Seeing mounds of soil, raised tunnels, or patches of dead grass in your yard can be a frustrating experience. Before taking action, it’s essential to determine exactly what you’re dealing with. While moles and gophers are both underground pests that can damage lawns and landscaping, they differ greatly in appearance, behavior, and control methods.
Let’s break down the key differences, misconceptions, and what’s important for you to know.
Are Moles Bad for Your Lawn?
Moles are small, insect-eating mammals that live underground. Many times, homeowners will see molehills in lawns or beds and think they are garden helpers, eliminating other pests. In reality, they can cause significant damage to the plants by tunneling and disrupting the root system. Learning to identify moles and what attracts them can help you protect your yard from damage.
Key characteristics:
- Diet: Primarily feed on earthworms, grubs, and insects.
- Appearance: About 6 inches long with small eyes, no visible ears, and large, webbed front paws.
- Tunneling behavior: Create long, shallow surface tunnels and volcano-shaped mounds.
- Damage: Uprooted grass, soft or raised soil, and uneven lawns due to tunneling activity.
Conducive conditions:
- Abundance of insects: Since moles feed on insects, a large population can be a buffet for these pests.
- Inferior lawn care: If your routine lawn care doesn’t target grubs, you could be leaving your lawn vulnerable to attracting more pests. You may also see an increase in beetles later in the year, as grubs are the earlier stage of the common June bug. Be sure to utilize a premium lawn care service to prevent grubs.
What Are Gophers? How are They Different from Moles?
Gophers, specifically the Texas pocket gopher, are rodents known for their powerful incisors and extensive burrowing. They are completely unrelated to moles but can still do significant damage.
Key characteristics:
- Diet: Strictly herbivores, feeding on roots, bulbs, and plants.
- Appearance: Larger than moles (6–10 inches), with visible buck teeth, small ears, and fur-lined cheek pouches for carrying food.
- Tunneling behavior: Build deep tunnel systems with crescent- or horseshoe-shaped soil mounds.
- Damage: Destroy roots and plants from below, leave unsightly mounds, and can kill entire sections of grass or flower beds.
Conducive conditions:
- Inferior Lawn Maintenance: Overgrown and dense ground cover or grasses provide desirable shelter for gophers, as well as a reliable food source. Be sure to maintain your lawn with consistent mowing, edging, and trimming.
How to Tell If You Have Moles vs Gophers
| Sign | Moles | Gophers |
| Mound shape | Round or volcano-shaped | Crescent or horseshoe-shaped |
| Visible tunnels | Raised surface tunnels or tunnel-like patches of dead grass | No surface tunnels, just mounds (patches of irregular grass may be seen) |
| Damage type | Lawn disruption | Plant death and lawn damage |
Why It Matters – Lasting Effects
Proper identification is key to effective control. Mole activity may indicate a high insect population, especially grubs, and commonly results in stunted grass growth due to their tunneling. Gopher tunneling can cause soil erosion, permanently damaging gardens, landscapes, and irrigation lines.
Since moles and gophers respond differently to preventative and reactive control methods, mistaking one for the other could waste your time and money.
Need Help with Moles or Gophers?
At ABC Home & Commercial Services, our lawn and pest experts know how to identify and address mole and gopher activity common across Texas. Whether you suspect tunneling or experience significant landscape damage, we can create a customized plan to help protect your property and restore your yard.
Request a complimentary inspection today and let us take care of what’s bugging you, above ground or below.
