Calgary & surrounding areas
Gopher & Groundhog Control
In Calgary, “gopher” almost always means the Richardson’s ground squirrel — the small upright prairie squirrel that riddles lawns, acreages and commercial lots with open burrows. True groundhogs are a good deal less common around here, and northern pocket gophers are a different animal again. Getting the identification right matters, because this is burrow-based work: you treat the burrow system, not the animal you happened to see.
Same-day service · Guaranteed results
How we handle it
- 01
Burrow mapping
We walk the property and mark which burrow systems are active and which are abandoned — fresh soil, worn entrances and clear runs tell you apart from a hole that has weathered over. We also note anything sitting close to a burrow that should not be: slabs, footings, sheds, fence posts, play areas, livestock.
- 02
Burrow-directed treatment
Licensed application into the active burrows only, using products registered with Health Canada. Treatment goes into the burrow system rather than being spread across a property, which keeps it where it works and away from where it does not belong.
- 03
Site and access work
We go through the conditions that make the property attractive and the pressure coming from neighbouring land — grazed short grass, irrigated turf, disturbed soil, an open field on the far side of the fence. On some sites this is the honest conversation about ongoing management rather than a one-off fix.
- 04
Re-inspection
Reopened burrows are the tell. We come back to check the mapped systems, treat what has been re-established, and level or mark the ones that have gone quiet so the next look is straightforward. And our results are guaranteed.
What you might notice
- 01Open burrow entrances with a fan of loose soil beside them
- 02Animals sitting upright on mounds, watching, then dropping from view
- 03Ground that feels hollow or collapses underfoot near burrows
- 04Chewed garden plants, landscaping and crop or pasture edges
- 05Undermined sidewalks, patio slabs, sheds or fence posts
Every job includes
- An Alberta-licensed technician, not a subcontractor
- A written record of what was found and what was applied
- Same-day service whenever the schedule allows
- Guaranteed results: if they come back, so do we
Same-day service when the schedule allows. Book now and it’s handled.
Where we work
Gopher & Groundhog Control across Calgary
We handle ground squirrels, gophers and groundhogs for Calgary properties of every kind — residential lawns, acreages, school and park-adjacent sites, industrial yards and commercial lots where undermined pavement and slabs become a liability. Properties on the city edge and out toward open land carry the most pressure. Also serving Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, Okotoks and Strathmore.
- Calgary
- Airdrie
- Chestermere
- Cochrane
- Okotoks
- Strathmore
Common questions
Gopher & Groundhog Control — straight answers
Is a gopher the same thing as a ground squirrel?
In everyday Alberta usage, yes — what people here call gophers are almost always Richardson’s ground squirrels. Northern pocket gophers also occur, but they push up mounds of loose soil with no open hole and live almost entirely underground, so they are handled differently. True groundhogs are larger, less common in the city, and more of an acreage and treed-edge animal.
When is the best time to deal with them?
Spring and early summer. Richardson’s ground squirrels emerge early in the year, well before most people are thinking about pest control, and adults start going back underground for the year by mid-summer. Work done in the spring window has a whole active population to act on; work done late in the season is dealing with fewer animals and often needs picking up again the following spring.
Can I just fill the holes in?
It rarely holds. A filled entrance gets reopened or bypassed with a new one within days, because the tunnel system underneath is untouched. Filling also erases the map — once the entrances are levelled it is much harder to tell which systems were active, which is exactly the information the treatment depends on.
They are coming from the field next door. Is treating my property pointless?
Not pointless, but be realistic about it. A property that borders open field, pasture or undeveloped land will see animals move back in, so it is managed on a recurring basis rather than solved once. We will tell you that at the assessment instead of after the fact, and we will focus the work where the damage risk actually is — around structures, slabs and irrigation.
Related services
Vole Control
The winding lawn runways that show up after the melt, treated at the perimeter.
ViewExterior Rodent Control
Season-long exterior defence that stops voles and mice before they reach the house.
ViewWildlife Control
Humane, lawful handling of the wildlife problems Calgary properties actually get.
View
Contact
One call, and it’s handled.
Same-day service · Guaranteed results