A victory of sorts

Nov 29, 2008 8 Replies

I've been warring with gophers. Today, I caught my first one in a trap. There's finess involved in placing the trap, and knowledge of how gophers do their tunnels. And those little traps would surely be nasty to get caught in accidentally. Will try it again on one in the front yard that has a big excavation underway under the creeping mulberry. I think the cooler weather has brought them out more.



They are cute little guys, but boy do they cause damage.



Steve


I have moles from time to time. I've used those mole smokers, and surprisingly they seem to work well. I don't know if it killed them or just drove them off, but the end result was no more moles. And yes, they can do some serious damage, especially when they push up in the middle of a young garden!

I played hell with one awhile ago. I ended up throwing some poison pellets down one of the holes and he disappeared. I tried to drown him at first and my whole yard dropped an inch.

I though of poison pellets, but their burrows were too close to my well. One of them actually broke out in my head pipe housing and filled it with dirt. About that time I start thinking of dynamite....

It was my last resort. I was worried about the dog. We dont have a well.

>

I built a propane/oxygen/stun gun igniter system similar to the Rodenator at

formatting link
Mine was one tenth the cost. You do have to be careful when blasting near pipes, buildings, water pipes, or dry grass.

When I caught that one today, I actually admired the little creature for all the dirt he had moved.

I have two traps set now for another set of big mounds in the front yard. A friend of mine told me about a type of guillotine trap that I will look for next trip to the feed store.

Ah. Life on the farm/ranch...................

Steve

I quit using the xylitol sweetened gum, as last time I put two in the tunnel, he brought them up and spit them on the surface without a tooth mark on them. Good thing the dogs didn't find them, as they are poisonous to dogs.

That is a big consideration to pets, as some farmers/ranchers have different attitudes towards pets than other people.

Steve

Got another one this morning. Boy, was he causing a mess. Guess I'm getting the hang of this after all.

Steve

The best success I have had with getting rid of moles is using the bait and applicator from

formatting link
this helps!

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required