Pocket Gopher

[scrotcaster]

Had a pocket gopher or family move into my front yard.. was moderately tolerant of them at first thinking they would move on,, Wrong! Now they are digging a 5 gallon bucket sized mount of dirt a day/night! Time to kill ! Going to get some gopher traps to put in his runs (if i can find them ) but anyone who is a caddyshack level pocket gopher trapper and have any info to share, iam all ears..

 

[Vollmer]

I cannot hear the term "pocket gopher" without picturing my ding dong.
Damn 90's upbringing.

 

[remm]

Good luck man, I've had them in my food plot for a couple years. Tried watching videos on how to trap them, tried different kinds of traps and the little bastards always seem to just bury the trap without triggering it. Ran a garden hose down a hole for a couple hours with no results either. Gave up on it this year due to frustration. If it was my yard rather than a food plot, I'd probably be a little more pissed and look into it more. Have considered the hose on the exhaust pipe into the hole but have yet to try that. You may have to sell the house and move. Goddam things.

 

[Tikka280ai]

search propane gopher killer on youtube and use your own ingenuity from there


Make sure to post videos.


A safer option but way less eventful is to drown them out. Depending on your soil type it may or may not work

 

[AR-15]

3-4 lbs of Tannerite should do the job

 

[bigcatpike]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhBjc1_9m4&t=6s

If you want to trap them this is how I would recommend doing it.

 

[sierra1995]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhBjc1_9m4&t=6s

If you want to trap them this is how I would recommend doing it.

I do this same thing to get them, except i have mechanics wire tied to the trap, and bring that up to the surface an stake it in place. I also put the plug back in the hole so the tunnel is dark. I use this trap from menards; https://www.menards.com/main/outdoo...2-c-10120.htm?tid=3273419995447592701&ipos=14

 

[Brian Renville]

Gotta catch the fresh holes. Dig the plug out with a spoon and get a couple different types of the poison "peanuts" in the hole. I battled them with traps and water and sprays and whatever else I could find. After making sure I got the fresh holes they started turning up dead in the lawn, been free of those bastards for the first summer in awhile.

 

[JayKay]

I cannot hear the term "pocket gopher" without picturing my ding dong.
Damn 90's upbringing.

Pocket sized gopher trophy. There. Try to get THAT out of your head.. ..

 

[SerchforPerch]

Ive killed exactly one pocket gopher for the last 7 years straight in my yard and this year is the first year that I haven't had one.. As odd as it sounds, I actually look forward to to the challenge of trapping them!

I figured out you need to first find the plug, and locate its travel routes. Find where two travel routes intersect and place a trap (death clutch is found at Runnings and work awesome!) and cover the hole with some type of cover (without filling the hole with dirt). Its crucial that you cover the entrance completely and not allow any light penetrate. Even the slightest amount of light and you'll find yourself with a buried trap and no gopher.. Give it a few hours and check, if nothing, leave overnight. If you set the trap properly and covered the hole properly you'll have a dead gopher in no time.

 

[remm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhBjc1_9m4&t=6s

If you want to trap them this is how I would recommend doing it.

Those are the same traps I have. Tried it that way dozens of times, still haven't caught one of the little bastards, if that guy did the same set up in my food plot, he'd come back later and the hole would be completely filled in and the untriggered trap buried in dirt. I've tried covering the hole better as to not let light in and that don't seem to work either. Maybe I need to make sure zero light gets in??
F@#% the gophers!

 

[scrotcaster]

Iam looking forward to the challenge of nabbing this vermin !, I got death clutch trap over lunch hour today and will set tonight ,, Will post update when/if I have nap the sucker ! Thanks for the info guys

 

[Big Iron]

My German Short-hair kills everything in our yard. Mice, Gophers, Snakes... Get a GSP

Ohh- and she kills skunks too

 

[Up Y'oars]

As said before, get them early or deal with them extensively. More than likely they are procreating in the meantime and you'll end up with multitudes. I try to get them early by cleaning out the hole and smoke bomb them to asphyxiate them before (do so when the dirt is moist so the gas remains below and doesn't permeate the grass line) they have tons of tunnels and escape routes. I think I got one bastage just this week with a single smoke stick.

You can learn to understand their digging techniques and where their entrance hole is without making too much of a fuss/dig. I use a garden tool to scrape away. Poison food works, too. I utilize an electric fence rod to prod where I think the tunnel is coming from another mound. I can easily feel the tunnel when going down just a couple inches. I then widen the hole the rod opens and drop in some poison food, then pinch the opening up with some of the dirt mound. He/she will come back sooner or later to munch.

Yes, they are a varmint that can piss a land owner off!

 

[bigcatpike]

Those are the same traps I have. Tried it that way dozens of times, still haven't caught one of the little bastards, if that guy did the same set up in my food plot, he'd come back later and the hole would be completely filled in and the untriggered trap buried in dirt. I've tried covering the hole better as to not let light in and that don't seem to work either. Maybe I need to make sure zero light gets in??
F@#% the gophers!

Plugged holes only happen if there are two tunnels but you only find one and only set one trap. Then the gopher will come into the hole via the other tunnel and will plug the hole. Sometimes you only see the opening to one tunnel, but dig a little further back and you will find two tunnels. Then set one trap in each tunnel. There you go. Plugged holes become a rare occurrence. Been doing this since I was 5 years old.

 

[stalker]

These would be my go to gopher trap. I don't think you can miss if done correctly. We used both leg hold and death clutch traps, but my catch rates were much higher with leg hold traps. The disadvantage of the leg hold traps is that it takes a lot more excavating. I mainly used the death clutch traps in fresh holes that were still open. So, no digging. Just set the trap and stake in the opening of the tunnel.

Find a tunnel near a fresh mound with a poker. Excavate a hole in the tunnel. You want to make sure the top of the trap is flush or below the bottom of the tunnel. I don't think you could dig it too deep. If they fall into the trap it's just fine. After placing the trap, cover the top of the hole. I used old license plates. Make sure no light shines through. Gets them almost every time.

I don't get to trap very many now days, but I did get a couple this spring in my Mom's yard. Encroachment into the yard is not allowed and violators are terminated with extreme prejudice. I actually caught one with a leg hold and one with the death clutch. No more encroachment into the yard all summer.

 

[bigcatpike]

These would be my go to gopher trap. I don't think you can miss if done correctly. We used both leg hold and death clutch traps, but my catch rates were much higher with leg hold traps. The disadvantage of the leg hold traps is that it takes a lot more excavating. I mainly used the death clutch traps in fresh holes that were still open. So, no digging. Just set the trap and stake in the opening of the tunnel.

Find a tunnel near a fresh mound with a poker. Excavate a hole in the tunnel. You want to make sure the top of the trap is flush or below the bottom of the tunnel. I don't think you could dig it too deep. If they fall into the trap it's just fine. After placing the trap, cover the top of the hole. I used old license plates. Make sure no light shines through. Gets them almost every time.

I don't get to trap very many now days, but I did get a couple this spring in my Mom's yard. Encroachment into the yard is not allowed and violators are terminated with extreme prejudice. I actually caught one with a leg hold and one with the death clutch. No more encroachment into the yard all summer.

Problem with leg hold traps is that if you don't have time to check your traps fairly often you will have gophers getting their leg caught in the trap and they will chew it off leaving you only with their leg.

 

[LBrandt]

Remm if I ever get a chance to fish on Devils Lake I will bring my traps and take care of your gopher problem.

 

[scrotcaster]

Well the trap was set last night and now awaiting results !, Took me a while to find his run but was surprised by the size of it when i did, Iam suspect iam dealing with a trophy caliber sized pocket gopher ( and no this is not my last colonoscopy picture)

 

[LBrandt]

My guess that it will be a large male and not a gerbil.