How to Tell Gopher Damage from Mole Damage

Gophers and moles both operate underground and both cause damage to lawns and landscaping, but the damage patterns are distinctly different — and getting the identification right matters because the two animals require different control approaches. Here is how to distinguish gopher damage from mole damage in your Southern California yard.

Mound Shape: The Fastest Identification

Gopher mounds are fan-shaped or crescent-shaped. Soil is pushed out to one side of the tunnel entrance asymmetrically, creating a mound that is larger on one side than the other. The tunnel entrance is usually at the flat edge of the fan, often partially plugged with loose soil. If you draw an imaginary line through the center of the mound, one side is clearly larger than the other.

Mole mounds are volcano-shaped. Soil is pushed straight up through a vertical shaft and falls symmetrically around the opening, creating a cone-shaped mound that is roughly equal on all sides. A fresh mole mound may have a visible plug hole at the top center where the soil was pushed through. If you draw an imaginary line through the center of the mound, both sides are roughly equal.

This single visual test correctly identifies the pest in the vast majority of cases. Fan-shaped = gopher. Volcano-shaped = mole.

Surface Ridges: A Mole-Specific Sign

Moles frequently create shallow feeding tunnels just below the lawn surface that leave visible raised ridges across the turf. These ridges — sometimes called runway ridges — appear as raised lines of turf 1-2 inches above the surrounding lawn surface, often running in relatively straight or gently curving lines. The turf above the ridge is lifted but not broken, and you can press it back down with your foot. Gophers do not create surface ridges — all their tunnel activity is at greater depth, and the only surface evidence of gophers is their mounds.

If you are seeing raised ridges across your lawn without significant mound activity, you almost certainly have moles rather than gophers.

Plant Damage Patterns

Gopher plant damage is caused by root feeding — the gopher eats roots, bulbs, and underground plant material. Plants affected by gophers die from below: they wilt suddenly, can sometimes be pulled from the ground with no resistance because their roots have been consumed, and may be pulled entirely underground (small plants especially). The above-ground portion of the plant shows no chewing damage — it simply dies from lack of root support. Dead patches in lawns and dying plants without visible above-ground cause are classic gopher signs.

Mole plant damage is indirect — moles eat earthworms and insects, not plant material. However, their tunnel systems disrupt and dry out root systems, and the raised surface ridges damage lawn turf by lifting grass roots away from soil contact. Plants in mole-tunneled areas may die from root disturbance rather than direct feeding. The distinction matters: gopher-killed plants had their roots eaten; mole-affected plants had their roots disturbed or dried out.

Which One Do You Have in Southern California?

In Southern California residential yards, the overwhelming majority of burrowing rodent calls are gophers — specifically Botta's pocket gophers. Moles are less common but are found in well-amended, heavily irrigated soils with high earthworm populations. If you are seeing fan-shaped mounds, you have gophers. If you are seeing volcano-shaped mounds or surface ridges, you have moles. Both are controlled by Rodent Guys throughout our service area.

Related Articles

• Gopher vs. Mole vs. Vole — Complete Southern California Identification Guide
• How to Tell if You Have One Gopher or Many
• Our Services — Gopher, Mole, and Ground Squirrel Control

Call 909-599-4711 — describe what you are seeing and we will confirm the identification before scheduling service.