Gopher Wire Calculator | Size Your Rolls & Ground Staples

Q: Can I use chicken wire instead of gopher wire?

No. Chicken wire is poultry fencing, the openings are too large to stop a gopher reliably and the gauge is too light for buried use. Hardware cloth is closer, but gopher wire is specifically woven and coated to sit in the ground under a lawn or bed.

Buyer's Guide

How Gopher Wire Works

Gopher wire — also sold as gopher mesh or gopher wire mesh — is a fine steel mesh laid horizontally under a lawn, bed or planter to stop burrowing rodents reaching the root zone from below. Gophers and voles do their damage out of sight — they tunnel in, feed on roots and bulbs, and the first sign above ground is usually a plant that wilts and lifts out of the soil with nothing left underneath. Traps and baits treat the animals one at a time. A buried mesh treats the route.

The mesh is sized so an animal cannot pass through it or widen it, and it is installed as a continuous layer with every seam overlapped, because a gap is simply a door. Once it is covered with soil and sod it is permanent and invisible, which is why it is specified at build time on new lawns, raised beds and planting areas rather than retrofitted later.

Galvanized or Stainless Steel?

Two wires, same job. The choice comes down to the soil it is going into and how long the installation has to stay serviceable.

5' × 100'

Galvanized gopher wire

Zinc-coated steel mesh, and the standard specification for most residential and commercial work. The wider 5-foot roll covers more ground per run, which means fewer seams across a lawn and less staple work.

500 sq ft per roll
Fewer seams on open areas
The usual choice for typical soils
Lower cost per square foot

Galvanized wire → 4' × 100'

Stainless steel gopher wire

Stainless mesh for installations where corrosion is the governing concern — wet ground, irrigated turf, acidic soils, or anywhere the wire protects something expensive enough that replacing it later is not an option.

400 sq ft per roll
Better corrosion resistance in wet or acidic soil
Specified for high-value plantings
Narrower roll, easier to handle alone

Stainless wire →

Why not chicken wire? Chicken wire is a poultry fencing product. The openings are too large to stop a gopher reliably, the gauge is light, and it is not made to sit buried in wet soil. Hardware cloth is closer, but gopher wire is woven and coated specifically for in-ground use under lawns and beds.

Where Gopher Wire Goes

Under new lawns and sod Laid over the graded subsoil before topsoil and sod go down. This is the cheapest time to do it by a wide margin, because the ground is already open.

Raised beds and planters Lining the base of a bed before filling stops gophers entering from beneath. Run the mesh up the inside walls a few inches and fasten it so there is no gap at the edge.

Planting baskets Individual trees, shrubs and bulbs can be planted inside a formed basket of wire, protecting the root ball without lining the whole area.

Vegetable gardens Root crops and bulbs are the first thing taken. A mesh layer under the growing area protects the whole bed for the life of the garden.

Voles and other burrowers The same buried mesh works against voles and similar rodents feeding on roots and bulbs from below.

Ornamental and specimen planting Where a single plant is worth protecting on its own, wire under the planting hole is cheap insurance against losing it.

How Much Gopher Wire Do I Need?

The calculator above does this for you, but the arithmetic is worth understanding. Measure the area in square feet, then add for overlap: every seam between runs needs a few inches of overlap, so the wire you buy always exceeds the area you are covering. Narrower rolls mean more runs, more seams and more overlap waste on the same area, which is why roll width matters as much as roll length.

Staples are sized the same way. They hold the mesh flat and closed at the seams while you backfill, and the count follows the perimeter and the number of seams rather than the raw area.

Roll	Width	Length	Coverage
Galvanized steel	5'	100'	500 sq ft
Stainless steel	4'	100'	400 sq ft

Coverage figures are the full roll area before overlap. The calculator adds the overlap allowance and returns the roll and staple counts to order.

Ground staples — 240 per carton →

How to Install Gopher Wire

1
Excavate and grade
Strip to the depth the design calls for and grade the subsoil. The mesh follows whatever surface it is laid on, so grade before rolling anything out.
2
Roll out and overlap every seam
Run the wire in full lengths and overlap adjacent runs by several inches. Never butt two edges together — a butted seam opens under backfill and becomes the way in.
3
Staple the seams and edges
Ground staples through the overlap at regular intervals, and around the perimeter. The mesh has to stay flat and closed while soil goes over it.
4
Turn it up at the edges
In a raised bed or planter, carry the mesh a few inches up the inside wall and fasten it there, so there is no gap between the wire and the structure.
5
Backfill and finish
Cover with topsoil to the specified depth, then lay sod or plant as normal. Once covered the wire is permanent and invisible.

Install it at build time. Gopher wire is inexpensive relative to the lawn or bed above it, but retrofitting means lifting everything that has already been planted. On any site with known gopher activity, specifying it during construction is the decision that saves money later.

Gopher Wire FAQs

What is gopher wire?

Gopher wire, also called gopher mesh, is a fine steel mesh installed horizontally beneath lawns, beds and planters to stop burrowing rodents reaching roots from below. It is a physical barrier rather than a treatment, so once it is covered it works continuously without maintenance.

How much gopher wire do I need?

Measure the area in square feet, then allow extra for the overlap at every seam. The calculator above sizes it for you and returns both the roll count and the ground staples, with the overlap allowance already built in.

Should I use galvanized or stainless steel gopher wire?

Galvanized is the standard specification for most work and covers more per roll at a lower cost per square foot. Choose stainless where corrosion is the governing concern — wet ground, irrigated turf, acidic soils, or where the planting above is valuable enough that replacement is not practical.

Can I use chicken wire instead?

No. Chicken wire is poultry fencing — the openings are too large to stop a gopher reliably and the gauge is too light for buried use. Hardware cloth is closer, but gopher wire is specifically woven and coated to sit in the ground under a lawn or bed.

How deep should gopher wire be buried?

Deep enough to sit below the root zone of whatever is planted above it, and deep enough that normal cultivation will not reach it. On a new lawn it goes under the topsoil layer before sod; in a raised bed it lines the base. Follow the depth your planting design calls for.

Does gopher wire work for voles?

Yes. The same buried mesh blocks voles and other small burrowing rodents feeding on roots and bulbs from below. The installation is identical — a continuous layer with every seam overlapped and stapled.

Can I install gopher wire in an existing lawn?

Only by lifting what is there. The wire goes beneath the root zone, so retrofitting means removing sod and topsoil, laying the mesh, and reinstating. That is why it is specified during construction wherever gopher activity is known.

Why do seams need to overlap?

Because a butted seam opens. Soil loading and settlement pull two touching edges apart, and any opening in the mesh is a route through. Overlap adjacent runs by several inches and staple through the overlap so it stays closed.

How many ground staples do I need?

Staple count follows the perimeter and the number of seams rather than the area, since that is where the mesh has to be held closed. The calculator returns a staple count alongside the rolls; staples are supplied in cartons of 240.

Will gopher wire harm the lawn or plants?

No. The mesh is open, so water and roots pass through it freely. It sits below the root zone of turf and bedding plants and does not interfere with drainage or normal growth.

What does shipping cost?

Nothing. Shipping is free on every order at Landscape Discount, on wire and staples alike.