The short version
Around Lakewood, the digger is usually the northern pocket gopher. Trap the main tunnel near a fresh mound. Repellents rarely work.
- Usually one or two gophers.
- Fan-shaped mounds mean gophers.
- Wire protects beds and trees.
- Repellents rarely work.
Homeowners and gardeners in Lakewood with mounds or tunnels in the yard.
What to look for
One gopher can ruin a garden bed in a few days. They push up fan-shaped mounds as they dig. Gophers eat roots, bulbs and plants from below.
- 1Fan-shaped dirt mounds.
- 2A plugged hole off to one side of the mound.
- 3Plants wilting or pulled underground.
- 4Chewed irrigation lines.
- 5Soft, sinking soil.
- 6Fresh mounds after rain or watering.
Why it’s worth acting soon
- Roots, bulbs and young trees get eaten.
- Irrigation lines get chewed.
- Mounds dull mower blades.
- More gophers move into empty tunnels.
Treatment options and typical costs
Activity Mapping and Tunnel Probing
$75–$200
Fresh mounds, plugged feed holes, and clipped plants get logged on a simple property map before any control starts in Lakewood. That record is the baseline for judging when work is done.
- Time
- 45–90 minutes
- Best for
- Every job; separates fresh activity from old, abandoned mounds
Exclusion and Follow-Up Monitoring
$200–$1,500 depending on scope
Ask what a service plan in Lakewood covers, how often visits happen, and whether traps stay in place between them. A clear plan turns gopher control into a manageable chore.
- Time
- Half a day for barriers; monitoring visits 20–40 minutes
- Best for
- Gardens, raised beds, young trees, and properties near open fields
Burrow Fumigation
$200–$600 per treatment
Fumigation works best in moist soil that traps the gas. Dry, sandy, or cracked ground common on some Lakewood lots lets it leak out before it reaches the gopher.
- Time
- 1–2 hours, with re-entry restrictions
- Best for
- Heavy activity on large lots, away from structures, where legal
Labeled Burrow Baiting
$150–$400 per treatment
Which gopher baits homeowners can buy varies by state and county. A provider working in Lakewood should know the current restrictions without being asked.
- Time
- 30–60 minutes per visit, plus follow-up
- Best for
- Larger properties and heavy infestations where trapping alone is too slow
Prices are typical published ranges. Ask what’s included before you compare quotes.
Gophers eat roots from below. Plants that wilt and lift out easily are a classic sign.Which gophers live around Lakewood.
They live alone, so a yard usually has one or two. Voles may also be at work; they leave surface runways. Pocket gophers are stocky, with cheek pouches and long claws.
When they dig.
Frozen ground slows surface work in winter. Summer heat and dry soil push activity deeper. Digging peaks in spring and fall, when soil is moist.
Pocket gophers are stocky, with cheek pouches and long front claws. Each one lives alone.Finding the main tunnel.
The plugged hole is on the open side of the fan. Probe a foot or two back to find the main tunnel. That's where traps belong. Yards from Lakewood out to Denver and Arvada share the same pattern. Find a fresh, fan-shaped mound.
A year of digging in Lakewood.
- Winter: lows near 19°F in Lakewood. Surface work slows. - Spring: peak digging as soil warms and stays moist. - Summer: highs near 88°F in Lakewood push activity deeper. - Fall: a second peak before winter.
Gopher, mole or vole?
- Chipmunk: neat holes, no dirt pile. - Gopher: fan-shaped mounds, plugged hole to one side. - Mole: round mounds and raised ridges. - Vole: surface runways and chewed plant stems.
Protecting gardens and trees.
- Drip lines: check for chew marks each spring. - Raised beds: line the bottom with hardware cloth. - Trees: plant in wire root baskets. - Bulbs: use small wire cages.
What works, and what doesn’t.
- Rarely: plants said to repel gophers. - Works: traps in the main tunnel. - Sometimes: labeled baits placed deep in tunnels. - Rarely: sonic stakes, gum, castor oil or flooding.
How gopher traps are set.
- Check: look again within a day. - Find: probe near a fresh mound for the main tunnel. - Open: dig down to expose both directions. - Set: place a trap facing each way. - Cover: block light with a board or sod.
Lawn care that discourages diggers.
Keep weedy edges and tall grass mowed. Pull mulch back from tree trunks. Healthy turf recovers from digging faster. Water deeply but less often.
Fixing the yard afterward.
Rake mounds flat and fill sunken tunnels. Water to settle the soil. Reseed or patch bare spots in spring or fall. Wait until the digging stops.
Irrigation lines and sprinklers.
Check for wet spots or weak spray each spring. Bury lines a little deeper where you can. Fix leaks fast, since damp soil draws more digging. Gophers chew drip lines and sprinkler tubing.
Natural help.
Barn owl boxes can help on bigger properties. Bait can harm pets and wildlife if misused. Traps avoid that risk. Owls, hawks, snakes and foxes all hunt gophers and voles.
Myths about yard diggers.
- Many mounds, many animals: often it’s one. - Gum or laxatives: no evidence they work. - Car exhaust or flooding: unsafe and unreliable. - Sonic stakes: animals get used to them. - Repellent plants: little proof of results.
Signs the problem is over.
- New mounds later? Another one moved in. - No fresh mounds for two weeks. - Plants stop wilting or disappearing. - Flattened mounds stay flat.
Underground wire baskets.
Leave a few inches of wire above the soil. Baskets last several years, long enough for roots to get established. Plant new trees, roses and bulbs in baskets of galvanized wire.
Raised beds that stay safe.
- Soil: fill after the wire is in place. - Base: staple hardware cloth across the bottom. - Wire: half-inch mesh, not chicken wire. - Edges: run the wire up the inside walls.
When a whole street has them.
Clearing your yard alone may only last a season. Talking with neighbors and treating at the same time works better. Diggers move in from vacant lots, fields and neighbors' yards.
Pets, kids and digging.
Choose traps over bait if a dog likes to dig. Fill old mounds so no one twists an ankle. Keep kids and pets away from traps and bait.
Gopher-proofing new landscaping.
Plant shrubs and trees in wire baskets. Raised beds with mesh bottoms protect vegetables. It costs more up front but saves replanting. Lay wire mesh under new sod before it goes down.
Questions to ask before you sign.
- Is it safe around pets? - Is it a gopher, mole or vole? - Which method will you use? - How often will you check? - What if another one moves in?
How to size up the yard damage.
Across Lakewood, tunnel systems typically run 6 to 12 inches below the surface, with deeper nesting and food-storage chambers. Across Lakewood, because each gopher is solitary, a yard with several fresh mounds usually means several animals, each with its own network. Across Lakewood, count the active mounds during your walk-through — that number, not a national average, is what should drive a treatment plan. Across Lakewood, state wildlife agencies put a single pocket gopher at roughly a ton of soil moved per year, and mounds are the first thing most people notice.
Gopher mounds vs. other lawn damage in Lakewood.
Across Lakewood, the mounds are the giveaway — moles leave raised ridges without a clear entrance hole, and voles leave shallow surface runways through the grass. Around Lakewood, CO, 16 inches of rain a year softens the soil and makes new mounds more visible after a wet spell. Across Lakewood, reading the shape of the mound is the first step in choosing the right control method. Across Lakewood, gopher activity shows up as fan-shaped mounds of fresh soil with a plugged entrance off to one side.
What a gopher control job should cost in Lakewood.
Across Lakewood, a small yard with one or two active tunnels is a small job; a large lot with tunneling across a wide area costs more because it takes more traps and more return visits. Across Lakewood, ask for a written quote that spells out the number of visits, the method, and what the follow-up covers, rather than a single flat number. Across Lakewood, gopher control is priced by how many active tunnels there are and how much ground the animal is using, not by how many animals you can count.
Why gopher problems come back after removal.
Across Lakewood, that is why removal alone rarely holds: if the food and the tunnel access are still there, a new gopher will simply re-colonize the same tunnels. Across Lakewood, the long-term fix pairs removal with habitat changes, like limiting the grubs and earthworms or irrigated plantings gophers feed on and keeping nearby overgrown areas trimmed, so your yard stops being the easiest target on the block. Across Lakewood, gophers are solitary, but the space they leave is quickly filled by the next animal that moves in from neighboring yards or open ground.
What affects the price
- Access difficulty, slopes, and dense plantings.
- Proximity of activity to buildings and hardscape.
- One-time service versus a monthly monitoring plan.
- How many recheck visits the plan includes.
- State restrictions on which baits can be used.
- Lot size and total ground the provider must cover.
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What's digging in your yard?
When to call for help
Call if new mounds keep appearing after a week of trapping. for big lots next to fields. A pro can find the main tunnels fast.
What you can do yourself
Skip sonic stakes and home remedies. Find the right tunnel and follow the trap instructions. Once you know what it is, trapping is DIY-friendly.
Gophers in Lakewood
Lakewood only gets about 16 inches of rain a year, so watered lawns and gardens draw most of the digging. Winter lows near 19°F freeze the topsoil around Lakewood, but tunnels below keep going. Across Lakewood, parks, schoolyards and watered yards see the most mounds.
Gopher tips from the experts
Fresh mounds tell the story
Around Lakewood, Colorado, fresh, dark soil means a gopher is active now. Look at the mound shape, the plugged hole and any wilting plants before deciding what you have.
Gopher, mole or ground squirrel?
Gopher mounds are crescent or horseshoe shaped, with a plugged hole off to one side. Mole mounds are rounder, often with raised ridges nearby. Ground squirrel holes stay open, with no mound.
UC IPM: pocket gophersWhat they damage
Gophers chew roots, irrigation lines and sometimes buried cables. Fresh, moist soil means they’re active now. Keep watching after treatment, since a quiet yard doesn’t always mean they’re gone.
Utah State University Extension: pocket gophersSoil ropes after the snow melts
In snowy parts of Colorado, gophers tunnel through the snow and pack the tunnels with soil. When it melts, those soil ropes are left on the lawn. They show where gophers were busy over winter.
Based on guidance from university extension services.
How we check our sourcesLocal research
Gophers in Lakewood, CO: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in Colorado, when they are busiest around Lakewood, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Gopher species recorded in Colorado
- Northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) — Smallest and most widespread western species; all of eastern Washington and Oregon east of the Cascades.
- Yellow-faced pocket gopher (Pappogeomys castanops) — Southern High Plains.
When gophers are busiest around Lakewood
Spring, then fall; irrigated sites year-round. California and Southwest: up to 3 litters a year on irrigated turf; trap at fresh mounds.
Based on Lakewood’s semi-arid climate profile.
Sources: Pocket Gophers; UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources); Living with wildlife: Pocket gophers. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Simple ways to keep gophers away
- Line raised beds with wire mesh.
- Plant trees in wire root baskets.
- Check for fresh mounds weekly.
- Trap new gophers early.
- Keep weedy field edges mowed.
- Skip sonic stakes and repellents.
Ask what the quote covers if another gopher moves in after the first is caught.Did you know?
Their lips close behind the front teeth to keep dirt out
Gophers get most of their water from plant roots
Questions people ask
What should a gopher company tell me first?
Method, placement, check schedule and what's included.
Can I trap gophers myself?
Yes. Set traps in the main tunnel near a fresh mound.
Can gophers damage my foundation or patio?
Rarely. They can chew irrigation lines and undermine paths, though.
Why do mounds keep coming back after I trapped one?
Usually another gopher moved in, or the first was missed. Keep checking for fresh mounds.
Will gophers leave on their own?
Rarely. If there's food, they stay and keep tunneling.
How much does gopher removal cost?
Across Lakewood, ask for a written quote that spells out visits and the warranty. It's a published estimate, not a local quote.
When is digging worst in Lakewood?
Spring and fall, when the soil is moist. Frozen winter ground slows things down.
Are there gophers in Lakewood?
Yes. Around Lakewood, it's usually the northern pocket gopher.
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Sources (5)
The facts in this article come from the public sources listed above. Every home is different, so ask the company you talk to about pricing and what’s included. Published by Gopher Exterminator · Updated September 11, 2026 · How we write these guides