Georgia wildlife identification
Gophers, Moles and Voles in Georgia: What Is Digging Your Yard?
Mounds or raised tunnels in a lawn are often blamed on gophers. Georgia's only gopher is a state-protected species of the Coastal Plain, and moles and voles can leave similar-looking damage, so it pays to know which animal you are dealing with.
- Available 24/7
Quick answer
Pocket gopher: listed as threatened in Georgia, found in sandy Coastal Plain soils.
Mole: eats insects and earthworms.
Vole: eats plants, bulbs, roots, tubers and bark.
Not sure? Do not trap, poison or move any animal until you know what it is.
Gophers
Are there gophers in Georgia?
Yes, one species: the southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis). UGA Extension describes it as the only gopher species in the region.
Where it lives
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the historical range includes the entire Coastal Plain of Georgia, but that currently occupied areas are much more restricted and isolated. Its highest-density areas are in Baker, Early, Taylor, Camden and Burke counties, and none of those is in metro Atlanta. It lives in sandy, well-drained soils in open pine woodlands, fields and grassy roadsides.
Legal status
Georgia lists the southeastern pocket gopher as threatened. State rules prohibit activities intended to harass, capture or kill protected animal species unless specifically authorized. Do not trap, poison or otherwise harm a suspected pocket gopher. Contact the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division if you think you have one.
How to recognize a gopher mound
UGA Extension's Lincoln County office describes a gopher mound as typically horseshoe or crescent shaped from above, with the entry hole off to one side and usually plugged with loose dirt. Mole mounds are more circular or volcano shaped. UF/IFAS Extension reports fresh pocket gopher mounds 4 to 6 inches tall and 12 inches or more across.
Another animal called a gopher
Many people use “gopher” for the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), a reptile that Georgia also lists as threatened. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes its range as the Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, including Georgia. Do not disturb a tortoise.
Look-alikes
Moles and voles: what they leave behind
Tunnels in the dirt near the surface likely come from a mole or a vole, according to UGA Extension. The animals eat different things, which helps tell them apart.
Gopher
Listed as threatened in Georgia.
Found in sandy Coastal Plain soils.
Crescent-shaped mounds with an off-center, plugged hole.
Mole
Eats insects and earthworms.
Makes tunnels near the surface.
Mounds are more circular or volcano shaped.
Vole
A small rodent that eats plants and plant parts such as bulbs, roots, tubers and bark.
Surface tunnels can look like a mole's.
Next steps
Not sure what is digging? Start with identification
Look closely
Photograph the mounds or tunnels. Note whether the mounds are crescent-shaped or round, where in the yard they are, and whether plants, bulbs or bark are damaged.
Ask the right office
Your county UGA Extension office is a good place for identification questions. For a suspected pocket gopher or gopher tortoise, contact the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division.
Hold off on control
Do not trap, poison, flood or relocate an animal until you know what it is. Protected species are covered by state rules.
Talk it through with Pest Control Atlanta
If you are not sure what you are seeing, call Pest Control Atlanta at (404) 647-6677 to talk it through. Pest Control Atlanta offers gopher removal once the animal is identified; if it is a protected species, state rules prohibit capturing it unless authorized. For related pages, see Mole Control in Atlanta, GA, Vole Control in Atlanta, GA, our Atlanta Pest Library and wildlife services.
Sources
Where these facts come from
Reviewed October 6, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and wildlife rules change. Check current guidance with Georgia DNR.
- Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Rare Natural Element Data Portal: Southeastern Pocket Gopher (updated March 2020): state status, range, habitat and counties.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09, Protected Species of Plants and Animals (Cornell LII copy, which shows a 2006 history note): southeastern pocket gopher and gopher tortoise listed as threatened.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.06, Prohibited Acts (amended 2021): harassing, capturing or killing protected animals.
- UGA Extension Lincoln County, Southeastern Pocket Gophers in Georgia (May 21, 2021): only gopher species in the region; gopher and mole mound shapes.
- UGA Extension, Resolving Human-Nuisance Wildlife Conflicts (B1248): what moles and voles eat; near-surface tunnels; the Wildlife Resources Division.
- UF/IFAS Extension Levy County, Sandy-mounders Mounding (January 7, 2022): pocket gopher mound size.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gopher Tortoise: range.
Talk With Pest Control Atlanta About What You Are Seeing
Describe the mounds, tunnels or damage and where they are.
Call Pest Control Atlanta (404) 647-6677Available 24/7. Serving Atlanta and surrounding areas.
