Winter Gophers and Voles in Treasure Valley Lawns

Yes, gophers and voles keep working all winter in the Treasure Valley. Pocket gophers don't hibernate, and voles do much of their damage to trees and shrubs while they are tucked under snow, so the fresh mounds and chewed lawns you notice in January or after a thaw are often from activity that never stopped.

At Pestcom Pest Management, gopher and vole calls don't slow down when the leaves fall. Every winter we hear from homeowners in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Eagle and Kuna, and from HOAs, cemeteries and other big lawns, who see new dirt piles on a frosty morning and wonder how that's possible. Here's what's going on underground, what to look for, and what you can do before spring.

Why Gophers and Voles Don't Take Winter Off

Pocket gophers live almost their whole lives in tunnels, feeding on roots, bulbs and other plant parts underground. The soil a few inches down stays much milder than the air, so a cold snap barely slows them. When the ground isn't frozen solid, you will often see fresh mounds pop up between storms.

Voles, sometimes called meadow mice or field mice, are small, stocky rodents that live at the surface. They travel along little runways through the grass and under ground cover. When snow sits on the lawn for a while, it acts like a blanket. Voles can move and feed under it out of sight. That's when they tend to chew bark and grass crowns the most.

Vole numbers also go up and down a lot from year to year. A yard that had almost no sign of them last winter can be busy this winter, which is part of why the problem can feel like it came out of nowhere.

Our irrigated neighborhoods make all of this more likely. Watered lawns, soft garden soil, greenbelts and canal-side lots give both animals food, cover and easy digging close to homes.

Signs to Look for This Winter

Walk your yard once or twice a month this winter, especially after any snow melts. Here's what to look for:

• Gopher mounds. Fresh piles of loose soil, usually shaped like a crescent or horseshoe, with a plugged hole off to one side. New mounds next to old ones mean the gopher is still there.
• Vole runways. Narrow, worn paths about one to two inches wide running across the lawn, often with small holes leading underground. These are easiest to see right after snow melts.
• Chewed bark at the base of trees and shrubs. Voles and gophers both gnaw bark near the soil line, mostly in winter when other food is scarce. If the bark is chewed all the way around, the plant may not recover.
• Dead or thin patches in spring. Grass clipped down to the crown or roots eaten from below often shows up as brown spots once the lawn greens up.
• Drip lines and sprinkler problems. Gophers can chew through irrigation tubing. A leak you find at spring start-up may have a furry cause.

Simple Things You Can Do Before Spring

You don't need special equipment to make your yard less inviting. A few habits make a real difference:

• Give the lawn a final short mow before winter. Tall grass gives voles cover all winter.
• Clear weeds, leaf piles and debris from fence lines, garden beds and around the base of trees and shrubs. Voles like thick ground cover.
• Pull mulch and rock a few inches back from tree trunks so the base of the trunk stays open and easy to check.
• Protect young trees and prized shrubs with a ring of 3/8-inch wire mesh around the trunk, set a few inches into the soil and a few inches above it, so bark is harder to reach.
• Mark fresh gopher mounds with a flag or a small stake, then rake them flat. If new soil shows up in the same spot, you know the tunnel is active. That information helps a technician a lot.
• Keep an eye on spots that border a canal, ditch, field or greenbelt. These are where new animals most often move in from.

If you have pets, keep them away from any burrows or tunnel openings you find, and don't let them dig into the mounds.

When It's Time to Call a Pro

Some activity can be watched for a while, but it's a good time to call when:

• New gopher mounds keep showing up in the same area after you rake them flat
• You see chewed bark on trees or shrubs you care about
• Vole runways cover a big part of the lawn when the snow melts
• Mounds are near sidewalks, playgrounds or common areas where people could trip
• You manage an HOA common area, cemetery, park or other large turf area

A licensed Pestcom technician will first confirm which animal you have. Gophers, voles and moles all leave different signs and need different plans. From there we use targeted trapping, tunnel treatments or exterior stations depending on the animal and the location, and we follow up until activity stops. Any products we use are EPA registered and applied by Idaho-licensed technicians following the label directions. As with any treatment, keep people and pets away from treated areas until they are dry.

For neighborhoods and HOAs, we also offer an ongoing common-area vole and gopher program so problems are handled before the board gets the complaints.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do gophers hibernate in Idaho?

A: No. Pocket gophers stay active all year. They may push up fewer mounds when the ground is frozen, but they keep feeding underground through the winter.

Q: How can I tell a gopher mound from a mole hill?

A: Gopher mounds are usually crescent or horseshoe-shaped with a plug off to one side. Moles tend to leave raised ridges just under the surface. Voles don't make mounds at all; they leave narrow runways in the grass.

Q: Why does my lawn look worse right after the snow melts?

A: Voles often feed and travel under the snow, out of sight. When the snow melts, their runways and chewed grass are suddenly exposed all at once.

Q: Will voles kill my trees?

A: They can. Voles and gophers chew bark near the ground, mostly in winter. If the bark is chewed all the way around the trunk, the tree or shrub may die. Wire mesh around young trunks and early treatment help prevent this.

Q: Is winter a good time to start gopher or vole control?

A: Yes. Getting ahead of activity in winter means less damage to your lawn, trees and sprinklers when spring arrives.

Don't wait for spring to find out what's been going on under your lawn. Call Pestcom Pest Management at 208-639-1776 to schedule a free inspection, or learn more about our Gopher, Vole and Mole Control service at https://www.pestcom.com/gopher-vole-mole-control/