Gophers (Geomyidae) are a family of rodents, with 41 known species burrowing through North and Central America. These furry little herbivores subsist primarily on a diet of grasses. In a field of native grasses and weeds, gophers can be beneficial to the soil as they help aerate it while maintaining a healthy diversity of plants. Gardeners are less enthusiastic about gophers, as they also enjoy dining on lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and more. Read on to learn all about the gopher’s favorite foods.
Gophers: An Overview
Strict herbivores, gophers feed on flowers and other plant matter.
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Gophers are small rodents that are members of the Geomyidae family. Gophers are fossorial, which means they spend most of their time underground. They eat, mate, and sleep in their burrows. The average gopher is between five and 15 inches long, including a 1-2 inch tail. Gophers weigh between eight ounces and two pounds, and males are generally larger than females.
What Gophers Eat
Gophers are herbivores whose diet consists primarily of grass, though they will eat veggies on occasion.
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Gophers eat grasses and forbs. Forbs are a family of wild plants that have broad leaves and herbaceous stalks. Some examples of forbs are sunflowers, spiny asters, goldenrods, watercress, and hyssop. Most forbs flower, but they are not shrubs.
Gophers are primarily herbivores that feed on plants, flowers, and other plant matter, although they may occasionally consume small invertebrates or insects found among plant roots. They occasionally eat lettuce, carrots, and other vegetables, but they rarely eat seeds or fruits.
Researching The Gopher Diet
Gophers are fossorial, meaning they live primarily underground.
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In a study of gophers in Eastern Colorado, researchers found that 64% of a gopher’s diet consists of grass. They also found that forbs were a favorite gopher food in the spring and summer when these plants are in bloom.
The researchers broke down the grasses by the percentage they made up of the gopher’s diet. The grasses they ate the most were:
- Needle-and-thread grass (22%)
- Scouring rush (14%)
- Mosquito grass (12%)
- Eastern prickly pear cactus (9%)
In another study of pocket gophers in Nebraska, the scientists studied the animals’ eating habits over three years. There, too, they found that needle-and-thread and scouring rush were the main food sources.
Grasses made up almost half of the diet of gophers in that region. However, those same gophers showed a strong preference for other grasses that were available in the spring and summer.
Among the forbs and grasses that gophers liked best were perennial ragweed (Ambrosia phyllostachya), sweet clover (Melilotus sp.), and fragile prickly pear (Opuntia fragilis).
Complete List of 8 Foods a Gopher Eats
| Number | Plant |
|---|---|
| 1. | Needle-and-thread grass |
| 2. | Scouring rush |
| 3. | Prairie June-grass |
| 4. | Prickly pear cactus |
| 5. | Kentucky bluegrass |
| 6. | Perennial ragweed |
| 7. | Sweet clover |
| 8. | Fragile prickly pear |
Keeping Gophers at Bay
Castor oil is thought to be an effective way of ridding your yard of gophers.
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Gophers do not have good eyesight, which may be why they have such a well-developed sense of smell. As a result, they dislike extremely strong smells, which can irritate them. If you wish to keep these pesky critters out of your gardens or yards, these are some of the scents that you may want to include:
- Eucalyptus
- Geraniums
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Sage
Another option is castor oil, which also has a strong odor that they find offensive and is easy to make at home. This homemade remedy is created by mixing three parts castor oil with one part dish soap and adding it to one gallon of water. Then spray the mixture around gopher tunnels and entrances, which may help evict them from your property.
