How to Trap Garden Gophers

Gophers are territorial rodents that bulldoze their way around your property, eating nearly every kind of plant. Trapping is considered the most effective form of eradication.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Chicken Wire
• 2 Gopher Traps
• Shovels
• Vegetables
• Metal Poles
• Boards
• Vegetables
• Shovels

1. Purchase two gopher traps at a local gardening supply store.

2. Set up the traps according to the directions that come with them.

3. Use a metal pole to find the gopher's main tunnel. Unused runs will be full of debris and not easy to penetrate.

4. Use a shovel to excavate dirt until you find the main tunnel and open it.

5. Place two traps in the main tunnel; the traps should be placed into the exposed tunnel and faced away from each other so that the gopher will be trapped no matter which way it is moving in the tunnel.

6. Bait each trap with vegetables or dry cat food if you wish.

7. Wedge the traps into the tunnel tightly. Cover the excavation with a board and fill in the ends with soil.

8. Check and reset the traps as necessary, moving them to another spot if you haven't caught the gopher within a few days.

9. Remove the dead gopher from the trap and dispose of it; wrap it tightly in paper and plastic before putting it into the garbage.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep human scent off traps by wearing gloves when you set them up.
• Using fumigants or flooding the holes with water usually brings only limited success.
• If you prefer not to kill gophers, try various frightening devices and wire baskets around roots. Cats and dogs can also discourage gophers.
• Poison pellets and other toxins aren't recommended, since they can be pushed to the surface by the gopher and eaten by birds and pets. Or a pet might eat a poisoned gopher, with lethal results.

[trapgopher]

on 10/25/2009 Good information. http://www.trapgopher.com/

[lisa411]

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[GopherKing]

on 11/10/2008 Use Cinch traps for best results for Moles and Gophers (they come in two sizes). The trick is finding a fresh pile of dirt, opening the hole back up (find a tool that works well for this, I made one) and properly inserting the trap. Use gloves and do not cover the trp up, leave the hole open. The open hole will create a draft and prompt the gopher to come back and close the hole up. That simple. I have killed 300-400 gophers and probably 40-50 moles in the past 3-5 years on my 1 acre property. Also mark each trap location with a wire and plastic landscaping flag as occasionally the traps get totally covered by dirt and it is hard to find them or an animal may dig up the trap that has a dead gopher and drag it away. These traps can be found at a local nursery, farm supply, or on line and they come with directions. Good luck!!

on 11/22/2005 It does work. Within about 10 minutes. My first shot the wily gopher must have pushed enough dirt ahead not to set the trap. My next attempt I dug the dirt out again, sprayed with WD-40, and stuck it in the hole a little further. Bam!! All in about 20 minutes. I think it helped that I found a hole under a planter. When I moved the planter he didn't like the light coming in. He tried to cover it up 3 times. The third time is a charm. I also used the spring loaded trap. No blood, easy release, and easy reset.

on 11/22/2005 Place a couple of sticks of Juicy Fruit gum in the holes. the gopher will not be able to digest it and will eventually die ... though it may take a couple of weeks.