Around Illinois
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
← All locations
Local gopher information
Gopher control in Illinois
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Gophers in Illinois: what to know
What to note
Where you see gophers, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.
A useful next step
Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.
Local research
Gophers in Illinois: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in Illinois, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Central one-third of Illinois: near the Mississippi River in St. Clair and Madison counties, east and south of the Illinois River, and from the Kankakee River to the Indiana border
Illinois range
Outside that band, Illinois mound complaints are not pocket gophers.
Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesCommon, native
Illinois status
The plains pocket gopher is a native black-soil prairie animal, not an introduced pest.
Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesBlack soil prairie and edge; well-drained soil with many tuberous-rooted plants
Habitat and soil
Explains why activity clusters on prairie remnants, sand areas and old field edges.
Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesGopher species recorded in Illinois
- Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) — The Great Plains and Midwest species.
When gophers are busiest in Illinois
Mating February through June; mounds most visible in spring.
Range is a band from Cahokia and Havana through Bloomington-Normal to south of Kankakee.
Rules that apply in Illinois
For context, nationally
- 14 species in 3 genera (Thomomys, Geomys, Pappogeomys) — Pocket gopher species in the U.S.. Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
- 200 to 2,000 square feet — Botta's pocket gopher burrow system. UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources)
Sources: Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Pocket Gophers; UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Explore Illinois cities
Arlington Heights
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Aurora
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Berwyn
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Bloomington
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Bolingbrook
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Champaign
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Chicago
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Cicero
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Decatur
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Des Plaines
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Elgin
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Evanston
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Joliet
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Naperville
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Oak Lawn
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Palatine
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Peoria
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Rockford
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Schaumburg
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Skokie
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Springfield
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Waukegan
Humid Continental · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Downers Grove
Humid Continental · suburban setting
Read the local guide →