Their tunnels can divert and carry off irrigation water and lead to soil erosion. Mounds on lawns interfere with mowing equipment and ruin the aesthetics of well-kept turf. This means that if they are found to be injuring growing crops or other property, including garden and landscape plants, they may be controlled at any time and in any legal manner by the owner or tenant of the premises. To successfully control gophers, the sooner you detect their presence and take control measures, the better. Probing for Burrows Successful trapping or baiting depends on accurately locating the gopher's main burrow.
Probes are commercially available or can be constructed from pipe and metal rod.
An enlarged tip that is wider than the shaft of the probe is an important design feature that increases the ease of locating burrows. Probes made from dowels or sticks may work in soft soil, but are difficult to use in hard or dry soils. First, locate areas of recent gopher activity based on fresh mounds with dark, moist soil. Fresh mounds that are visible aboveground are the plugged openings of lateral tunnels. When the probe penetrates the gopher's burrow, there will be a sudden, noticeable drop of about 2 inches.