Around Nebraska
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 Nebraska
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Gophers in Nebraska: 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 Nebraska: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in Nebraska, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
4: northern pocket gopher in the Panhandle, Geomys jugossicularis halli in the southwest, Geomys lutescens in the Sandhills, and plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius halli) in the east
Pocket gopher species in Nebraska
The eastern plains pocket gopher is the largest pocket gopher species and can weigh up to 14 ounces.
Nebraska Extension, University of Nebraska-Lincoln21 to 49% on rangeland; up to 30% on hay meadows
Rangeland and hay meadow forage loss
Gophers are a production problem, not just a cosmetic one.
Nebraska Extension, University of Nebraska-LincolnUp to 17% in irrigated alfalfa; up to 35% in dryland alfalfa
Alfalfa production loss
Alfalfa taproots are preferred food, so hay ground carries the heaviest pressure.
Nebraska Extension, University of Nebraska-LincolnGopher species recorded in Nebraska
- Northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) — Smallest and most widespread western species; all of eastern Washington and Oregon east of the Cascades.
- Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) — The Great Plains and Midwest species.
When gophers are busiest in Nebraska
Extension recommends baiting in early March or April when gophers are most active.
Fur color tracks soil color, sandy-brown in western Nebraska to dark chocolate brown in the east.
Rules that apply in Nebraska
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: Nebraska Extension, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; 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
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