How to Tell if You Have One Gopher or Many

One of the most common surprises for homeowners is learning that a yard covered in a dozen mounds often has only one or two active gophers. Conversely, a yard with just a few mounds can sometimes have a larger population. Understanding how many animals you are actually dealing with helps set realistic expectations for treatment duration and cost.

One Gopher Can Make a Lot of Mounds

A single pocket gopher maintains a tunnel system that can extend 200 feet or more in total length. As the animal moves through this system over days and weeks, it pushes soil to the surface at multiple points, creating numerous mounds. A fresh set of five or six mounds clustered in a relatively small area is often the work of a single animal expanding its territory. The mounds look like a lot of activity but they represent one gopher's daily routine.

Gophers are also highly territorial — they actively fight off and exclude other gophers from their tunnel systems. This means a single established animal prevents others from moving into the same space, which is actually useful from a control standpoint. Remove that one animal and the territory becomes available, which is why follow-up is important even after initial trap success.

Signs You Likely Have One Gopher

A cluster of mounds in a relatively contained area — say, a 20 by 30 foot section of your yard — that appeared over a short time period is typically one animal. If the mounds are all roughly the same freshness and you have not seen activity in other parts of the yard, one gopher is the most likely explanation. Single-animal infestations are the most common scenario for residential properties.

Signs You May Have Multiple Gophers

Active mounds appearing simultaneously in widely separated areas of your yard — front yard and back yard at the same time, or opposite ends of a large property — suggest multiple animals. If fresh mounds keep appearing in new locations across your property even after trapping has removed animals in one area, reinvasion from adjacent properties or a larger tunnel system with multiple occupants is likely.

Properties with long-term untreated gopher activity sometimes develop interconnected tunnel systems shared by a small family group, particularly around the breeding season in late winter and spring. A female gopher can have two or three litters per year with two to five young per litter, so a single pair can become a larger population over a season if left unchecked.

Why It Matters for Treatment

Your technician assesses tunnel layout and activity patterns on the first visit to estimate how many animals are present and where the primary travel routes are. This guides trap placement and carbon monoxide application. A single-animal job in a well-mapped tunnel system can often be resolved in one to two visits. A multi-animal or large-territory job takes longer and requires more follow-up.

The good news is that our pricing and our 60-day guarantee cover the full resolution of the problem regardless of how many animals turn out to be present — you are not charged per gopher.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one gopher really make 10 or 20 mounds?

Yes. A single gopher maintains a tunnel system up to 200 feet long and pushes soil to the surface at many points. A yard full of mounds is often one busy animal.

Do gophers live in groups?

Generally no — they are solitary and territorial. Exceptions occur during breeding season and when young animals have not yet dispersed.

Does it cost more if I have multiple gophers?

Our pricing covers complete resolution of the infestation regardless of how many animals are present. The 60-day guarantee covers all activity during the guarantee period.

Call 909-599-4711 to schedule service. We serve all of Southern California.