Pocket Gophers

• Stocky rodent with short legs and small external ears.
• Large front incisors adapted for digging and root feeding.
• Rarely seen above ground—damage patterns are the main indicator.

• Create extensive underground tunnel networks.
• Push excavated soil to the surface, forming visible mounds.
• Live alone—each gopher maintains its own territory.
• Tunnel depth varies based on soil and food availability.

Unlike voles, gophers spend nearly all their time underground.

• Fan-shaped or crescent soil mounds with no open hole in the center.
• Root feeding that kills grass, plants, or shrubs.
• Uneven or collapsing soil from tunneling below.
• Damage concentrated in lawns, gardens, and landscaped beds.

• Spring: peak tunneling as soil softens.
• Summer: continued feeding and mound creation.
• Fall: activity slows but remains visible.
• Winter: limited surface signs, but underground activity can continue.

• Fresh soil mounds appearing overnight.
• Dead patches of grass with loose soil underneath.
• Plants wilting or collapsing from root loss.
• Raised or uneven lawn areas from tunneling.

• Abundant root food sources in irrigated lawns and gardens.
• Soft, workable soil conditions.
• Large unmanaged landscapes (fields, acreages).
• Each removed gopher leaves territory that another may occupy.

• Confirm: identify active mounds and tunnel systems.
• Target: focus control within active tunnel networks.
• Reduce attractants: manage irrigation and plant vulnerability where possible.
• Barrier strategies in high-value landscaping zones.
• Verify: monitor for new mound formation over time.

Surface-only action rarely works—control must target the tunnel system itself.