Pocket gophers are solitary rodents recognized for their destructive tunneling habits beneath lawns, gardens, and agricultural fields. They consume plant roots and create fan-shaped mounds of soil, causing significant damage to landscapes and crops. Homeowners often attempt to flood the burrow system with a garden hose to eliminate the animal. This method is almost always unsuccessful, however, due to the intricate design of the gopher’s habitat and its unique biological adaptations.
Burrow Complexity and Gopher Adaptations
The main reason water rarely works is the sheer scale and architectural complexity of the gopher’s underground home. A single burrow system can cover 200 to 2,000 square feet, with total tunnel lengths often reaching 300 feet or more. This extensive network includes shallow feeding tunnels, typically 6 to 12 inches deep, connected to deeper main runways.
Within this labyrinth are specialized chambers for nesting, storing food, and eliminating waste, with the main living quarters sometimes situated as deep as 6 feet below the surface. The gopher also constructs specific “water sump holes” designed to collect and drain away moisture, acting as a built-in flood defense. When a tunnel is flooded, the water tends to dissipate quickly into the surrounding soil rather than completely filling the large air space of the entire network.
Even if the water reaches the gopher, the animal possesses physical and physiological traits that aid in survival. The gopher’s fine, dense fur is adapted to shed both soil and water, helping to keep the animal dry. Gophers also exhibit a high tolerance for the low-oxygen, high-carbon dioxide conditions found in their sealed burrows. They have higher concentrations of hemoglobin and myoglobin, allowing their blood and muscles to carry and store more oxygen than surface-dwelling rodents. The gopher can also rapidly detect incoming water and plug off sections of the tunnel with soil to block the flow.
The Risks of Attempting Drowning
Attempting to drown a gopher involves introducing a large volume of water into the soil, which carries several risks. A primary risk is property damage, particularly to underground infrastructure. Gopher burrows often weave around utility lines and pipes, and flooding the tunnels can compromise the integrity of the supporting soil.
Introducing large amounts of water can undermine the soil beneath foundations, sidewalks, and driveways, potentially leading to costly structural damage. The water resource itself is often wasted, as the majority simply soaks into the ground or drains away without reaching the animal. Massive soil saturation creates a muddy, unstable environment that can cause localized erosion or sinkholes in the yard. Using water in this manner is also viewed by some as an inhumane pest control method.
Proven and Humane Gopher Control Methods
Since drowning is ineffective and risky, homeowners should focus on proven control strategies, with trapping being the most consistently effective method.
Trapping
Specialized body-gripping traps, when properly set in the main tunnel, offer a quick and reliable solution. For the best results, two traps should be placed back-to-back in the main runway. The tunnel opening should be covered to limit airflow, which encourages the gopher to return.
Exclusion
Exclusion is another highly effective long-term strategy, particularly for protecting vulnerable plants or small garden areas. This involves installing a barrier of hardware cloth or wire mesh that extends at least 18 to 24 inches below the soil surface. For individual trees or shrubs, gopher baskets made of wire mesh can be placed around the roots during planting to prevent damage.
Repellents
Repellents, such as those containing castor oil, are available in granular form and can be applied to the soil and watered in to make the area unappealing. While these repellents and certain deterrent plants may encourage the gopher to move elsewhere, their efficacy is often variable and less reliable than proper trapping or exclusion.