Identify Your Pest Rodents Northern pocket gopher
Northern pocket gopher
Thomomys talpoides · Also called: Pocket gopher
The northern pocket gopher digs its own tunnel system and seldom comes to the surface. People rarely see the animal itself, but they notice the fresh mounds of loose soil it pushes up in lawns, gardens, acreages and pastures.
Size 15 to 25 cm long, including a short tail
Colour Soft grey to grey-brown fur with a slightly lighter belly
Key feature Fan-shaped soil mounds with a plugged hole off to one side
Season Active all year; most new mounds appear in spring and fall
Where Lawns, gardens, flower beds, acreages, pastures and hay fields
What it looks like
You will almost always identify a pocket gopher by its mounds, not by the animal. Each mound is a fan or kidney-shaped pile of loose, fresh soil, usually with a plugged hole off to one side. Several new mounds can appear in one day. After the snow melts, you may also see long ropes of soil on the lawn where the gopher tunnelled through the snow.
If you do see one, it is a stocky rodent with soft grey to brown fur, tiny eyes and ears, a short tail and long claws on its front feet. Its big front teeth show even when its mouth is closed, and it has fur-lined cheek pouches for carrying food.
Often confused with
Richardson's ground squirrel
Mole
Meadow vole
Signs to look for
Fresh soil mounds
Soil ropes after snowmelt
Plants dying from below
Soft or sinking ground
Risks and damage
Pocket gophers are mainly a property nuisance. Their mounds bury grass, make lawns bumpy and can damage mower blades. They eat roots, bulbs and vegetables from below, so plants may wilt or die suddenly. They can also chew irrigation lines and shallow underground cables. They pose little health risk because they rarely come into contact with people.
In Alberta
The northern pocket gopher is Alberta’s only pocket gopher. It is common in lawns, acreages, gardens and farmland across much of the province, including the Edmonton and Calgary regions. It does not hibernate. Most mounds appear in spring and fall, but watered lawns can see mounds all season.
Pocket gophers often loosen hard soil with their big front teeth. Their lips seal shut behind those teeth, so dirt stays out of the mouth while they dig.
How to keep them out
Line new beds with mesh
Plant bulbs in wire baskets
Rake out mounds quickly
Avoid overwatering
When it is time to bring in a professional
Call a professional if new mounds keep appearing, if damage spreads across a lawn or garden, or if you are unsure whether you have pocket gophers or ground squirrels. Finding the main tunnel takes practice. Technica’s licensed technicians can confirm the animal and set up a control plan that fits your property.
Frequently asked questions
Is a pocket gopher the same as the gopher I see in the park?
No. The gopher people see sitting up in parks and fields in Alberta is usually a Richardson’s ground squirrel. Pocket gophers live underground and are rarely seen. You know they are there because of their soil mounds.
Do pocket gophers hibernate?
No. Pocket gophers stay active all winter. They tunnel through the soil and up into the snow, then pack the snow tunnels with soil. When the snow melts, those soil cores are left lying on top of the lawn.
Why are they called pocket gophers?
Each cheek has a pouch that opens on the outside of the face and is lined with fur, a bit like a coat pocket. A gopher stuffs roots and plant bits into these pouches, then empties them in food storage rooms in its tunnels.