Gophers are a common presence across Arizona’s diverse landscapes. These burrowing rodents are frequently encountered in both rural and residential settings. Because they spend the majority of their lives below the surface, they are often confused with other subterranean animals, leading to misidentification of the damage they cause.
Arizona’s Native Pocket Gophers
The rodents commonly referred to as gophers are correctly identified as “pocket gophers,” a name derived from a distinctive physical feature. Pocket gophers possess large, external, fur-lined cheek pouches, which they use exclusively for transporting foraged food back to their burrow systems. They do not use these specialized pouches to move soil while digging.
Arizona is home to three species of pocket gophers, all belonging to the genus Thomomys. The Botta’s pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) is the most widespread and prevalent across the region. This species ranges in size from five to ten inches and features small eyes, tiny ears, and powerful forefeet with long claws suited for excavation. Their large incisor teeth are always exposed, enabling the animal to dig with its teeth without ingesting soil.
Where Gophers Reside in Arizona
Pocket gophers are found throughout Arizona, thriving in a wide variety of habitats and elevations. Their distribution is primarily limited by soil conditions, as they require ground that is soft and deep enough for constructing their tunnel systems. They are notably absent from areas with hard, compacted ground, such as caliche soils often found in parts of the Sonoran Desert.
The rodents frequently inhabit agricultural lands, irrigated fields, riparian areas, and washes, where the soil is typically rich and easy to excavate. This preference means they are common pests in suburban and urban environments like lawns, gardens, and golf courses. Their burrow systems are complex, consisting of a main runway often six to eight inches below the surface, with deeper chambers for nesting and food storage reaching three or more feet.
Distinguishing Gophers from Other Desert Pests
Identifying a gopher problem requires differentiating their activity from that of other burrowing animals like ground squirrels, voles, or moles. A key distinction is that gophers are solitary and territorial, meaning each tunnel system is typically occupied by only one adult. Ground squirrels, in contrast, live in colonies and leave open, visible holes at the entrances to their burrows.
The structure of the excavated dirt is the most reliable indicator: gophers create a characteristic fan or horseshoe-shaped mound of finely sifted soil. The opening of the burrow from which the soil was pushed is always plugged with dirt, resulting in a mound that is offset to one side of the dirt pile. This contrasts sharply with the volcano-shaped mounds of moles, which are often composed of clumpy soil and lack a plugged entrance. Voles create runways across the surface of the lawn rather than large, plugged mounds.
Visible Signs of Gopher Activity
The most noticeable sign of a gopher’s presence is the appearance of fresh soil mounds, which can seem to materialize overnight. These crescent or fan-shaped mounds are the result of the gopher pushing excavated soil from a lateral tunnel to the surface before sealing the entrance. The presence of a plugged hole is a primary indicator that a pocket gopher is responsible for the mound.
Gophers are herbivores, and their feeding habits cause damage to cultivated landscapes. They feed primarily on plant roots encountered while digging, which leads to plants wilting, yellowing, or suddenly collapsing as their root structure is destroyed from below. An observer may occasionally witness a plant being pulled straight down into the ground as the gopher feeds on its roots in the safety of its tunnel. Beyond vegetation, gophers will also gnaw on buried irrigation lines and utility cables, often damaging drip systems and causing costly leaks.