Have you noticed damage to your home’s foundation where there are gophers around? Are you wondering can gophers damage building foundations?
In this post, you’ll find out how gophers cause damage to foundations and how to keep them away from your home.
Can Gophers Damage Building Foundations?
Gophers can cause damage to building foundations due to them burrowing under the foundations of your house or building. This burrowing will cause the foundations to sink and you will see cracks in your building develop over time.
Gophers undoubtedly cause damage to building foundations. They’re one of the most dangerous rodents when it comes to property damage.
Gophers cause damage by burrowing down under the yard and making their way underneath the bottom of your home’s foundation. Sometimes, they even come into your home from the bottom through the plumbing lines.
Can Gophers Damage Concrete?
Gophers can not dig through concrete but they will dig under it which will cause the concrete to move and put stress on it.
This stress can then ruin the concrete by causing it to crack and come apart
Many of our homes’ foundations are made of concrete. Gophers are capable of wreaking havoc on any of the concrete around your home.
How Do Gophers Damage Concrete?
Gophers are incredible diggers. They burrow tunnels that connect and form underground homes of their own that are often directly underneath buildings.
As a gopher burrows through the dirt beneath your home, it displaces the ground above it. When there’s concrete on top of the ground, the displacement of the dirt often results in cracks through the concrete.
Gophers aren’t seen during the day very often. That means they can dig under a building and go undetected for a long time. Years of burrowing under a home can take a heavy toll on the home’s foundation.
What Damage Can Gophers Do to Building Foundations?
The biggest problem gophers cause with a building foundation is cracking. When cracks form as a result of gophers burrowing, it usually means they’ve been under your home for quite some time.
Years of digging underneath the concrete results in major damage to the home’s foundation.
If they’re allowed to stay under your home, they will eventually find their way inside, as well. They usually enter through the plumbing lines.
Once inside your home, gophers make themselves at home inside cabinets, beneath bathtubs, and in the walls.
You’ll likely notice the smell of their urine, along with other signs of their presence. They’ll cause more damages and could potentially expose you and your family to some nasty diseases.
How to Keep Gophers Away From Buildings
The question becomes, how do you keep gophers away from buildings and their foundations? The best way to deal with gophers is to prevent them from ever reaching your home.
You shouldn’t worry about can gophers get in your house from the damage they have made.
There are some smells and substances gophers don’t like. You can use them to repel these rodents, so they don’t want to get close to your home.
Here are some plants to put in around the foundation of your home and in the yard that are known for deterring gophers.
- Daffodils
- Geraniums
- Sage
- Irises
- Thyme
If you notice a gopher mound anywhere on your property, you should address the problem before it becomes larger. Try to make the gopher leave by putting any of the following in and around the gopher hole.
- Peppermint oil
- Tabasco sauce
- Coffee grounds
- Fish oil
- Castor oil
The great thing about getting rid of a gopher is they are loners. The only time there’s more than one gopher in a burrow is during mating season and when a mother has newborn babies. If you get rid of one gopher, that should be all there was.
What If a Gopher Is Already Living Under My Home?
We mentioned above that it’s tough to know when a gopher lives under your home because they spend most of their lives underground. So, if one has been there long enough to cause damage to your home’s foundation, you must get it out.
You have a few options for evicting gophers off your property. One is by baiting the rodent to enter a live trap.
Live traps are available online or at hardware stores. Position the trap at the burrow entrance. You may have better luck getting the gopher into the trap if you put an enticing treat inside.
Once the gopher enters the trap, take it far away from your property and release it into a new area. Make sure to fill all the holes and tunnels you can find so another gopher doesn’t take up residence there.
Poisoning with chemical repellents is another effective way to get rid of gophers. They’re made to look like grains that you place at the burrow entrance. Note that these are dangerous for pets and children, and they kill the gophers.
Fumigating the tunnels can smoke gophers out of their homes. You can do this with your lawnmower exhaust or a professional product made to get rid of pests.
Conclusion
Gophers should be encouraged to leave your property as soon as you know they’re there.
They cause damage to the foundation of buildings and can even take up residence inside your home. The longer you wait to evict these furry pests, the more costly it will be.
