What Do Gophers Eat?
Pocket Gopher Diet and What They Target in Southern California Yards
Pocket gophers eat plant roots, bulbs, tubers, and other underground plant material. They are herbivores that feed almost entirely underground, pulling plant material into their tunnel systems as they tunnel through the root zone. Understanding what gophers eat explains why gopher damage often appears suddenly and without obvious above-ground cause.
Gopher Food Sources in Southern California Yards
Plant roots: The primary food source for pocket gophers. Gophers eat the roots of grasses, ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees as they encounter them while tunneling. Lawn grasses are a constant food source in residential yards. Bulbs and tubers: Gophers actively seek out bulbs and tubers, which are energy-dense food sources. Tulips, daffodils (except narcissus, which are toxic), dahlias, irises, and potatoes are frequent targets. Bulbs may disappear entirely as gophers consume them underground. Root vegetables: Carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, radishes, and other root crops in vegetable gardens are highly attractive to gophers. A gopher in a vegetable garden can destroy an entire bed of root crops within days. Shrub and tree roots: Gophers eat the roots of woody plants including ornamental shrubs, fruit trees, and landscape trees. Young trees are particularly vulnerable — gophers can girdle the root collar of young trees, killing them. Succulents and ground cover: Ice plant, agapanthus, and other common Southern California ground covers are frequent gopher targets. Their fleshy roots and storage organs are appealing food sources.How Gopher Feeding Causes Plant Death
Gophers feeding on roots cause plant death in two ways. Direct consumption removes the root mass the plant depends on for water and nutrient uptake — the plant wilts and dies without the root system to support it. Gophers also sometimes pull entire plants underground, dragging them through the tunnel entrance from below.
The characteristic sign of gopher root feeding is a plant that wilts and dies suddenly with intact green stems and leaves — the above-ground portion looks normal until the root system is too damaged to sustain it.
Do Gophers Eat Anything Above Ground?
Pocket gophers occasionally venture above ground to eat surface vegetation near their tunnel entrances, but this is uncommon. Most feeding happens entirely underground. If you see a gopher above ground, it is usually pushing dirt out of a tunnel opening — not foraging on the surface.
Protecting Your Plants
Understanding what gophers eat helps prioritize protection. High-value plants — vegetable gardens, young trees, prized ornamentals — should be protected with gopher baskets or wire mesh. Eliminating the gopher with professional trapping protects everything on the property.
Call 909-599-4711 for gopher control with a 60-day guarantee throughout Southern California.
Gopher Proof Your Garden | Gopher Damage Guide | Gopher Control Service | All Guides## Plants Gophers Target Most in Southern California
Not all plants are equally attractive to gophers. In Southern California yards, gophers preferentially target:
**High-value targets (gophers love these):**
**Plants gophers typically avoid:**
## How Gopher Feeding Creates Damage Patterns
Gophers feed on roots from below the surface, so you often don't see the damage until plants are already dying. A plant that looks healthy above ground may have had 80% of its root system severed by a gopher tunneling underneath. Once the root damage exceeds what the plant can compensate for, it wilts rapidly — sometimes overnight.
This feeding pattern creates a distinctive damage signature: plants that die suddenly in a linear pattern following an underground tunnel route. If you see 3-4 plants dying in a line across your yard, a gopher tunnel is almost certainly running beneath them.
## How Much Do Gophers Eat?
A single gopher consumes approximately 60% of its body weight in roots and vegetation daily. For an average 8-ounce gopher, that is nearly 5 ounces of root material per day — about 10 pounds per month. Over a gopher's 3-5 year lifespan, one individual consumes 360-600 pounds of plant material.
## Seasonal Feeding Changes in SoCal
In summer, gophers concentrate feeding under irrigated areas where roots stay hydrated and tender. In winter, rain softens soil across wider areas and gophers expand their feeding range. Spring is peak feeding season — rapidly growing roots from new plant growth attract intense gopher activity.
## Protecting Your Plants from Gopher Feeding
The most effective physical protection is gopher wire baskets installed at planting time — galvanized hardware cloth formed into baskets around root balls prevents gophers from reaching roots while allowing normal growth. For existing plants, professional trapping is the only reliable solution once gophers have established tunnel systems near your landscaping.
## SoCal-Specific Plants Gophers Target
Southern California landscapes feature plants that gophers find especially attractive:
**Bougainvillea** — Despite its thorny above-ground appearance, bougainvillea root systems are soft and moisture-rich. Gophers frequently sever the root ball of young bougainvillea plantings, causing sudden collapse of apparently healthy vines.
**Citrus Trees** — Lemon, orange, and grapefruit feeder roots are a gopher staple in SoCal yards. Young citrus trees under 3 years old are especially vulnerable because their root systems haven't developed the woody bark that deters gopher feeding on mature trees.
**Bermuda Grass** — The stolons (horizontal runners) of Bermuda grass lawns are a preferred food source. Gophers tunnel along the root zone, severing stolons and creating dead patches that don't respond to watering.
**Ice Plant** — The moisture-rich rhizomes of ice plant (Carpobrotus) attract gophers in dry periods. Hillside ice plant installations are frequently undermined by gopher tunneling.
**Bird of Paradise** — Strelitzia root systems provide abundant food. Gophers can kill a mature Bird of Paradise by severing the root crown from below.
**Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile)** — The fleshy root system is a gopher magnet. Mass plantings of agapanthus along walkways and driveways are especially vulnerable because the connected root systems allow gophers to tunnel and feed along the entire row.
## Seasonal Feeding in SoCal's Mediterranean Climate
SoCal's dry summers and wet winters create distinct seasonal feeding patterns. In summer, gophers concentrate feeding under irrigated landscapes where roots stay hydrated and tender — your watered lawn becomes the only food source in a dry landscape. In winter, rain softens soil and triggers new root growth across wider areas, allowing gophers to expand feeding territory beyond irrigated zones.
Spring is peak feeding season in SoCal. Rapidly growing roots from new growth attract intense gopher activity. This is also breeding season — pregnant and nursing female gophers consume more food than usual, intensifying feeding pressure on your landscape.
## Irrigation Damage from Root-Following Behavior
Gophers don't just eat roots — they tunnel along root systems, and in SoCal landscapes those root systems often run parallel to irrigation lines. Gophers frequently sever drip tubing, cut PVC laterals, and chew through poly pipe while tunneling along plant root corridors. A single gopher can damage 3-5 irrigation components per week of active tunneling, creating dry spots that mimic drought stress but don't respond to increased watering.