[ 01 ] About

I'm Nate Helman, a Santa Cruz local who has loved working outdoors for as long as I can remember. After spending 15 years living in Japan, I came back home in 2023 and got back to doing what I enjoy most—working in gardens. While maintaining a large private estate, I learned the ins and outs of professional gopher trapping, catching 100s of gophers across everything from orchards and vegetable gardens to steep hillsides, ponds, pathways, and just about every kind of terrain you can imagine.

In the summer of 2026, I started Gopher Control Santa Cruz because I wanted to offer friends, neighbors and local Santa Cruz county homeowners the kind of service I'd want myself—someone who shows up, works hard, communicates honestly, and doesn't quit until the job is done.