Many Bay Area homeowners lump gophers, moles, and voles together as “lawn-destroying underground pests.” They are actually very different animals with very different behaviors — and very different control approaches. Correct identification is the foundation of effective management.
Pocket Gophers
Pocket gophers are rodents. They are herbivores that feed on plant roots, bulbs, and underground vegetation. They create extensive tunnel systems and leave crescent-shaped mounds with a plugged opening. The damage they cause is primarily to plants — gardens, lawns, trees, and shrubs can all be severely affected. They are the most damaging of the three for Bay Area landscapes.
Moles
Moles are insectivores — they eat earthworms, grubs, and soil insects, not plants. Their damage is indirect: the tunnel systems they create disrupt roots and create soft, uneven soil. Mole mounds are symmetrical, volcano-shaped, with no visible opening. Raised surface ridges indicate active foraging tunnels. Moles are solitary and territorial — typically only one or two moles are responsible for all the damage in an area.
Voles
Voles (also called meadow mice) are small rodents that look like chubby mice. Unlike moles, voles travel primarily on the surface through grass and ground cover. They create surface runways — shallow channels in the lawn — and can girdle the base of trees and shrubs by gnawing the bark. Their damage to woody plants can be severe and permanent.
How to Tell Them Apart
- Crescent-shaped mounds, plugged opening = Gopher
- Symmetrical volcano mounds, raised surface ridges = Mole
- Surface runways in grass, bark damage at base of plants = Vole
ATCO provides identification and control for all three. Contact us for an assessment of your Bay Area property.