Pocket Gophers
What's A Pocket Gopher ??
What’s A Pocket Gopher ??
By Robb Russell, Anytime Wildlife Control
Gainesville Florida Gopher Trapper
Pocket Gophers are found throughout North America including most of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Pocket gophers are rarely ever seen. They live below the ground in burrows and are best suited for life below in the subterranean earth. Pocket gophers are vegetarians and are known to eat a variety of roots, tubers, green vegetation and yes even occasionally bark or wood. Pocket gophers typically will cut green shoots at ground level and bring them back down into their burrows.
Pocket gophers are not very popular in the agricultural community. They cause considerable damage to crops and orchards. On ranches and farms they make large burrows and mounds that cause livestock such as cattle, horse, sheep and goats to break their legs and ankles.
Listen to Trapper Robb and Steve Albano On Moles & GophersWith Co Hosts Mike Flick and the late Bob Evans. |
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  This is a Interview and discussion Trapper Robb did with Steve Albano of Trapline Products on April 13, 2008. I am a customer of Steve’s and all of my pocket gopher traps were made by this fellow NWCOA member. I was also joined by Co hosts Mike Flick with Anytimeanimalcontrol.com and the late Trapper Bob Evans of Madison NY.For more information on Pocket gophers and pocket gopher trapping please visit his site http://www.traplineproducts.com/gophers.html
. A full evening with Steve Albano, of Peninsula Animal Trapping PO Box 4128 Menlo Park, CA 94025 (650) 363-7963 stevealbano@thegophinator.com We learn all about his wildlife control business and his products he has to offer the industry. After more than 14 years of operating a gopher and mole control service business using the marginally effective traps available on the market, Steve threw them all away in frustration, and designed The Gophinator. Recently Steve also released a new mole trap and sent out sample to various professionals throughout the industry to filed test them. Steve will be handling calls tonight on both his new mole trap and using The Gophinator in his business.
Photo Below Courtesy Sonya Meneely of Meneely Wildlife Control (http://ponca-ok-bat-bird-racoon-squirrel-skunk-wildlife-removal.com/ http://wichita.raccoonsquirrelremoval.com/ 580-749-5364 or 580-749-5673 (Enid, OK) and 918-213-4366 (Bartlesville, OK ) for more information.)demonstrating a catch using Steve Albano’s Gophinator Traps.
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Pockets gophers have been classified in three distinct genera .
- Geomys- These pocket gophers have large and strong foreclaws; very small eyes; two grooves on upper incisors.
- Thomyms- These pocket gophers have small forelegs and slender foreclaws; small eyes and no grooves on upper incisors. They have incisors that are very pronounced and stick out.
- Cratogeomys- Very large upper and lower incisors, large strong foreclaws medium sized eyes and have one groove on incisors.
There are several different species of the pocket gophers found across North America. I have tried to put together a list here of all North American Pocket gophers species and help our most common visitor the prospective gopher trapper help identify what pocket gopher species they may have int their own local areas. The following account for the species Geomys here in North America.
The South Eastern Pocket Gopher ranges North from Central Florida to South Georgia and South Alabama.
Texas Pocket Gopher Geomys personatus
The Range of the Plains Pocket Gopher.
The Plains Pocket Gopher Geomys bursarius This is the only Geomys species found in the North as far as most of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma
Crateogeomys Pocket Gophers
Yellow faced Pocket Gopher Ctategeomys castrnops
The Crateogeomys pocket gophers have one lone species that is found in South Eastern Kansas, in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Colorado, New Mexico and western Texas and parts of Mexico the Yellow faced Pocket Gopher Cratogeomys castanops (Chihuahua and Coahuila).
The Thomomys Pocket Gophers (Slender front claws)
Botta's Pocket Gopher Thomomys bottae
Botta’s Pocket Gopher is found in the South West from as far north as parts of oregon, and including most of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and the Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora Chihuahua in Mexico. There fur color varies and matches local soil color. Males are larger then females. This species is very small in desert regions but very large in agricultural areas where food supply is abundantly plentiful.
Cama’s Pocket Gopher Thomomys bulbivorus This is an agricultural menace they eat forbs and grasses, alfalfa, carrots, potatoes and the roots of fruit and nut trees. Found in Willamette valley, north western Oregon.
