Local gopher information

Gopher control in Iowa

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Gophers in Iowa: what to know

Around Iowa

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

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 Iowa: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in Iowa, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius), across most of Iowa

Pocket gopher species in Iowa

Extension notes they become less common in the eastern quarter of the state.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

A species of conservation concern in Iowa

Conservation status

Loss of native grassland and farm pasture has cut habitat, so extension advises control only where gophers do economically consequential harm.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

6 to 8 gophers per acre

Peak density

Highest in porous, well-drained loamy soil; rocky, very sandy or compacted clay ground holds few.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Gopher species recorded in Iowa

Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) — The Great Plains and Midwest species.

When gophers are busiest in Iowa

Active year-round in open grassy ground; mound building follows workable soil.

Iowa treats pocket gophers as a declining grassland species, an unusual posture among gopher states.

Rules that apply in Iowa

Iowa State University Extension Pocket Gophers: Damage Management

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: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; 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 Iowa cities

Ames

Humid Continental · suburban setting

Gopher control in Iowa

Gophers in Iowa: what to know

Around Iowa

What to note

A useful next step

Gophers in Iowa: what the public record shows

Gopher species recorded in Iowa

When gophers are busiest in Iowa

Rules that apply in Iowa

For context, nationally

Explore Iowa cities

Ames

Ankeny

Cedar Falls

Cedar Rapids

Council Bluffs

Davenport

Des Moines

Dubuque

Iowa City

Marion

Sioux City

Urbandale

Waterloo

West Des Moines

Fort Dodge

Ask about gopher control in Iowa