99 Problems and They’re all Gophers: How to Get Rid of Gophers

Gophers are the havoc causing, detrimental eaters of plants flowers, trees, weeds, grass, orchards, gardens anything that grows green. Gopher Patrol’s main inherited purpose is to rid those lush lawns and fruitful orchards of gophers.

Gophers are intelligent, sly, mischievous rodents that will come and take over the properties, one neighbor at a time. They aim to score everything that may have any sentimental or monetary value to home owners and landscapers. There are many ways to ATTEMPT to control them including:

1. Moth balls
2. Water hose
3. Juicy Fruit
4. Dry mashed potatoes
5. Human hair
6. Castor oil, soap, and corncob granules
7. Various home or gardening store products

However, if the Houdini gopher is the type actively destroying all that is green there is one saving force to call, Gopher Patrol has been annihilating gophers for 17 years.  Gopher control is hard enough with one gopher, but once they have mass produced, they turn into a complete epidemic. Together they will be able to escape any destructive force trying for complete annihilation, your next best move will be to Call Gopher Patrol. They use two of the most effective methods of gopher exterminating. Trapping and baiting are their main source of containing and eliminating the pests.

Gopher Patrol controls gophers all throughout Southern California from the hot hell of the Inland Empire all the way to the breezy Ventura County coast. They have an A+ rating with the BBB and are Award winners of the Angie’s List Super Service Award. They can be reached at 888-466-4674 or visit them at http://www.gopherpatrol.com and find an online discount.

Summer Tips on Keeping your Home Pest Free

BBQ's, pool parties, and long breezy nights can be an opportune time for fun AND pests. Flies and ants can be main contenders in fighting for those skewers of meat and shrimp which can lead to an extra bite of bite of protein, some people might prefer to do without. Here at Gopher Patrol we promote using chemical as well as organic forms of pest control. The following are some at home rmedies is trying to control the pesky flies.

The FLY TRAP

1. Pick a cup. Taller cups work best.
2. Get a sheet of 8.5x11 paper and twist it ito a funnel leaving a hole bigger than a fly at the bottom. regular printer paper works just fine.
3. Holding the paper cone in place, lower it into the cup to make sur eit only sits about halfway in. You can go down farther, but the more room you leave under the cone the more sweet honey you can fit in the cup.
4. Remove the cone and tape the edge so it holds its shape.
5. Fill the bottom of the cup with honey (whatever you prefer).
6. Put the cone back in the cup and place the cup near your fly problem.

Don’t worry, at first the flies won’t suddenly be flocking to your new trap, and if you have a lot of ground to cover you’ll probably need at least three. Make the number you require and then wait about 24-48 hours. In time, the flies will find their way inside the cup and die.

This fly trap may work best for you, you can also do more with your honey. There is a second option made with cooked honey, sugar and water; it is a sticky icky fly paper that can be put all around the home. This paper will attract the flies so well; you might have to change it every day.

If this summer fly traps and paper aren’t your thing, make sure to check out Gopher Patrol’s interactive and informative website at gopherpatrol.com, where you can fill out their schedule and appointment form. A Gopher Patrol representative will get back to you same day to help with those increasing summer pest and gopher control needs. Gopher Patrol is available Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm and on Saturdays from 9am-2pm. You can reach them at 1-888-466-4674 or locally at 1-951-689-8200.

Voles versus Moles

The main difference between voles and moles is the type of havoc they wreak. Moles primary diet is earthworms making them insectivores. They also like to have a few grubs and insects tossed in. Since they don’t eat plants, their landscape massacre is really the accompanying damage of tunnels and runways dug into lawns while on their never-ceasing search for more squiggly worms.

Voles, on the other hand, are plant-eaters. They enjoy feeding on grass and perennial-flower roots, they’ll even eat seeds and bulbs. In winter especially, when other foods are scarce, they’ll even girdle the bark off trees and shrubs.

Unlike moles, voles are rodents that look much like mice, only with shorter tails. They’re dark brown in color, about 5 inches in length and have eyes and ears that you can readily notice. Among the various types of voles are those that do their damage above ground (i.e. meadow voles) and some that do more insidious root- and bark-chewing from underground (i.e. pine voles).

One of the best ways to control voles is to send out a cat to patrol the vole infested area. Cats love hunting for rodents, and they’re often so proud of their conquests that they’ll bring dead prey into the house just to show you what good hunters they are.

Unfortunately, killing moles is the most effective long-term control. Most say it is the only way to control their populations. This can be done either by trapping or baiting.  Both scissor-type and harpoon-type traps are available in most garden centers. To use these, locate active runs by tamping down tunnels and then watching to see where the tunnels are raised back up a day or two later. These are good spots to insert traps. When the mole comes swimming through, it trips the mechanism that will be their fatal demise.  Below are a few other “home remedies”:

• Gas cartridges lit and inserted into runs
• Flooding the burrows with water
• Dumping used kitty litter down the burrow
• Inserting lava rocks soaked in onion and garlic solution in burrow

A type of mouse trap called Snap trap is also pretty effective at catching voles. A half & half mixture of peanut butter and oatmeal is a favorite bait, as well as small apple slices. For the best result, place traps along active runs and disguise them with an inverted box and/or leaves and grass (with the vegetation out of the way enough that it doesn’t impair the traps).

Whether you have voles or moles invading your property Gopher Patrol, the pest control experts, are here to help. Call 888-466-4674 immediately!

Summer is here! Summer weather brings increased need for Pest and Gopher Control!

With temperatures reaching over 105 just in the early days of May, yards are on the verge of annihilation…Grass burning, plants frying, and hillsides lighting up in flames! It is just the beginning…

This season has brought not only tanned skin and sweat filled days but also ever thirsty, ever hungry gophers and pests. These guys are scavenging to find a meal filled with water and nutrients during the current drought. Since gophers live 100%  underground they rely on roots to gather their daily intake, causing disastrous havoc in yards; undermining foundations, devouring slopes and hillsides. So what is the best way to keep gophers and pests controlled you ask? Well, Gopher Patrol uses two forms of containment. They use trapping and baiting. Brandon Rodriguez, an experienced 10 year gopher and pest control veteran explains, “We have found that a targeted attack with baits and traps is the most effective way of eliminating gophers on your property.”

On the same page as annoying gophers, there are the even worse, more traumatizing, violating summer pest invaders. They can range from roaches and pincher bugs to spiders and wasps. With their newborn nurseries graduating to full adulthood during these ending spring and beginning summer months Gopher Patrol General Manager, Ethan Hernandez, says “Beat the Heat with our trained technicians, they can take care of your infestation problem no matter how bad! The best way to defeat them though is with on-going control.”

Gopher patrol offers these summer tidbits for preventative pest control this season: 

• Seal any cracks on the outside of the home with a silicone-based caulk, including entry points for utilities and pipes.

• Replace weather-stripping and repair loose mortar around the foundation and windows.

• Keep tree branches and shrubbery well-trimmed and away from the house.

• Keep mulch at least 15 inches from the foundation.

• Eliminate sources of standing water around the house, including birdbaths and in clogged gutters.

• Keep basements, attics, and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry.

• Store garbage in sealed containers and dispose of it regularly.

• Avoid leaving pet’s food dishes out for long periods of time.

This summer, make sure to check out their interactive and informative website at gopherpatrol.com, where you can fill out their schedule and appointment form. A Gopher Patrol representative will get back to you same day to help with those increasing summer pest and gopher control needs. Gopher Patrol is available Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm and on Saturdays from 9am-2pm. You can reach them at 1-888-466-4674 or locally at 1-951-689-8200.

Gopher patrol has been servicing the six counties, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange for a total of 17 years! They are experts at finding and eliminating moles, rodents, squirrels, gophers, and pests.

Jiggly, Wiggly, Worms To Swarm Lawns… Grub Summer Treatments Now Offered as Infantry in fighting Pest And Mole Control War!

Does your grass have brown patches that never turn green? Does your lawn suffer from irregularly shaped dead patches? These horrifying results could be due to ravenous grubs looking for a full meal in your lawn, as well as the hungry moles and other mammals who eat them. The only suggested all encompassing sure fix is with severe pest and mole control from Gopher Patrol. According to Tech Supervisor Brandon Rodriguez, “Our company uses all inclusive treatment programs to promote full and healthy lawns.”

The most common ones seen are white and creamy colored. They are a beetle larvae that has a “C” for cookie shape. Here are just a few helpful hints in trying to keep an eye on those pests:

If you have dead patches...They  may be due to grub feeding that occurred the previous fall. To check, lift a piece of your turf. If grubs are the culprit, the dead patch will roll up like a carpet, or you’ll be able to pull up the grass and see that it has no roots.

• If you have irregularly shaped dead patches…They  will appear in your well-irrigated lawn in late summer or early fall. Check your turf using the technique just mentioned.

• If your turf has become spongy…Sometimes you can detect sponginess before extensive brown patches appear. With well-watered lawns, sponginess may be the first clue that grubs are present.

• Birds, skunks, armadillos, raccoons or moles are tearing up your lawn – they eat grubs and are trying to uncover them.

Grubs CAN and WILL  take over and destroy a lawn in one summer. In its first instar, or earliest stages of larvae development, the Scarab Beetle grub feeds on the turf roots just below the soil surface. This damage generally occurs in Spring, however, the actual damage does not become apparent until the hot dry days of Summer set in. With an extended period of hot dry weather the top layer of soil dries out completely! The grass roots – being sheared off just below the soil – are unable to absorb any water or moisture from the soil and consequently the lawn dies in the patches where the curl grubs have been active. If left untreated, the population will grow and you will have more problems with other outdoor pests such as gophers coming to visit and helping to destroy your lawn.

Gopher Patrol is best targeted warrior against the whole lifecycle of the grub and beetle. By eradicating the entire lifecycle you completely eliminate any future pest populations. Gopher Patrol is available Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm and on Saturdays from 9am-2pm. You can reach them at 1-888-466-4674 or locally at 1-951-689-8200.