Why Gopher Activity Spikes in Spring in Southern California

If you have noticed that gopher mounds appear more frequently in spring than at other times of year, you are not imagining it. Spring is genuinely the most active period for gophers in Southern California, and understanding why helps you time treatment and maintenance for maximum effectiveness.

Breeding Season Drives Expansion

Pocket gophers in Southern California breed primarily from late winter through spring, typically February through May. A single female can produce two to three litters per year with two to five young per litter. As juvenile gophers from the spring breeding season mature — typically by late spring — they are expelled from their mother's territory and must establish new tunnel systems of their own. This dispersal of young animals is the primary driver of the spring activity spike. Homeowners who had no gopher activity in winter often see mounds appear suddenly in April or May as juvenile animals move into available territory.

Winter Rains Expand Populations

Southern California's wet season runs roughly November through March, and winter rainfall has a direct effect on gopher populations. Abundant rainfall supports vigorous vegetation growth — more roots, more food — which allows more gophers to survive and breed successfully. After a wet winter, the spring population expansion is more pronounced than after a dry year. The dramatic gopher activity spikes that follow unusually wet winters in Southern California are a direct result of this dynamic. More food means more gophers, and more gophers means more new animals looking for territory in spring.

Soil Conditions Improve for Tunneling

Winter rain also softens the soil throughout Southern California's clay-heavy and hardpan-prone terrain. Gophers tunnel more easily and more extensively in moist soil than in the dry, compacted conditions that develop over summer. The combination of improved tunneling conditions and increased population pressure in spring creates the most visible gopher activity of the year. Mounds appear faster and in more locations simultaneously because animals are moving more aggressively through easier-to-tunnel soil.

Natural Populations Push Into Residential Areas

Foothill and open space gopher populations that expand significantly over a wet winter push downhill and outward into adjacent residential neighborhoods in spring. Homeowners near Griffith Park, the Santa Monica Mountains, Angeles National Forest, Chino Hills State Park, and similar open spaces regularly see spring activity spikes as expanded natural populations push into irrigated residential landscaping where food is reliable year-round.

When to Call for Service

The best time to start gopher control is as soon as you see the first fresh mounds in spring — before the population has had time to establish and expand. Early spring treatment removes the initial animals before they can breed, which prevents the mid-season population explosion that makes summer control more challenging. If you wait until you have a dozen mounds across your yard, you are dealing with a more established infestation than if you had called at the first two or three mounds.

For properties with ongoing pressure from nearby open space or institutional grounds, starting maintenance service in late winter — February or March — gets ahead of the spring activity peak before it begins.

Related Articles

• Why Gopher Activity Increases After Winter Rain
• How to Tell if You Have One Gopher or Many
• Monthly vs. Quarterly Service — Which Do You Need?

Call 909-599-4711 — don't wait for the spring surge to get ahead of you. Same-week appointments available throughout Southern California.