Gopher Poison

Gopher poisons must be applied below ground, in the gopher holes and in burrows.


Several gopher poisons are available, from smokes to pellets to chemical solutions.  Poisons are appropriate in some situations, but usually trapping is the preferred method for getting rid of gophers.

The reason we prefer traps to toxins is that gopher poisons are only moderately successful.  It is difficult to know if the fumes have reached the animals, and if it is an ingestion form, whether or not they ate it.  Gophers live primarily below ground, and so that is where the poisons are introduced.  You can never be entirely sure that it was effective because there are no bodies (they almost always remain underground to die).

With trapping, it is clear how many gophers have been caught because there are bodies.  When the trapping slows down and then stops for the appropriate time frame, we can be reasonably certain that the animals are all gone.

Another concern with gopher poison is that it can sometimes hurt other animals or people.  Today’s rodenticides are safer than those of previous years, but there is still risk.  Fumitoxin, a frequently used gopher poison, has been blamed for human illness and even death.  This substance is a Restricted Use Pesticide, meaning that is dangerous enough that a license is required to purchase it.  To apply Fumitoxin without a license is illegal.

All in all, trapping is usually the best way to go.  Call Allstate Animal Control to talk to a professional gopher trapper, or for more information: 1-888-488-7720.