Should you cover a gopher hole?

Gophers might look small and harmless at first, but the holes they leave behind in Dallas yards tell a different story. These burrowing rodents dig complex tunnel systems beneath the soil, which can weaken your lawn, damage plant roots, and even interfere with irrigation lines. It’s common for homeowners to wonder if simply covering a gopher hole is the quick fix they need.

While it may seem like a straightforward solution, covering the hole rarely addresses the real issue. Gophers are persistent diggers with multiple exit routes, and blocking one opening won’t keep them from popping up somewhere else. Instead of solving the problem, you may end up with more damage and frustration down the road.

What Happens If You Cover a Gopher Hole?

At first glance, covering a gopher hole might feel like you’re closing off the problem. The soil looks level again, and you may think the animal will move on. Unfortunately, that’s not how gophers operate. These rodents spend most of their lives underground, constantly digging and expanding their tunnels.

When one hole gets blocked, gophers rarely give up. Instead, they’ll push through the soil or dig a new exit nearby. Their tunnel systems can stretch for hundreds of feet, so sealing one or two openings is like trying to patch a single leak in a pipe full of holes. Before long, new mounds will appear in another part of your yard.

Even worse, filling holes without addressing the gopher itself can mask where active tunnels are located. That makes it harder to track their movement and complicates future removal efforts. Rather than solving the issue, covering holes can delay real action and give gophers more time to damage your lawn and garden.

Do Covered Holes Stop Gophers From Returning?

Many homeowners hope that sealing a gopher hole will discourage the animal from coming back. In reality, gophers are resourceful diggers that rarely abandon an active burrow. Their tunnels often include multiple entry and exit points, so blocking one is like shutting a single door in a house that has dozens of doors and windows. The gopher simply chooses another route.

Gophers are also territorial, which means once they’ve claimed your yard, they’re not leaving without a reason. Blocking an opening doesn’t change the fact that food sources, like plant roots and bulbs, are still available underground. As long as your lawn provides shelter and food, the gopher will keep tunneling regardless of how many holes are covered.

This persistence is why homeowners often find new dirt mounds appearing just days after filling old ones. Rather than preventing the problem, covering holes often results in more digging activity as gophers create alternate pathways to maintain their underground system.

Risks of Covering Gopher Holes

Safety Hazards

When you cover a gopher hole with loose soil, it may appear as though the ground is stable again. In reality, the space underneath is still hollow, and that creates weak spots that collapse under weight. This can turn into a tripping hazard for kids running in the yard or pets playing outside. Even adults may step onto one of these areas and suddenly sink into the soil, risking injury.

These unsafe patches are often hidden and difficult to detect until it’s too late. Over time, more tunnels beneath the surface make the ground even less reliable. What began as a single filled hole can expand into a network of soft spots across your property, creating a yard that feels unstable and unsafe.

Landscape Damage

Blocking one entrance to a tunnel doesn’t discourage gophers—it only pushes them to dig more. Each time they re-establish an opening, fresh dirt mounds appear across the lawn, often in places that were previously undisturbed. This constant activity damages the root systems of grass, flower beds, and vegetable gardens, leaving the landscape patchy and uneven.

As gophers persist, the repeated digging makes it harder for plants to grow properly. Lawns can thin out, flower beds can wilt, and crops can fail because of disrupted root networks. What may look like minor surface damage from a mound of dirt is actually a sign of widespread harm happening underground.

Structural and Irrigation Issues

Gopher tunnels often run directly beneath irrigation systems, which makes them vulnerable to damage. Pipes and sprinkler lines can be chewed, broken, or shifted by ongoing digging. Once this happens, water may leak, pressure may drop, or sections of your yard may stop getting proper irrigation, adding unnecessary repair costs.

In addition, the burrowing weakens the ground that supports small structures like patios, walkways, and garden edging. Over time, the soil shifts, and those features can crack or sink unevenly. Covering gopher holes without solving the problem allows this hidden damage to spread until it becomes a much larger and more expensive issue.

Better Alternatives to Covering Gopher Holes

Rather than trying to block off a gopher’s tunnel, the smarter option is to focus on professional removal. Wildlife experts know how to locate active tunnels, use safe and humane methods, and make sure the gopher is completely removed. This not only solves the immediate problem but also reduces the chances of new damage in the same area.

Another alternative is the use of trapping and exclusion methods. Traps placed in the right locations can effectively eliminate gophers, but success depends on skill and timing. Exclusion techniques, such as installing underground barriers or mesh around gardens, provide extra protection by preventing gophers from accessing sensitive areas once the main infestation is under control.

For long-term results, prevention is just as important as removal. Dallas homeowners can reduce gopher activity by limiting food sources like roots and bulbs, maintaining lawns regularly, and watching for signs of fresh digging. When these prevention steps are combined with professional services, the chances of gophers returning to your property drop significantly.

When Is It Okay to Fill or Cover a Gopher Hole?

• After the gopher has been removed
  Once you know the animal is no longer active in your yard, it’s safe to cover the hole. Filling tunnels at this stage helps restore the soil and prevents new pests from using abandoned burrows.
• During yard restoration
  Covering and compacting old tunnels is part of repairing lawn damage. By leveling the ground and reseeding or replanting, you strengthen your lawn and reduce the chance of future collapse.
• As a safety measure
  If you have children or pets playing outside, filling in old tunnels helps prevent trips or falls. Even if the gopher is gone, collapsing soil can still be a hazard until the ground is properly stabilized.
• To discourage reuse by other animals
  Abandoned gopher tunnels can attract snakes, rodents, or other small wildlife. Closing them off once they’re inactive keeps your property from becoming a shelter for different pests.

Call AAAC Wildlife Removal of Dallas

Covering a gopher hole might seem like a quick fix, but it rarely solves the problem and often makes things worse. The safest and most effective way to protect your yard is to let professionals handle the job. At AAAC Wildlife Removal of Dallas, our team uses proven methods to remove gophers humanely, repair the damage, and help keep your lawn safe from future infestations.

Don’t waste time on temporary solutions that leave you frustrated with new mounds and damaged plants. Call AAAC Wildlife Removal of Dallas today, and let us restore your yard with expert gopher control services designed to last.