Gopher Control in Ann Arbor, MI

What to look for

Gophers get blamed for a lot of digging. Around Ann Arbor, it's almost always something else. Moles push up round mounds and ridges. Voles chew runways through the grass and eat plants.

• 1Round, volcano-shaped mounds (moles).
• 2Raised ridges in the lawn (moles).
• 3Surface runways in the grass (voles).
• 4Small holes near walls and patios (chipmunks).
• 5Plants chewed at the base (voles).
• 6Spongy ground underfoot (moles).

Treatment options and typical costs

Prices are typical published ranges. Ask what’s included before you compare quotes.

What's really digging around Ann Arbor.

Meadow and pine voles eat plants and leave narrow runways. Chipmunks dig neat holes near patios and walls. Getting the ID right in Ann Arbor saves money and time. Eastern moles cause most lawn tunnels here.

When they dig.

Frozen ground slows surface work in winter. Digging peaks in spring and fall, when soil is moist. Summer heat and dry soil push activity deeper.

Telling the diggers apart.

Round and volcano-like means a mole. Narrow runways in the grass mean voles. Neat holes with no dirt pile often mean chipmunks. Yards from Ann Arbor out to Westland and Livonia share the same pattern. Look at the mound shape first.

A year of digging in Ann Arbor.

• Spring: peak digging as soil warms and stays moist. - Winter: lows near 17°F in Ann Arbor. Surface work slows. - Fall: a second peak before winter. - Summer: highs near 83°F in Ann Arbor push activity deeper.

Gopher, mole or vole?

• Gopher: fan-shaped mounds, plugged hole to one side. - Chipmunk: neat holes, no dirt pile. - Vole: surface runways and chewed plant stems. - Mole: round mounds and raised ridges.

Protecting gardens and trees.

• Raised beds: line the bottom with hardware cloth. - Drip lines: check for chew marks each spring. - Bulbs: use small wire cages. - Trees: plant in wire root baskets.

What works, and what doesn’t.

• Works: traps in the main tunnel. - Rarely: plants said to repel gophers. - Rarely: sonic stakes, gum, castor oil or flooding. - Sometimes: labeled baits placed deep in tunnels.

What helps with moles, voles and chipmunks.

• Moles: traps set in active runways. - Skip: poisons near pets and wildlife. - All three: wire mesh under beds and around bulbs. - Chipmunks: seal gaps under patios and steps. - Voles: mow tall grass and clear mulch from plant stems.

Lawn care that discourages diggers.

Pull mulch back from tree trunks. Keep weedy edges and tall grass mowed. Water deeply but less often. Healthy turf recovers from digging faster.

Fixing the yard afterward.

Water to settle the soil. Rake mounds flat and fill sunken tunnels. Wait until the digging stops. Reseed or patch bare spots in spring or fall.

Irrigation lines and sprinklers.

Bury lines a little deeper where you can. Check for wet spots or weak spray each spring. Gophers chew drip lines and sprinkler tubing. Fix leaks fast, since damp soil draws more digging.

Natural help.

Bait can harm pets and wildlife if misused. Barn owl boxes can help on bigger properties. Owls, hawks, snakes and foxes all hunt gophers and voles. Traps avoid that risk.

Myths about yard diggers.

• Gum or laxatives: no evidence they work. - Many mounds, many animals: often it’s one. - Repellent plants: little proof of results. - Sonic stakes: animals get used to them. - Car exhaust or flooding: unsafe and unreliable.

Signs the problem is over.

• No fresh mounds for two weeks. - New mounds later? Another one moved in. - Flattened mounds stay flat. - Plants stop wilting or disappearing.

Underground wire baskets.

Leave a few inches of wire above the soil. Plant new trees, roses and bulbs in baskets of galvanized wire. Baskets last several years, long enough for roots to get established.

Raised beds that stay safe.

• Base: staple hardware cloth across the bottom. - Soil: fill after the wire is in place. - Edges: run the wire up the inside walls. - Wire: half-inch mesh, not chicken wire.

When a whole street has them.

Clearing your yard alone may only last a season. Diggers move in from vacant lots, fields and neighbors' yards. Talking with neighbors and treating at the same time works better.

Pets, kids and digging.

Choose traps over bait if a dog likes to dig. Keep kids and pets away from traps and bait. Fill old mounds so no one twists an ankle.

Gopher-proofing new landscaping.

Raised beds with mesh bottoms protect vegetables. Plant shrubs and trees in wire baskets. Lay wire mesh under new sod before it goes down. It costs more up front but saves replanting.

Questions to ask before you sign.

• Is it a gopher, mole or vole? - Is it safe around pets? - What if another one moves in? - How often will you check? - Which method will you use?

How to size up the yard damage.

Across Ann Arbor, tunnel systems typically run 6 to 12 inches below the surface, with deeper nesting and food-storage chambers. Across Ann Arbor, because each gopher is solitary, a yard with several fresh mounds usually means several animals, each with its own network. Across Ann Arbor, count the active mounds during your walk-through — that number, not a national average, is what should drive a treatment plan. Across Ann Arbor, state wildlife agencies put a single pocket gopher at roughly a ton of soil moved per year, and mounds are the first thing most people notice.

Simple ways to keep gophers away

• Identify the digger before treating.
• Line raised beds with wire mesh.
• Protect bulbs with wire baskets.
• Keep grass mowed to discourage voles.
• Clear brush where chipmunks hide.

Questions people ask

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