That adds up to a lot of problems for the alfalfa producer. McMurtry says their tunnel systems can be intricate and two gophers can have burrows very close to each other. Besides direct consumption of the crop, these rodents can cause problems with irrigation pipes, smothering of forages by mounds, change in species composition, damage to seed beds for invading plants, and erosion of soil brought to the surface. Also, tunnels can cause changes in water runoff. While it is hard to actually reduce the gopher damage, McMurtry suggests several ways to try.
Crop rotation can help rid the problem, through heavy tillage the tunnel systems can be destroyed.
Gophers cannot build tunnels in tilled soil because the soil will collapse. Replacing the alfalfa with corn or soybeans will make the gophers leave, as they won t feed on those roots. Grain buffer strips of 50 feet around the alfalfa field will help reduce immigration of the animals and after the producer gets rid of them, they likely will not return. Flood irrigation can be effective, too, as the gophers will be drown or flee from the area. Mud will foul their fur and claws and diffusion of grasses in the burrows.