Sweet Cheeks Stew…Pocket Gophers

If you are standing in your kitchen trying to decide what you want to make for dinner and you happen to glance out the window and see small piles of loose soil in your yard, well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news first, you’ve likely got a pocket gopher tunneling through your yard, and besides the external parasites they carry, they can do significant damage to your lawn or garden. Juicy vegetables happen to be their favorites. The good news though, is that if you are able to catch that little sucker, get your soup pot out because gopher is on the menu!

So, what’s the deal with a pocket gopher. Yes, they are small enough to fit in your pocket, but that’s not how they got their names. They got their names from their fur-lined cheek pouches, or pockets, that can not only be turned inside out, but also extend from the sides of their mouth well back onto their shoulders. This definitely gives sweet cheeks a whole new meaning! Pocket gophers use their cheeks to transport food that they gather while tunneling through your yard and foraging underground.

Pocket Gopher Identification…

Pocket gophers are burrowing rodents that tip the scales at an average of ½ pound, with some gopher species approaching the two-pound mark, and measuring approximately six to eight inches. Gopher men are bigger than their lady friends, and can even double a female’s body weight. Their average lifespan is one to three years and maxes out at about five years. They have small eyes, brown fur that closely matches the color of the soil they tunnel through and live in, and a short, hairy tail that they use for navigation when they are moonwalking backward through their extensive tunneling system.

Besides man and his awaiting soup pot, the most common predators of pocket gophers include snakes, hawks, and weasels.

Speaking of that soup pot, who would have thought you’d be getting dinner ideas from a pesticide website, but alas, here we are! Gopher meat is considered a unique delicacy that can be cooked in a number of ways, and their good-sized bones that have super-nutritious marrow can be either ground up or cooked down into a soup. Throw in some fresh veggies and seasonings, serve with some warm sourdough bread, and you’ve got a meal. Just make sure that gopher is a fresh kill.

How To Get Rid of Pocket Gophers…

First step is to make sure you have gophers and not moles or any other burrowing rodent. If you are looking at your yard and all you see is mounds of dirt then you can be pretty confident that you have gophers. I you are seeing long tube like streaks across your yard then you are most likely looking at moles. Moles tunnel closer to the surface so it will push up into the surface. If you see larger gaping holes that are exposed at the surface then you are probably having a ground squirrel infestation.

If you want to turn your rodent issue into your next meal, or if you just want to get rid of the sweet-cheeked pests, HowToPest.com has got you covered. Check out the available gopher products HERE. If you have questions and want the advice of a licensed professional or you want to swap gopher recipes, click on “Contact Us” and hit us up. We’ll get back to you as soon as we finish eating our gopher poppers.