Local gopher information

Gopher control in New York

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Gophers in New York: what to know

Around New York

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see gophers, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Gophers in New York: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which gophers actually live in New York, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

None

Pocket gophers in New York

DEC's official state vertebrate checklist lists no pocket gopher; the shrew-and-mole section contains only the hairy-tailed, eastern and star-nosed moles.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

All three New York moles are listed Unprotected under both federal and state columns of the DEC checklist

Legal status of the animals that do dig

No license or permit is needed to control moles on your own property.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Star-nosed moles can leave volcano-shaped hills of soil as large as 6 by 12 inches wide

Mound size

Hairy-tailed and eastern moles push up surface ridges instead of mounds.

New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, Cornell University

When gophers are busiest in New York

Mole tunneling is most visible in spring and fall when soil is soft.

No pocket gophers occur in New York; complaints called gophers are moles, voles or woodchucks.

Rules that apply in New York

NYSDEC Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of New York

For context, nationally

14 species in 3 genera (Thomomys, Geomys, Pappogeomys) — Pocket gopher species in the U.S.. Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
200 to 2,000 square feet — Botta's pocket gopher burrow system. UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources)

Sources: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, Cornell University; Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management; UC IPM (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore New York cities

Albany

Humid Continental · urban setting

Gopher control in New York

Gophers in New York: what to know

Around New York

What to note

A useful next step

Gophers in New York: what the public record shows

When gophers are busiest in New York

Rules that apply in New York

For context, nationally

Explore New York cities

Albany

Binghamton

Buffalo

Ithaca

Mount Vernon

New York

Newburgh

Niagara Falls

Poughkeepsie

Rochester

Rome

Saratoga Springs

Schenectady

Syracuse

Troy

Utica

White Plains

Yonkers

Amsterdam

Ask about gopher control in New York