If you wish to move a pocket gopher without harming it, carefully pick it up by its tail. Gophers can live in a wide variety of soil types and conditions. They are active year-round but their presence is most obvious in spring and fall when they push numerous new mounds of soil to the surface. Each gopher could make as many as 200 mounds in a year. Tunnels are generally parallel to the ground surface.
Deeper tunnels lead to nests and food storage chambers.
The depth of tunnels varies with soil type. In sandy soils, most tunnels usually are 7 to 27 inches deep while nests may be as deep as 5 to 6 feet. In heavier soils, tunnels are generally 6 to 19 inches deep. Gophers feed on roots, stems, and leaves. They prefer forbs over grasses, but they will eat both.