Voles, Moles, and Gophers: Key Differences

Gophers, moles, and voles are all burrowing critters that are native to Northern America. This means that unfortunately for us they are an ongoing issue to deal with. Learn how to identify and tell the difference between these critters!

Gophers

• Typically the largest of the three critters, anywhere from 5-14 inches long
• Brown in color with small eyes and ears but large front teeth and claws

• Herbivores – they will eat your plants, they especially love roses!
• Gophers are pretty territorial so it’s not common to have a lot of them on your property at a time. They do cohabitate during breeding season (April-July) so there is a chance of having multiple during that time of year.
• They are active all year long but we tend to see the most activity in our properties during spring and summer. This is because the plants in the open space tend to start drying out/dying during this time so they come to our nice irrigated landscapes in search of food.
• Mounds are usually finer in texture and more spread out to one side (you will sometimes see an open hole or obvious dirt plug in the center)

• Read about our gopher control service here!

Moles

• About 5-7 inches long, very rare to see them on the surface as they are mostly blind
• Dark grey/brown in color with not visible eyes or ears but an elongated snout and very large front paws

• Carnivores – these guys will actually not eat your plants! They are going after grubs, worms, and other little critters in the soil
• Like gophers, moles are very territorial and since their tunnel systems are so large it is very rare to have multiple of them on your property – even during breeding season
• Moles are also more likely to move onto our properties during summer in search of irrigated soil that will contain their food sources but, again, are active all year long
• If you live near a creek or other bodies of water there is a higher chance of having mole activity as their food sources like to live in the damper soil
• Mounds are usually taller and chunkier than gopher mounds and they will often trail along the edges of pavers, decks, etc
• They can dig up to 17ft/hour so they can easily cover an entire property in a day!

• Read about our mole control service here!

Voles

• The smallest of the critters we handle, typically about 4-5 inches long
• They look similar to house mice but have bigger bodies and shorter tails

• Herbivores – like gophers voles will also eat your plants. They usually eat away at grass and even take off the outer bark of trees!
• Unlike gophers and moles voles do like to live in large groups and they will often move into old gopher and mole tunnels
• They are also active all year and we saw a huge boom of them last winter and spring but similarly to gophers and moles you will often find them on your property during summertime due to a lack of food in the open spaces
• Their activity is very different from gophers or moles, they do not leave behind any pushed up dirt. Instead they leave behind small open holes (about the size of a golf ball)
• You can sometimes see chewed down trails of grass leading between these holes

• Read about our vole control service here!

If you think you may have any of these critters on your property please reach out to us!