Exterminating gophers and moles from your property requires experience and knowledge.  Our technicians are licensed to apply the most effective materials in the industry for gopher and mole removal. Our gopher and mole control services help prevent plant loss, ground erosion and unsightly mounds.

How do we get rid of  Gophers?

We specialize in gopher and rodent control using the most effective, yet safe, methods on the market.  Each employee at So-Cal Pest Control is licensed by the state of California to use restricted materials, as well as registered with the county to engage in pest control for hire.

Our services include an initial service, which consists of coming out to the site and treating all gopher activity. In addition to our initial service, we may recommend a monthly service.This helps to ensure that any new activity is treated before it has a chance to destroy the landscape.In these service visits, we are scheduled to come out and walk the entire property and treat any activity.This is all included in the price of the monthly service.

Gophers and Moles need a professional Gopher exterminator.

Gophers and moles in Santa Barbara are known for causing damage to landscape, lawns and gardens. Additionally gophers and moles can cause damage to sidewalks, pavers and driveways  because how their tunnels weaken the surfaces.  Gophers and moles create dirt mounds, holes and they kill plants.  Gophers and moles can also damage irrigation, utility lines and drip systems.

In order to prevent continual damage to your property, gophers and moles need to be controled quickly and effectively.  Gophers and moles often create tunnels to adjacent properties, so it is likely that your neighbor has been visited by the gophers and moles doing damage on your property.  Even when your property has removed the gophers and moles, your neighboring property still has them, new gophers and moles will eventually move into your property.

How do we get rid of Gophers in Santa Barbara?

So-Cal Pest Control also known as” The Gopher Guys” specialize  in gopher and mole control using the most effective, yet safe, methods on the market. Yes, we are the top gopher and mole exterminators in Santa Barbara County. Each employee at So-Cal Pest Control is licensed by the state of California to use restricted materials, as well as registered with the county to engage in pest control for hire.

For gopher eradication, we use a chemical called Fumitoxin.  It is a restricted material that is in a pellet form but when mixed with moisture dissolves and turns into an aluminum phosphine gas.  This gas will travel throughout the tunnel system, killing the gopher in the tunnel system. The chemical usually takes a few hours to activate and within about 48 hours the whole process is done.  The gas will only work in a sealed tunnel system so there is no danger of harming humans or other animals.  There is no after kill, which protects other animals that might eat the gopher if by chance it should come out of the tunnel system. Some customers ask about fumitoxin being organic or natural. Any product including soap and water is considered to be a pesticide when it is used to kill or control a pest. Again,there is no residual of fumitoxin in the soil after 48 hours so this makes  it as close to natural and organic as possible. Our treatment with fumitoxin is basically an underground fumigation with no residues.

Our initial gopher control service  consists of coming out to the site and treating all gopher activity until gopher control has been achieved. In addition to our initial service, we may recommend a monthly service. This helps to ensure that we treat and get rid of  any new gopher activity before it has a chance to destroy the landscape. In these service visits, we are scheduled to come out and walk the entire property and treat any activity. This is all included in the price of the monthly service.

Most of the properties in the Santa Barbara area have heavy foliage.  There are many natural water and habitat sources, such as creeks.  Many of the homes are older structures which have openings that provide additional shelter and protection from natural predators.  

Rats are ready to reproduce at  2-3 months, females have approx. 5 litters a year, producing 8-12 babies per litter.  Adults rats usually live about one year.  These pests live in colonies, which are found in crawl spaces of houses and buildings,sheds,barns,cars, wood piles,trees,shrubs and more.

Rats and mice are known to carry diseases such as Salmonella.  Some mice, specifically the deer mouse also carry the Hantavirus, which is excreted in their urine, saliva, and droppings. Rats have not been known to carry Hantavirus.  Rats and mice can also spread additional disease and allergens.

Pest control for rats in Santa Barbara is very important considering all of the elements that are available for rats to thrive. So Cal Pest Control provides complete rodent control pest control programs for residential and commercial properties in Santa Barbara,Montecito,Goleta,and Carpinteria. So Cal Pest Control has been effectivily exterminating rats and mice in Santa barbara since 1999 and offers the most expierenced and effective rodent  pest control solutions in the pest control industry.

So Cal Pest Control operates a professional pest control  rat removal business in Santa Barbara Ca, where there’s a lot of rats. We have seen hundreds of cases, and we are experts on getting rid of rats. The first and most important principle to know about rodent control is that in order to completely and permanently solve the rat problem, you must stop any rats from getting inside the house in the first place. They’re getting in somehow – they can use a lot of different entry points and this is what So Cal Pest Control is better than it’s competitors on, locating entry points.

With our experience in rat control and knowledge of building architecture and how rats use it, we can solve your rat and mouse problem. We perform a very detailed inspection of the house or building, and find these entry points that rats are using to get in. Once we’ve found everything, we seal it all up. Our quality of repair work is far superior to our competitors.  This is by far the most important step. Once this is done, then it’s just a simple matter of us scheduling follow-up visits for trapping and removing the remaining rats, which is easy once they can’t get outside for food and water.

It’s also important to trap and remove the rats correctly. Some customers will set a few traps before calling us and end up having the traps go off but not trap the rat. This can cause rats and mice to become trap shy and now the rats will become  much more difficult to catch. We advise not attempting to set traps yourselves. Poison in a attic or under a house is a horrible idea, as it leaves rat carcasses in the attic and walls, decomposing and giving off a terrible odor. Yes it is true that it thins their blood and makes them thirsty but it does not mean that they will leave the structure in search of water. Almost all of the calls that we get about rats or mice dead in a wall or crawl space and is now stinking up the place comes from homeowners placing poison inside the structure.

As rodents pass through areas and enter structures  they leave behind hormones. Even after the entry points are sealed these hormones are still active. These hormones attract new  foraging rodents back to the same entry point sights of the original rodents. If nothing is done to control these foraging  exterior rodents,then it is only a matter of time before new entry points are created. So it is important that we take our final necessary measure to keep your structure protected. So -Cal Pest Control offers a service were we will install and maintain exterior bait stations for rodent control and prevention. A barrier of bait stations are placed around the structure to intercept rodent pathways.These bait stations are tamper proof. Rodents will feed on the rodenticide that is secured in a lock and key system keeping it safe for children and pets.This service keeps rodent populations under control and prevents rodent  infestations.

Gopher tunnel networks can be up to 9 feet in depth.  If their tunnels are neglected for long periods the under ground will look like Swiss cheese.  Often surrounding yards have gophers which affect adjacent properties and usually the tunnels between the two areas connect.   Since the tunnels are so deep they cannot be destroyed, therefore there is always a route for gophers to follow.

Gophers do not hibernate so they are active all year long.  They also have the ability to be  active at all hours of the day. Gophers usually live alone within their burrow system, except for females with young or when they are breeding.Breeding season usally starts late winter to early spring. Gophers will breed 1 to 2 times a year with 3 to 7 pups per litter. Gophers live up to 3 years and they can start breeding at 1 yearof age.