Moles Vs Gophers: What’s In Your Yard?

9/30/2015

You may be thinking that you’re about to get an epic article about which of these two animals would win in a fight, but let’s face it, those moles wouldn’t really have a chance. Your average gopher is bigger, stockier and–what was the other thing? Oh yeah, not blind. If these two creatures were to face down in a MMA fight, the mole wouldn’t know what hit it. So, rather than bore you with that, we’re going to give you some fun facts about these two yard pests, and a few tips on how to decrease their impact in your yard.

Gopher

In the United States we have more than 100 different species of rodent; the humble gopher is one of them. This little bugger is built to chew, and chew it will, right through garden vegetables, flower stems, and ornamentals. It is this trait that makes the gopher the type of pest that can drive Bill Murray, a normally mild-mannered man, to blow up an entire golf course, or drive off a cliff. If you have trees, shrubs, grass or plants that you’d like to keep healthy, gophers can make that a difficult task. Here are a few prevention tips that will help:

Put a fence around your garden or plant beds to keep gophers out. Make sure your fencing goes down a foot under the surface because gophers are tunnelers.
If you have lots of gopher trouble, consider making raised beds for your garden or plant beds.
Putting coarse gravel around your gardens or plant beds can also work as a barrier to keeping gophers out.

Mole

In the United States we have more than 100 different species of rodent; the humble mole isn’t one of them. Moles are actually insectivores and are related to the bat and shrew family. The fact that they are insectivores says a little bit about them. You guessed it. They eat insects. Lots and lots of them. They are especially fond of earthworms. If you have a healthy, green lawn, you probably have a ton of earthworms in there, aerating your soil. This will actually draw moles to your property. We’re not saying that you should let your lawn fall into disrepair to avoid moles. It is just important to note that if you’re getting leaf damage on your ornamentals or chew marks in your veggies, it isn’t a mole. They prefer bugs and worms. We don’t have exclusion tips for this pest because it can come into your yard from any direction, underground. When you find mole tunneling in your yard, call a professional mole hunter. Don’t pour dangerous things into their tunnels to “drive them away.” These methods rarely work. You’ll just invite that mole to create fresh tunnels in your yard. We don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but some moles can dig shallow tunnels at a rate of 12 inches per minute.

If you need help getting rid of moles and other pests in Kansas or elsewhere in our service area, contact us. Here at Schendel, we have a track record for taking care of these pesky critters. Our mole control experts can help you take care of yours.