Do I have moles or gophers?

Question

How do you know if you have moles or gophers in your Yard? I have several depressions in my yard that are approximately 10 to 15 inches in diameter. These depressions still have grass in them but just look like the ground has sunk in(approximately 6 or 7 inches) and seem to be getting gradually worse. They seem to follow a straight line and are about 8 to 10 foot apart. Also I have small mounds of mud( maybe 3 or 4"tall X3") that I often run over with the lawn mower. These seem to appear mostly along my ditches. I've thought about electronic mole/gopher chasers but I'm just not sure if this is what I've got. I've never seen any of these critters in my yard and I don't seem to have plants eaten up or anything like that like I hear some people talking about. I want to get some opinions before I buy expensive electronic devices. Can anyone who has had experience with these critters tell me what you think I've got?

Answer 1

it sounds like gophers, the mound entrances are usually close to water so check close to outside water faucets, you wont see them during day time as they only come out at nigth. you can get rid of them very easy, get a wind powered gopher chaser, its just a windmill that taps on the ground , they look nice in the garden and make the gophers go away.

Answer 2

I think you may be dealing with more than one pest.  The depressions in a linear pattern sounds like gophers.  The mounds of mud are something different.  Gophers and moles do not like wet or muddy areas like near a ditch.  Crayfish do and they make mud chimneys just like what you described.  

Anyway, they make traps for gophers and this site on crayfish recommends draining affected areas.  Take a look at this site on crayfish.  I think you'll be see what is happening near your ditches.

http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/weeklypi...