Around Kansas
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
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Local gopher information
Gopher control in Kansas
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Gophers in Kansas: 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 Kansas: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in Kansas, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
2: plains pocket gopher statewide except the southeastern quarter, and yellow-faced pocket gopher in a limited part of southwestern Kansas
Pocket gopher species in Kansas
The southeastern quarter of Kansas has no plains pocket gopher; mounds there are usually something else.
K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State University20 to 50%
Alfalfa and grassland productivity loss
Gophers on just 10% of an alfalfa field can cut field productivity 2 to 5%.
K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State University6 to 8 plains pocket gophers per acre
High density
One gopher brings about 2 1/4 tons of soil to the surface a year and can build 1 to 3 mounds a day.
K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State UniversityGopher species recorded in Kansas
- Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) — The Great Plains and Midwest species.
- Yellow-faced pocket gopher (Pappogeomys castanops) — Southern High Plains.
When gophers are busiest in Kansas
Mound building is greatest in spring and fall; the plains pocket gopher breeds February to April.
Rotating alfalfa to annual grain removes the root food supply; 50-foot grain buffer strips slow immigration.
Rules that apply in Kansas
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: K-State Research and Extension, Kansas State University; Pocket Gophers; UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
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