Pocket gopher problems

[Jimmy G]

Been a very active year around here so far with pocket gopher damage. Lost 2 thornless cockspur hawthorns and some 1 year in the ground white oaks. So did a little YouTube research and bought a couple death klutch traps. Set them tonight and checked a hour later and got this guy...

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[SwampCat]

Back in the sixties, living in SE MN - I made all my baseball card money trapping pocket gophers and 13 lines ground squirrels. A quarter for a gopher and a nickel for a ground squirrel. SCS office paid the bounty. Good money for a ten yr old.

 

[Rit]

I’d say that trap is aptly named. Looks dead good job.

 

[cavey]

Been a very active year around here so far with pocket gopher damage. Lost 2 thornless cockspur hawthorns and some 1 year in the ground white oaks. So did a little YouTube research and bought a couple death klutch traps. Set them tonight and checked a hour later and got this guy...

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Awesome trap - back when I was a kid I had trap lines of those set everyday. I got a $1 a gopher from the land owners and the county had a bounty per tail.

That picture and Swampcats comment brought back memories....................Which in talking baseball card money - or in my case just what ever fun money ....... By the end of one fall I still had large bag of gopher tails in the freezer at home. I did not even think to tell my mom about them just hid them in a back corner of the freezer. Well one day she found them, freaked out and tossed them into the garbage not thinking I might have a good reason to have them. I got home from school and got the what the hell were they doing in there talk........ Well something like 300 plus tails took a trip to the dump before I knew it happened. My use of words to inform her that she just tossed $150 worth of my efforts into a tin can got me grounded and no financial reimbursement.

 

[Jimmy G]

One more, this sucker evaded me 4 times. Finally got him.

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[S.T.Fanatic]

now thats gettin after it!!

 

[trampledbyturtles]

So did a little YouTube research and bought a couple death klutch traps. Set them tonight and checked a hour later and got this guy...

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Any experience with these traps an striped gophers? Just found I have a problem in the home orchard, part being my short legged dashound is not fast enough to catch'em. Also any tips with moles? Not for the trees safety but my mower blades.

 

[Jimmy G]

I also have striped gophers and have tried a few times to use these but they haven't worked yet. At the old house I could see the active holes from my living room and would use rat traps that worked ok. My main activity areas I can't see from the new house so I have to just guess which holes they use. They just have too many to guess right. If you had a known good hole then I would definitely try it.

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[cavey]

I think their tunnels are too small for this trap. You set the trap into the tunnel and it needs enough room to be sprung and close up on/into them. You might be able to widen out the tunnel enough to set it but i doubt it.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Sounds good fellas,
New plan, go and buy one of those new high powered air rifles then thin the herd.
Easy enough sitting on the deck.

 

[cavey]

I was a kid when I ran my trap line but so my hands were a little bit smaller but you pretty much need a tunnel the size of your hand. I dont know if they make the trap in a smaller size "death klutch (DK-1) gopher trap". just looked them up and looks like DK-1 is the only size in that trap make.

These look interesting https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/WCSBCRBG2.html

As far as the gophers locate their tunnel, dig an access hole or clear the hole where they pushed up the mound of dirt and insert the trap. I would simply take the electric fence post I used to stake the trap, poke the ground around the mound till I found the tunnel, dig it out, reach into the tunnel and pull loose dirt out (they often push loose soil into trap and block it off so that made it tougher for them to avoid tripping it) often there was a "Y" there so you could set two traps. In sticking the trap in I would wiggle the trap to get the spring down into the soil a bit. I had better success covering up the hole, I would toss a shingle over the hole and back fill over it to seal it. The gophers run the tunnels constantly I had a really good success rate. Set them one day and check the next.

 

[cavey]

Sounds good fellas,
New plan, go and buy one of those new high powered air rifles then thin the herd.
Easy enough sitting on the deck.

No this is what you really need....

 

[cavey]

No this is what you really need....

or the poor mans version of one ....

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Not sure my dog wants me to completely wipe them out fellas, they r his form of entertainment/exercise ha.
Thought they about killed him earlier.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I also have striped gophers and have tried a few times to use these but they haven't worked yet. At the old house I could see the active holes from my living room and would use rat traps that worked ok. My main activity areas I can't see from the new house so I have to just guess which holes they use. They just have too many to guess right. If you had a known good hole then I would definitely try it.

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When I was younger and ran a gopher trapline I would set pan traps upside down on top of striped gopher holes. Set the trap really light and it will catch them by the head when they come up to the surface.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Any experience with these traps an striped gophers? Just found I have a problem in the home orchard, part being my short legged dashound is not fast enough to catch'em. Also any tips with moles? Not for the trees safety but my mower blades.

For moles I've had good luck with the Talpirid mole trap. It's basically 2 heavy duty spring loaded scissors placed a couple inches apart with the trigger in the middle. You press this down on the mole's tunnel and the next time they come through they trip the trigger and die.

Moles seem to be tougher to catch than gophers, but if you get a couple of these traps you will get them eventually. They just don't seem to run through their tunnels quite as frequently as gophers do. But these traps work for me. Much better than the spiked versions that stab into the ground at them.