Gopher, Ground Squirrel and Vole populations on rise in Temecula and Murrieta

Voles or Meadow Mice                             

The mounds and hole people are seeing popping up on their large property’s in Temecula and Murrieta in Southern California are starting to remind him of the gopher/ Ground Squirrel/ Vole -heavy 2012.

We are seeing mounds and holes earlier, and a lot more than usual. Are calls are up 30% from December 2018 through January 17, 2019 so I guess property owners are seeing the same thing,

“This year, it is starting to feel like the numbers are increasing,” Daniel Wheeler of Wheeler’s Pest Control.

The mild, wet winter we are seeing now gives burrowing rodents such as pocket gophers, Ground Squirrels and Voles a productive early start to what looking like a big year for the pests known for harming properties and landscaping. 

“We are starting out busy in 2019,” Daniel Wheeler said. Our office in Winchester, Ca. is dealing with a 30% increase in calls for gophers, Ground Squirrels, and Vole compared to a year ago, he said. That reflects the mild winter this year and the heavy, long-lasting rains we are getting now in 2019 than a winter a year ago.  He said that most ground squirrel should be hibernating right now but they seem more plentiful this winter.

It’s so bad in some Western states that some counties are paying a bounty of $1 per tail of a gopher caught. 

 “The (vole) population has a nasty habit of exploding when conditions are favorable” due to their high capacity for reproduction, he said.

“Voles can have several generations of young in a year, though in typical years, predation and disease keeps populations below levels that can cause major damage, “Daniel said. Population spikes often reflect ideal weather conditions for the rodents.

As for gophers, they lack the reproductive capacity of voles, so in general, “unless you neglect to control them, you can keep them down,” he said. 

“Gopher problems can explode on properties next to public land or another property that isn’t much into rodent control,” Daniel said. “They tend to migrate from one field to the other fields and can be tough to keep up with.”

Keeping up with rodents is key to controlling them, said David Wheeler. “They are nasty little things in the properties,” David said. “You can bait them, fume them or snap-trap them, but control is it’s just a matter of getting after them when you see them.”