I've been trapping gophers since I was 15. In that time I've tried everything you'll find on a Google search — coffee grounds, cayenne, pinwheels, soap, the gum trick. I get why people try them. They're cheap, you already have the stuff, and someone online swears it worked for them. But after all those years of watching gophers ignore every single one of these, I can tell you straight: none of it works. Here's exactly why.
Chewing Gum
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK
Gophers eat roots. That's it. They're not randomly eating objects they find in their tunnels — they're following root systems, chewing through whatever's in the way. The theory is that a gopher eats the gum and it clogs their digestive system. But even if a gopher pushes past a piece of Juicy Fruit at the tunnel entrance, they're not going to eat it. There's no mechanism here. No field data. Zero catches in all my years of trapping. Just a myth that keeps circulating because it's free and sounds plausible if you've never actually watched a gopher ignore it.
Coffee Grounds
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK
Gophers live 6–12 inches underground in sealed tunnel systems. Sprinkling coffee grounds around a mound or into an open hole does nothing because the grounds sit at the surface and the smell doesn't penetrate down to where the gopher actually is. Even if it did penetrate somewhat, gophers are constantly in a soil environment full of decomposing organic matter — a coffee smell isn't going to make them abandon prime tunneling territory. I've seen people dump literal pounds of grounds into every mound in a yard and watch the gopher push fresh dirt out the next morning.
Cayenne Pepper & Hot Sauce
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK
Same fundamental problem as coffee grounds: it's a surface treatment and gophers live underground. Any cayenne or hot sauce you pour into a hole washes down and dissipates within the first watering. Even right after application, the gopher is working 8 inches below where you applied it. And gophers close off tunnel entrances from the inside — they're not sitting at the opening breathing surface air. Even if it caused momentary irritation at the tunnel entrance, it would not make a gopher abandon an established burrow system it's been building for weeks.
Irish Spring Soap
WHY IT DOESN'T WORK
The theory is that the strong artificial scent repels gophers. It's a powerful smell — to humans. Gophers are underground animals that navigate by feel and memory, not primarily by surface scent. They're not above ground sniffing around your garden. Hanging a bar of soap near a mound means the gopher never encounters it at all. And even if scent did drift underground somewhat, it would dissipate quickly and there's no evidence gophers associate it with danger. I've seen this recommended constantly online. I've never seen it stop a single gopher.
What DOES Work
Victor traps set back-to-back with no light entering the tunnel. That's the move. Find the main run, set two traps facing opposite directions, cover the hole completely. Gophers don't get to decide — they come back to repair the tunnel and they hit the trap. (Flooding before trapping is only worth doing if you have a dog working the yard — otherwise skip it and go straight to the traps.)
Get the Step-by-Step Guide →Frequently Asked Questions
Does Irish Spring soap keep gophers away?
No. Irish Spring soap has a strong smell to humans, but gophers don't care. They live underground in a tunnel system that already smells like dirt, roots, and decomposing organic matter. Hanging a bar of soap near a mound does nothing — gophers aren't above ground long enough to encounter it, and the smell doesn't penetrate into tunnel systems.
Do coffee grounds repel gophers?
No. Coffee grounds don't penetrate the soil deeply enough to reach active tunnel systems, which run 6–12 inches underground. Gophers have no reason to avoid them, and the smell dissipates fast — especially after watering. I've seen yards where someone dumped pounds of grounds into every mound and still had active tunneling the next day.
Does cayenne pepper work on gophers?
No. Same problem as coffee grounds — cayenne is a surface treatment and gophers live underground. It washes away with the first watering. Even if a gopher encounters it at the tunnel entrance, it's not going to abandon an established burrow system over a little pepper.
Does chewing gum kill gophers?
No. This is one of the oldest gopher myths out there. Gophers eat roots — not random objects in their tunnels. There's zero field evidence this works, and the mechanism doesn't make sense. Save the Juicy Fruit for yourself.