The sudden appearance of disturbed soil and complex subsurface pathways indicates a common challenge for homeowners. Yards often become the territory for small mammals that live and travel underground. Identifying the specific tunneling animal is the first step toward understanding the damage and determining the appropriate response. Since different species leave distinct signs and feed on different materials, accurately reading the evidence is necessary to address the activity effectively.
Moles: The Deep Tunnel Network
Moles are insectivores that create two primary types of visible structures as they search for food, mainly earthworms and insect larvae. The most visible sign is the network of raised ridges, which are shallow feeding tunnels just beneath the lawn surface. These runways are created as the animal pushes up the soil above its path, often following routes where the soil is moist and abundant with prey.
The second distinctive sign is the characteristic “molehill,” a conical or volcano-shaped mound of dirt. These mounds form when the mole excavates deeper sections of its permanent tunnel system and pushes excess soil to the surface. These volcano-shaped mounds do not have a visible entrance hole at the peak, as the soil is pushed up from below, sealing the center. Permanent mole runways are often located between 6 and 18 inches below ground.
Because moles subsist entirely on invertebrates, the damage they cause is not from eating garden plants or roots. The primary harm comes from extensive tunneling, which dislodges plant roots and creates ridges and mounds across the turf. These subterranean hunters are continually active, digging up to 100 feet of new tunnels daily in search of worms and grubs.
Voles: Surface Runs and Shallow Holes
Voles, often called meadow mice, are small herbivores that leave evidence significantly different from moles. Unlike the raised ridges of mole tunnels, voles create distinct, above-ground “runways” worn into the grass. These trails are typically one to two inches wide and are formed as voles repeatedly travel the same paths, clipping the grass close to the soil surface.
These surface runways often connect to numerous, small, circular burrow openings that mark the entry points to their shallow underground networks. Vole entry holes are typically neat and round, measuring about one to one-and-a-half inches in diameter. The visibility of these small holes along the surface trails differentiates them from other tunneling pests.
Voles actively feed on plant matter, including grass blades, seeds, roots, and bulbs, making them a direct threat to garden plants and young trees. They may use existing mole tunnels to access plant roots, which can lead to misidentification of the damage. Damage is often noticed as wilting or yellowing plants that pull easily from the soil because the roots have been severed or consumed.
Pocket Gophers: Distinctive Mound Shapes
Pocket gophers are powerful rodents that spend almost their entire lives underground, leaving behind a characteristic sign of their presence. Their burrowing activity is marked by the creation of fan-shaped or horseshoe-shaped mounds of soil. These mounds tend to be flatter and broader than molehills, often measuring 12 to 18 inches in diameter and four to six inches high.
A distinctive feature of the gopher mound is the presence of a plugged or sealed entrance hole located off to one side of the fan shape. This plug is where the gopher pushed excavated soil out of a lateral tunnel before sealing the opening to protect its main burrow system. Gophers are herbivores, feeding on roots they encounter while digging or pulling vegetation into their tunnels from below.
The main gopher tunnels are typically located between four and 18 inches below the surface, but deeper tunnels can extend several feet down. A single gopher can create a significant number of these mounds, sometimes producing several new ones daily while excavating its extensive tunnel system.
How to Tell Them Apart: Key Evidence Comparison
Distinguishing between these three animals relies on examining the soil structures, the presence of open holes, and the type of damage to vegetation. The shape of the mound provides the clearest initial differentiation. A mole leaves a symmetrical, volcano-like cone with no visible opening, as the dirt is pushed up from the center. Conversely, a pocket gopher leaves a crescent or fan-shaped mound with a distinct, plugged soil entrance visible on one edge.
The presence or absence of open holes is another definitive factor, especially when comparing voles to moles and gophers. Voles create numerous, small, open holes (one to two inches wide) often found along visible surface runways. Moles and gophers generally keep their systems sealed at the surface, either by pushing the dirt up (mole) or plugging the tunnel entrance (gopher).
Finally, the primary damage points directly to the animal’s diet, offering confirmation. If the damage is limited to raised soil and mounds without plants being eaten, the animal is likely an insectivorous mole. If the damage includes severed roots, gnawed bark, or consumed bulbs, the culprit is one of the herbivores: the vole or the gopher.