significant soil disturbance — grading, amendment, tilling, and replanting. The loosened soil from a fresh landscape installation is dramatically easier to tunnel through than compacted undisturbed soil. Gophers can extend their tunnel systems into freshly worked soil with much less effort than normal, which means they are more likely to explore and colonize disturbed areas quickly.
New irrigation is immediately apparent below ground. Fresh landscaping with new irrigation systems or recently established watering schedules creates immediate soil moisture in areas that may previously have been dry. Gophers detect soil moisture gradients and move toward them — a new drip system watering fresh plantings creates an attractive moisture and food signal simultaneously.
The Cost of Delayed Treatment
A new landscape represents a significant financial investment. Fresh plantings — especially young trees in their first year — are far more vulnerable to gopher root damage than established plants. A gopher that kills a newly planted specimen tree causes a loss of both the tree's value and the cost of replacement planting. Treating immediately when the first mound appears — rather than waiting to see if it gets worse — is the most cost-effective approach for protecting a new landscape investment.
Pre-Landscaping Treatment
For properties with known active gopher pressure, treating before the landscaping project begins removes the existing population before the new planting creates additional attraction. This is particularly valuable for high-investment projects — estates, professional gardens, new commercial landscaping — where the cost of gopher damage to new plantings would be substantial.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For properties with known gopher activity, treating before the project begins is ideal. For properties without prior activity, treat immediately when the first mound appears — do not wait.
No. A gopher that arrives in a new landscape will stay. The conditions that attracted it — fresh roots, loose soil, new irrigation — will persist. Early treatment protects the investment; waiting allows damage to accumulate.
The same 60-day guarantee as all other properties — free retreatment if activity returns within 60 days of service completion.
Call 909-599-4711 — first mound in a new landscape is the right time to call. Don't wait for damage to accumulate on a fresh investment.