Gophers Chewing Wires and Irrigation Lines

Underground Infrastructure Damage from Gophers in Southern California

Gophers chew through underground infrastructure as a normal part of their tunneling activity. Irrigation lines, low-voltage landscape wiring, drip tubing, and PVC pipe are all vulnerable when they cross through active gopher territory. Chewed irrigation lines and wiring are among the most expensive and frustrating forms of gopher damage in Southern California.

Why Gophers Chew Wires and Pipes

Gophers do not seek out wires or pipes specifically — they encounter them while tunneling and chew through them as obstacles or out of natural gnawing behavior. Gopher incisors grow continuously throughout their lives and must be worn down through constant chewing. Any material their tunnels intersect — roots, tubing, PVC, electrical conduit — gets chewed.

What Gophers Chew Through

Drip irrigation tubing: The most commonly damaged underground infrastructure. Flexible drip tubing and polyethylene pipe are easy for gophers to chew. A single gopher can sever multiple irrigation lines in a single property visit. PVC irrigation pipe: Gophers chew through standard schedule 40 PVC, particularly at fittings and along straight runs in active tunnel areas. Larger diameter pipe takes longer to damage but is not immune. Low-voltage landscape wiring: Outdoor lighting wire, irrigation control wire, and landscape speaker wire running underground through active gopher areas are vulnerable. Chewed control wires cause intermittent or complete irrigation zone failures. Electrical conduit: Flexible conduit is vulnerable. Rigid metal conduit is more resistant but not completely immune in areas of intense gopher activity. Pool and spa plumbing: Underground pool return and suction lines can be chewed in areas of active gopher tunneling near pool equipment.

Identifying Gopher Irrigation Damage

Signs that gophers have chewed your irrigation lines:

Unexpected wet spots in dry areas (water escaping from a chewed line underground)

Dry zones that do not respond to irrigation (severed supply line upstream)

An entire irrigation zone failing to pressurize (main supply line chewed)

Irrigation controller showing normal operation but no water delivery to a zone

Preventing Recurrence

Replacing chewed lines without eliminating the gopher guarantees the new lines will be chewed again. The only lasting solution is gopher elimination followed by line repair.

For properties with extensive underground infrastructure, carbon monoxide treatment that addresses the entire tunnel network is the most efficient approach before undertaking irrigation repairs.

Call 909-599-4711 for gopher control with a 60-day guarantee throughout Southern California.

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