Gopher: How to Identify a Pocket Gopher and Stop the Damage

What is a gopher?

A gopher is a small burrowing rodent with fur-lined pockets on the outside of its cheeks. In the US the word almost always means a pocket gopher, one of about 41 species in the family Geomyidae. All of them live in North and Central America, and ICWDM counts 14 species in the United States.

The pockets are the giveaway. Each cheek pouch opens outside the mouth, has a fur lining, and reaches back toward the shoulder. A gopher stuffs its pouches with cut plants and carries them home. WDFW notes the pouches turn inside out for cleaning, and Montana FWP says one can easily hold a human thumb.

Everything else about a gopher is built for digging. It has a thick body, short legs, long front claws, small eyes and ears, and big front teeth. UC IPM explains that its lips close behind those teeth, so it can bite through soil without a mouthful of dirt.

People also call it a pouched rat, a gopher rat or a ground gopher. Montana FWP lists “pouched rat” as one of its names. Some people search for a “pocket mole” too. As far as we can tell they mean the pocket gopher, since no mole has cheek pockets. “Pocket gopher” and “gopher” are the same animal.

Is a gopher a rodent or a rat?

A gopher is a rodent, but it is not a rat. Rodents form the order Rodentia, which includes rats, mice, squirrels and gophers. Pocket gophers have a family of their own, Geomyidae, so “gopher rat” is a nickname rather than a kind of rat. Their closest look-alikes in a yard are moles, which are not rodents at all.

What does a gopher look like?

A gopher is a thick, brown rodent 5 to 14 inches (13 to 36 cm) long. It has small eyes and ears, long front claws, and big yellow front teeth that show with its mouth shut. Its tail is short and nearly bare. You will rarely see one, because it almost never leaves its tunnels.

How big is a gopher?

Most gophers are about 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) long, tail included, and weigh about half a pound (200 g). The biggest in the US, the plains pocket gopher, reaches 14 inches (36 cm) and up to 1 pound (450 g), according to ICWDM. Wikipedia notes that males can weigh nearly twice as much as females of the same species.

So even a big gopher is a fraction of a groundhog’s size. The species table further down gives the size of each common US gopher.

Gopher teeth

A gopher has four large front teeth, two on top and two below (UC IPM), and NWF notes they never stop growing. They are yellowish and chisel-shaped, and they sit outside the lips (Oklahoma State). The gopher uses them to loosen soil and rocks and to cut roots, so they wear down all the time.

The teeth also tell the groups apart. ICWDM explains that the front of each upper tooth is smooth in western Thomomys gophers. In the Geomys gophers of the Plains and the Southeast, it has two grooves.

Does a gopher have a tail?

Yes, a short one, about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long, with very little hair. It is more than a stub. WDFW says the tail works as a sense organ. Gophers can run backward almost as fast as forward, feeling the tunnel behind them as they go. In Washington, the northern pocket gopher is about 8 inches long, and 2 of those inches are tail.

Gopher or mole? How to tell a gopher from its look-alikes

Read the dirt, not the animal. A gopher mound is a fan with its plug off to one side. A mole mound is round, with the plug in the middle, and moles leave ridges. Open holes with no mound mean a vole or ground squirrel. An open hole 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) wide is a groundhog.

Gopher and mole mounds, and mole size, from UC IPM. Vole holes and size from UC IPM’s vole Pest Note. Ground squirrel holes, size and daytime habits from UC IPM’s ground squirrel Pest Note. Groundhog size and den from ICWDM. Gopher size from NWF.

Gopher or mole?

Moles eat earthworms and insects, not plants. They leave round mounds, and raised ridges where they tunnel just under the surface. Gophers eat roots and leave fan-shaped mounds with no ridges. If plants are vanishing from below, the culprit is not a mole. UC IPM says moles rarely eat plants, and gophers or voles are almost always behind chewing damage.

The animals differ too, if you ever see one. NWF points out that a gopher’s long front teeth stick out and its eyes are easy to see. A mole has small teeth, tiny hidden eyes and no visible ears.

Gopher or groundhog?

A groundhog, also called a woodchuck, is far bigger. ICWDM puts it at 16 to 20 inches (41 to 51 cm) plus a 4 to 7 inch tail, and 5 to 10 pounds (2.3 to 4.5 kg). It digs an open den hole 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) across and is often seen out by day. Groundhogs live across eastern and central North America. So a big burrowing animal in Michigan or Ohio, where pocket gophers do not live, is likely a groundhog.

Gopher, ground squirrel or prairie dog?

Ground squirrels and prairie dogs live in the open, often in colonies, and leave their holes open. Pocket gophers live alone and plug every opening. UC IPM says the California ground squirrel is active from midmorning to late afternoon. Its body is 9 to 11 inches long, and its open burrow is about 4 inches (10 cm) wide.

The names overlap, though. Montana FWP warns that people often call ground squirrels and prairie dogs “gophers”. Some of those species are or may be protected. So check before you trap anything that runs around above ground in daylight.

Gopher holes and mounds: the signs in your yard

The surest sign of a gopher is a fresh mound of loose, dark soil. It is shaped like a fan, with a plugged hole off to one side. One gopher can push up several a day and up to 200 a year. Other signs are feed holes ringed by clipped plants, and ropes of soil after snow melts.

A mound is the spoil from tunnelling. The animal loosens soil with its claws and teeth, then turns around. As WDFW explains, it bulldozes the loose earth up a short side tunnel with its head and front feet. Then it plugs the opening from below. Oklahoma State measures typical mounds at 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm) across and about 6 inches (15 cm) high, and one gopher can make up to 200 a year.

• Fresh mounds of dark, moist soil mean recent digging (UC IPM).
• Feed holes: a hole with no dirt mound and a ring of clipped plants around it (UC IPM).
• Soil plugs: circles of disturbed soil 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 cm) wide where a gopher came up and closed the hole (WDFW).
• Plants that wilt or vanish, pulled down from below, sometimes along a whole garden row (UC IPM).
• Wet spots or leaks where a gopher has chewed a drip line (UC IPM).
• Ropes of packed soil on the grass in spring, in places with snow (WDFW).

Why you never see an open gopher hole

Because the gopher closes it. WDFW says gophers plug any opening in their system within 24 hours, and FWC notes the plugs keep out snakes and other predators. So a mound with no hole is normal for a gopher. An open hole with no mound belongs to someone else: a vole, a ground squirrel or a groundhog, sorted by size in the table above.

Lots of tiny holes, each about a quarter inch wide, in a dry, bare patch are not gophers at all. Those are usually ground bees nesting in the lawn, which are close to harmless.

How deep do gophers dig?

Feeding tunnels run 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) below the surface and are about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches (6 to 9 cm) wide, says UC IPM. The nest and food store can be as deep as 6 feet (1.8 m). One gopher’s system covers 200 to 2,000 square feet (19 to 186 square meters). Montana FWP says systems sometimes reach 400 to 500 feet (120 to 150 m) long, while FWC calls 145 feet (44 m) typical in Florida.

Tunnels tend to run deeper in dry soil, WDFW adds. That matters for trapping, because the main tunnel is where the gopher travels and where traps catch it.

Dirt tubes on the lawn after the snow melts

Those ropes of packed soil are gopher work too. In winter, gophers tunnel through the snow above the ground and fill old snow tunnels with spare soil. When the snow melts, the soil cores are left lying on the grass, WDFW explains. They show where a gopher worked last winter, so check for fresh mounds before you act.

Gopher poop

You will almost never see it. Gophers keep their droppings underground in tunnels set aside for waste, Montana FWP notes. WDFW says old toilets end up buried deep, where they feed the soil. Small droppings on top of a lawn are more likely to come from voles. UC IPM describes those as about 3/16 inch (5 mm) long and greenish when fresh.

Are gophers dangerous?

No, not to people who leave them alone. WDFW says gophers are not a significant source of disease for people or pets. Grabbed, a gopher can give a serious bite with its long teeth (Wikipedia). The bigger risk to children and pets is poison bait, which can kill with a single feeding.

Rabies is not a realistic worry with gophers. CDC guidance says rodents are not reservoirs of rabies, and small rodents are rarely infected. From 1990 to 1996, woodchucks made up 93% of the 371 rodent rabies cases reported to CDC from areas where raccoon rabies was common. Even so, CDC asks that the local health department be consulted after any rodent bite, before anyone decides on rabies shots.

For children and pets, the danger is the treatment rather than the animal. UC IPM warns that toxic baits can harm wildlife, pets and children, especially in backyards. A dog can dig up bait or find a poisoned gopher, which is one more reason to use traps where pets roam. Traps can catch fingers and paws, so cover every set where people and pets go.

Gopher damage, and the good gophers do

Gophers damage plants from below. They eat roots, bulbs and tubers, and pull whole plants down into the tunnel. They also gnaw drip lines, sprinkler tubing and buried cables thinner than about 2 inches (5 cm), and their tunnels drain irrigation water and cause erosion. UC IPM says a single gopher can ruin a garden in a short time.

• Vegetables and flowers. Montana FWP says vegetables are often eaten below ground, with only the leaves left on top.
• Trees, vines and shrubs. Gophers chew roots and bark below ground. Under snow they can strip bark several feet up a trunk (UC IPM).
• Irrigation. Flexible plastic lines, especially drip systems, get gnawed through (UC IPM).
• Cables and pipes. Oklahoma State says pipes and cables wider than 2.1 inches (5.3 cm) resist gnawing. Montana FWP gives 2 7/8 inches (7.3 cm).
• Lawns. Mounds smother grass and get in the way of mowing (UC IPM).
• Soil and water. Tunnels carry irrigation water away and can lead to erosion (UC IPM).

Are gophers bad for your house? We found no extension or wildlife agency source that says pocket gophers damage foundations. The damage they list is to plants, irrigation, buried lines and lawns.

Not every chewed plant is a gopher, either. UC IPM says voles gnaw bark mostly above the soil line, in small marks about 1/8 inch (3 mm) wide. Leaves stripped from the top of a tomato plant point to a tomato hornworm rather than anything underground.

Are gophers good for anything?

Yes. A gopher moves a lot of soil: about a ton a year by WDFW’s count, and 2 to 4 tons by Montana FWP’s. That loosens packed ground, lets rain and snowmelt soak in, and buries plant matter that feeds the soil. Old burrows shelter toads, salamanders and lizards, and gophers feed hawks, owls, snakes and coyotes (WDFW).

WDFW says that where gophers are not numerous enough to cause heavy damage, they should be considered neutral. Oklahoma State goes further: where they cause no economic harm, they should not be destroyed. That fits one gopher in a wild corner of a big yard.

How many gophers are in my yard?

Probably fewer than you think. One gopher can push up several mounds a day and up to 200 a year, and each gopher lives alone in its own tunnel system. So 20 fresh mounds may be one animal. Count groups of mounds, not single mounds. The exceptions are a mother with young in spring, and yards next to open land.

UC IPM says each system covers 200 to 2,000 square feet. Our rule of thumb: fresh mounds that fit inside a square about 45 feet (14 m) wide may all belong to one animal. Clusters well apart are usually separate gophers, and each needs its own trap set.

Numbers can still climb in good habitat. UC IPM has recorded 60 or more per acre in irrigated alfalfa fields and vineyards, while WDFW gives 2 to 20 per acre for the northern pocket gopher. A watered lawn next to a vacant lot or wild land will keep getting new arrivals.

How gophers live: food, activity and life cycle

Gophers live alone underground, eat only plants, and stay active all year. They breed once a year in most places, more often where land is watered, and live up to 3 years. Knowing their year tells you when new gophers show up and when trapping works best.

What do gophers eat?

Gophers eat plants only. They feed on the roots, bulbs and tubers they meet while digging, and on stems and leaves they pull in from around a tunnel opening. Montana FWP says winter food is mostly roots and tubers, while spring and summer diets are 60 to nearly 100% leaves and stems. UC IPM adds that gophers find food by smell.

They also get their water from food, so they need no pond or puddle (WDFW). That is why a watered garden is so attractive: soft soil, juicy roots and moisture all in one place.

Are gophers nocturnal? Do they hibernate?

Neither. UC IPM says gophers are active all year and at all hours, day and night, even when you see no new mounds. They do not hibernate. Oklahoma State says they seldom come above ground, though they may come out at night and on cloudy days. Montana FWP says they rarely go more than 2 1/2 feet (75 cm) from a hole. That is why seeing a gopher is rare.

In snowy places they keep working through winter, tunnelling through the snow and gnawing bark above the ground (WDFW). Gophers are not blind, either. NWF notes that their eyes are small but easy to see, unlike a mole’s. In the dark, they rely on their whiskers and tail.

Gopher life cycle

Gophers mature at about a year old and live up to 3 years, according to UC IPM. Where land is not watered, they breed in late winter and spring and have one litter a year. In irrigated yards and fields they can have up to three. A litter averages 5 to 6 young, and WDFW says the young leave the nest at 5 to 6 weeks to find their own territory.

From UC IPM, WDFW, Montana FWP and Oklahoma State. In California, UC IPM says unwatered ground sees the most mounds in winter and spring. Montana FWP says trapping works best in spring and fall, and Oklahoma State says the same of control in general.

Why do I suddenly have gophers?

Usually a young gopher has just moved in, or your yard has become better for gophers. WDFW says they breed from early spring to early summer. The young leave the nest after 5 to 6 weeks and wander above ground looking for a territory. That puts new arrivals in late spring and summer. Watered lawns and gardens offer soft soil and food all year (UC IPM). And yards next to fields, vacant lots or wild land get new arrivals again and again.

Where do gophers live? Types of gophers in the US

Pocket gophers live across the western half of the US, the Great Plains and parts of the Midwest. They also live in the northern half of Florida and parts of Georgia and Alabama. They like loose, moist or sandy soil with plants to eat, so lawns, gardens, pastures and fields suit them. ICWDM counts 14 species in the US.

Ranges from ICWDM, with the plains pocket gopher from Wikipedia, the Southeast from FWC and Washington from WDFW.

What “gopher” means where you live

The word changes with the map. In California it means a pocket gopher. Minnesota’s Golden Gopher is a thirteen-lined ground squirrel, which Wikipedia notes is not a member of the pocket gopher family. In Florida, a “gopher” may be a tortoise. Check which one you have before you do anything.

Here are the states people ask about most. California has five species, and Botta’s pocket gopher is the most widespread (UC IPM). Washington has two, the northern and the Mazama (WDFW). Florida has the southeastern pocket gopher in the northern half of the state (FWC). Michigan has no pocket gophers in any range we found, so a “gopher” there is likely a ground squirrel or a groundhog.

Should you get rid of the gopher?

Not always. One gopher in a wild corner of a big yard moves about a ton of soil a year, and WDFW calls gophers that cause no heavy damage neutral. Act fast when one reaches a vegetable bed, young trees or drip lines. UC IPM says one gopher can do a lot of damage in a short time.

How to get rid of gophers

The most reliable way to get rid of a gopher is to trap it in its main tunnel. Then protect beds and new plants with wire so the next one cannot get in. Start the day you see fresh mounds, and move traps that catch nothing in 1 to 2 days. Poison baits come last, and only inside the tunnel.

Work from the cheapest step to the costliest. UC IPM calls trapping safe and effective, Montana FWP calls it very effective in small areas, and UC IPM says the sooner you act, the better. Montana FWP adds that you need to remove more than 70% of the gophers in an area to get ahead of their breeding. That is why one trap set is rarely enough for a big lot.

Protect what matters with wire

Wire does not get rid of a gopher, but it keeps one off the plants you care about most. UC IPM recommends hardware cloth, or wire with a 1/2 to 3/4 inch (13 to 19 mm) mesh. Lay it under raised beds before you fill them, and put new trees and shrubs in wire baskets at planting time.

• Raised beds: wire across the whole floor, stapled to the frame before the soil goes in. Beds with solid sides need nothing more (WDFW).
• Beds in the ground: screen the sides and the bottom (UC IPM, WDFW).
• A fence around a planting: bury the wire at least 2 feet (60 cm), bend another 6 inches (15 cm) outward at a right angle, and leave 1 foot (30 cm) above ground (UC IPM).
• Baskets for trees and shrubs: light, non-galvanized wire for plants that only need protection while young, so it rusts away before it strangles the roots. Leave room for a few years of root growth (UC IPM).
• Drip lines and cables: surround them with 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of coarse gravel, 1 inch (2.5 cm) or bigger (UC IPM, WDFW).
• Before you dig: check for buried utility lines (WDFW).

Wire is not perfect. UC IPM notes a determined gopher can dig under a fence, and WDFW says gophers can dig much deeper than 24 inches. So a buried barrier slows them down rather than stopping them for good. Use galvanized or stainless steel for anything meant to last.

Trapping is the fastest reliable fix, and Montana FWP says it works best in spring and fall, when gophers push up new mounds. You need a probe or a long screwdriver, a trowel, two traps, wire, two stakes and gloves.

Which gopher trap?

Any of the common gopher traps will work when it sits in an active main tunnel. Pincer traps need the smallest hole, box traps are easier for beginners, and newer push-in traps are popular but less tested. Placement matters far more than brand.

You do not need bait. UC Davis researchers found no benefit from baiting a gopher trap, so the peanut butter can stay in the kitchen. Your scent does not scare gophers off either (UC IPM).

If a gopher keeps burying your trap, light or air is getting in. UC IPM notes that gophers often plug an uncovered box trap before they touch the trigger. Cover the set, and make sure it sits in the main tunnel rather than a side tunnel.

Other ways without poison

• Flooding. Normal watering does not bother gophers, but UC IPM says flooding a burrow can sometimes force one out, where a dog or a shovel finishes the job. So yes, you can sometimes flood a gopher out.
• Carbon monoxide machines (PERC, BurrowRx, Cheetah, CO-Jack) pump exhaust into the tunnels. UC IPM reports over 70% removal in some settings with the PERC machine, but the machines are expensive and suit large properties.
• Gas explosive devices ignite propane and oxygen in the burrow. UC IPM rates them only somewhat effective, loud, and a fire and injury risk, so they do not suit homes.
• Owls, cats and dogs eat gophers but rarely remove them all (UC IPM). An owl box is not a control plan.

Toxic baits: last, and only inside the tunnel

If trapping and wire are working, you do not need poison. Baits suit large areas, used exactly as the label says. UC IPM ranks strychnine baits, usually 0.5%, as the most effective, with 2% zinc phosphide the other option. Both can kill with a single feeding, so every grain has to go into the main tunnel.

• Main tunnel only, never the surface. UC IPM says bait above ground is illegal, works poorly, and exposes pets and wildlife.
• Use a spoon or funnel kept for this job, clean up every spill, and close the probe hole so no light gets in.
• Never in a bed with root vegetables, where bait could touch food (UC IPM).
• In California, anticoagulant gopher baits (chlorophacinone and diphacinone) are no longer legal for home use. Take old products to a household hazardous waste site (UC IPM).
• The rules are changing. EPA’s 2024 rodenticide strategy covers strychnine, zinc phosphide and the anticoagulants, and labels may carry extra limits in areas where endangered species live (Illinois Extension).
• Check after 2 days. New mounds more than 2 days after baiting mean you need to rebait or switch to traps (UC IPM).

Fumigants and professional tools

Smoke bombs and gas cartridges usually fail, because gophers seal off the tunnel as soon as they sense smoke or gas (UC IPM). The fumigant that does work, aluminum phosphide, is restricted to licensed applicators. UC IPM says current rules allow it only in burrows more than 100 feet (30 m) from any building where people or domestic animals are or may be. So it is rarely an option at home.

Can you get rid of gophers without killing them?

Not reliably. UC IPM says no repellent sold today has been shown to protect plants, and the methods that remove gophers, traps and baits, kill them. The humane path is to protect what matters with wire and tolerate the rest. In Washington you may use a live trap without a special permit, but releasing the gopher anywhere other than where you caught it needs one (WDFW). Check your own state’s rules first.

Keep them from coming back

Once the mounds stop, rake them all flat, clear weeds and debris so new mounds stand out, and check the yard often (UC IPM). Gophers move in from nearby land, so a yard beside fields or wild ground will be reinvaded. Catching one new gopher early is cheaper and easier than waiting until several settle in. Keep wire under beds and baskets around new plants.

What does not work, or is not true

Most home remedies for gophers fail. UC IPM lists at least six that do not work: chewing gum, laxatives, repellent plants, vibrating and ultrasonic stakes, wind pinwheels and smoke cartridges. Dry ice, coffee grounds and castor oil are popular online, but no source we found shows they protect a yard, and dry ice raises a legal problem too.

• Myth 1

  Myth: “Juicy Fruit gum in the tunnel kills gophers.”

  Truth: UC IPM lists chewing gum and laxatives in burrows among the methods that do not work.

• Myth 2

  Myth: “Gopher purge, castor beans or garlic keep gophers away.”

  Truth: UC IPM says research has not backed any of them. Montana FWP adds that gopher purge is poisonous, can become a weed, and can harm children and pets.

• Myth 3

  Myth: “Vibrating or ultrasonic stakes scare gophers off.”

  Truth: They failed in research trials (UC IPM). Gophers are used to noise and shaking from sprinklers, mowers, traffic and people.

• Myth 4

  Myth: “Castor oil repellents protect a garden.”

  Truth: UC IPM says no repellent currently sold successfully protects plants from gophers.

• Myth 5

  Myth: “Coffee grounds drive gophers away.”

  Truth: We found no extension or wildlife agency source that tested or recommends them. Put them in the compost, not down the hole.

• Myth 6

  Myth: “Dry ice is a safe, legal way to gas gophers.”

  Truth: PMP reports that EPA stopped cities using unregistered dry ice on rats because it broke federal pesticide law. In June 2017 EPA registered a dry ice product for rat burrows (PMP, PCT). We found none labelled for gophers.

• Myth 7

  Myth: “A smoke bomb will gas them out.”

  Truth: Gophers seal off the tunnel as soon as they sense smoke or gas, so cartridges usually fail (UC IPM).

• Myth 8

  Myth: “An owl box or a cat will take care of it.”

  Truth: Barn owls hunt over large areas, often far from their boxes. Predators of every kind tend to move on before they take every gopher (UC IPM).

• Myth 9

  Myth: “Filling in the holes will make the gopher leave.”

  Truth: Gophers plug their own holes within 24 hours (WDFW). Filling them changes nothing for the gopher below.

• Myth 10

  Myth: “Gophers carry plague and rabies.”

  Truth: WDFW says gophers are not a significant source of any disease that spreads to people or pets, and CDC says rodents are not rabies reservoirs.

• Myth 11

  Myth: “Gophers are blind.”

  Truth: Their eyes are small but easy to see, unlike a mole's (NWF).

Is it legal to kill gophers?

In most states, yes. ICWDM says pocket gophers are generally not protected by federal or state law. In California they are nongame mammals you can control at any time without a trapping license. But Washington requires a special permit for any trap that is not a live trap, and protects Mazama pocket gophers in 4 counties.

We found no Florida rule on the southeastern pocket gopher itself. If you are in Florida, check with FWC, and be sure the animal is not a gopher tortoise. Rules change, so WDFW advises checking with your local wildlife office for updates.

When to call someone

Call a pest or wildlife control company when gophers cover more ground than a few traps can handle. Call one too if several rounds of trapping fail, or if you want a fumigant, which needs a license. Your county extension office or state wildlife agency can tell you what the animal is, and whether it is protected.

• A pest or wildlife control company for large lots, repeated failures, or fumigation. UC IPM notes licensed operators can use aluminum phosphide.
• Your county extension office or state wildlife agency to confirm the animal, and before any control in an area with protected gophers (WDFW).
• A doctor or the local health department after any gopher bite (CDC).
• Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222, if a child gets into bait. For a pet, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, which may charge a fee.
• Your landlord if you rent. Trapping, baiting and wiring beds are usually a job for the owner.

Seeing mounds of a different kind? A dome of soil with no single entrance, in the South or Southwest, is more likely a fire ant mound. Our fire ant identification guide shows how to confirm one and what to do.

Pest control disclaimer. Photo-based identification can help, but it is not always perfect. For dangerous spiders, large infestations, or anything you are unsure about, contact a licensed pest control professional.