Getting rid of gophers naturally is possible, but it requires knowing which methods actually work and which are folk remedies with little evidence behind them. The most reliable natural approaches are physical exclusion with wire mesh barriers, trapping, and encouraging natural predators. Several popular recommendations, including repellent plants and castor oil, lack scientific support.
Confirm You’re Dealing With Gophers
Before investing time in control methods, make sure the animal tearing up your yard is actually a pocket gopher and not a mole. The easiest way to tell is by looking at the mounds. Gopher mounds are crescent or fan-shaped with a visible plugged hole off to one side. Mole mounds are volcano-shaped, roughly circular, with the hole hidden in the center beneath the dirt. Gophers also create flat, raised ridges of soil across the lawn surface where their shallow feeding tunnels run.
This distinction matters because gophers and moles have completely different diets and behaviors. Gophers eat roots, bulbs, and tubers. Moles eat insects and grubs. A method that targets one won’t necessarily work on the other.
Wire Mesh Barriers
Physical exclusion is the most dependable natural defense against gophers, especially for protecting garden beds, raised planters, and individual trees. The idea is simple: line the bottom and sides of a planting area with wire mesh that gophers can’t chew through.
Use stainless steel or galvanized welded wire mesh in 3/4-inch square openings, 18 gauge or heavier. Anything with larger holes lets young gophers squeeze through, and lighter gauge wire corrodes or gets chewed apart within a few seasons. For garden beds, lay the mesh across the bottom before adding soil. For perimeter fencing around a garden, dig a trench 2 to 3 feet deep and install the mesh with a 90-degree bend at the bottom pointing outward, which prevents gophers from digging straight down past the barrier. Leave at least 6 inches of mesh above ground level, since gophers sometimes travel on the surface.
For individual trees or shrubs, you can create wire baskets from the same mesh and plant directly inside them. This is especially useful for young fruit trees, whose roots are vulnerable to gopher feeding. The roots will eventually grow through the mesh openings, but by that point the tree is typically large enough to survive some root loss.
Wire mesh is labor-intensive to install, but it lasts for years and doesn’t require ongoing effort. It’s the only method that creates a true physical barrier rather than relying on gopher behavior.
Trapping
Trapping is the most effective way to reduce an active gopher population without chemicals. It works best from late winter through spring, when gophers are most active near the surface, but it can be done year-round.
The key is finding the main tunnel, not the lateral feeding tunnels. Use a probe (a long screwdriver or metal rod works) to poke into the soil about 8 to 12 inches from a fresh mound on the side nearest the plugged hole. When the probe suddenly drops a couple of inches, you’ve hit the main runway. Dig down to expose the tunnel, then place two traps facing opposite directions so you catch the gopher regardless of which way it approaches. Cover the opening with a board or piece of cardboard to block light, since gophers will plug any opening that lets light into their tunnels, which can trigger the trap or push it out of position.
Check traps at least once daily. If nothing happens within 48 hours, move the traps to a different tunnel. One gopher typically maintains an entire tunnel system on its own, so catching even a single animal can solve the problem in a small yard. Larger properties may have multiple gophers, each with separate tunnel networks.
Encouraging Natural Predators
Barn owls are among the most effective natural gopher predators. A single barn owl family nesting near your property can consume an estimated 843 pocket gophers per year, along with hundreds of voles and mice, according to research published through the California Department of Food and Agriculture. That’s a remarkable amount of rodent control from one nest box.
Installing a barn owl box on a pole or building at least 10 to 15 feet off the ground, facing away from prevailing wind, gives owls a ready-made nesting site. Place it in an open area with a clear flight path, since barn owls hunt by flying low over fields and lawns. The box should have a 6-inch entrance hole and be mounted before breeding season begins in late winter.
There are realistic limits to this approach, though. Research modeling gopher and owl population dynamics found that even at the highest barn owl densities (roughly one nest per 5 acres), owls could not fully control gopher populations when gophers were at peak density and reproductive rates. For a typical backyard with a moderate gopher problem, one nearby owl family can make a real dent. For a heavily infested larger property, owls are best used alongside other methods.
Other natural predators include snakes, hawks, weasels, and domestic cats, though none are as consistently effective as barn owls for gopher control. Avoiding rodenticides in your yard protects these predators from secondary poisoning and keeps them hunting on your property.
Methods That Don’t Work Well
Several widely recommended natural gopher remedies have little or no scientific backing. It’s worth knowing what to skip so you don’t waste time and money.
Repellent Plants
Gopher spurge, castor bean plants, and other so-called repellent plants are frequently recommended online. The evidence for their effectiveness is lacking. The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, a university-backed resource, specifically advises against using these plants, noting they may be invasive and some are poisonous to humans and pets. North Carolina State University’s plant database describes the belief that gopher spurge repels burrowing animals as “more folklore than fact.” The plant’s milky sap causes skin irritation on contact and is toxic if ingested, making it a poor choice for yards with children or pets.
Castor Oil
Castor oil sprays and granules are marketed as gopher repellents, and they do have some evidence for deterring moles in certain conditions. For pocket gophers specifically, the evidence of effectiveness is lacking. The same wildlife damage management experts who evaluate gopher control options do not recommend castor oil-based approaches for gophers.
Flooding Tunnels
Running a garden hose into gopher tunnels rarely works. Gopher tunnel systems can extend hundreds of feet with multiple levels. The water disperses through the soil long before it reaches the gopher, and gophers can simply retreat to higher sections of their tunnel network or plug off flooded areas. Flooding also risks eroding soil around foundations, retaining walls, and garden beds, potentially causing more damage than the gophers themselves.
Vibrating Stakes and Ultrasonic Devices
Solar-powered vibrating stakes and ultrasonic repellers are sold at most garden centers. Controlled studies have repeatedly failed to show these devices repel burrowing rodents. Gophers quickly habituate to vibrations and sounds that don’t pose an actual threat.
Combining Methods for Best Results
The most effective natural approach uses multiple strategies together. Start by trapping to remove gophers that are already present. This gives you immediate relief. Then install wire mesh barriers around the areas you most want to protect: vegetable gardens, flower beds, and young trees. Finally, put up a barn owl box to establish ongoing predation pressure that helps prevent reinfestation.
Gophers are territorial and solitary, so removing one animal often solves the problem for months until a new gopher moves into the vacant tunnel system. Checking your yard monthly for fresh mounds and trapping promptly when new activity appears keeps populations from rebuilding. In areas with heavy gopher pressure, the wire mesh barriers serve as your last line of defense when a new gopher inevitably arrives.