May 14, 2011 – Gopher It
QUESTION:
How to detect and trap a gopher?
ANSWER:
Detecting the gopher is usually pretty simple, meaning the gopher is going to make its presence known by creating those unsightly piles of dirt. The clue that it is a gopher is that the fresh dirt pile is sort of "U" shaped, and on the inner side of that semi-circle there often is a smaller pile, looking a little more moist than the rest of the dirt, that is the "plug" the gopher pushed into place to close the hole it shoved all that dirt out through. A single gopher may occupy a range of up to an acre of ground, with meandering tunnels in various directions. Even though these are fiercely solitary animals there also could be multiple gophers in one area, but whose tunnels do not join with those of other gophers. To determine where the tunnels themselves are you start with that mound of dirt, locate the plug, and then go on a line from the plug. Use a steel rod (an old ski pole is good) to poke down into the soil here and there until you feel the rod break into some cavity.
Once you locate the tunnel you can place your bait or traps in the tunnel a few feet away from the dirt mound you started from. The gopher may continue to push dirt out that hole or it may create new ones periodically. Somewhere down in all of this, usually much deeper than these surface runways, will be the gopher's living chamber, but finding it is not necessary. You can place traps or bait in the shallow runways or in "pop holes" you may find that actually are open above. Traps are either "strangle" style or "impale" style and either will work, but trapping is time consuming and you need to ensure your customer understands that a high cost may be involved.
Begin by digging to expose the surface runway, and then place traps either down along your hole or in the runway itself, and if in the runway place traps on either side of the hole you dug. The traps need to be tied securely to a stake on the surface. Most often the hole is then filled carefully with soil to prevent spooking the gopher and to allow it to continue to move through the runway. Gophers do not like light, and may be suspicious if they suddenly see their runway exposed. Some people also prefer to leave the hole open to encourage the gopher to go there and try to close it with soil, perhaps then getting into the trap. Make sure your customer understands that trapping a gopher does not prevent new ones from moving in, and this could be an ongoing problem. But, trapping is a sure way of knowing you eliminated the gopher at that time.
Recognize too that traps may seem pretty gruesome to some people, so discretion is called for, and checking the traps frequently to remove dead gophers or reset traps that were sprung by the gopher is necessary.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
How to detect and trap a gopher?
ANSWER:
Detecting the gopher is usually pretty simple, meaning the gopher is going to make its presence known by creating those unsightly piles of dirt. The clue that it is a gopher is that the fresh dirt pile is sort of "U" shaped, and on the inner side of that semi-circle there often is a smaller pile, looking a little more moist than the rest of the dirt, that is the "plug" the gopher pushed into place to close the hole it shoved all that dirt out through. A single gopher may occupy a range of up to an acre of ground, with meandering tunnels in various directions. Even though these are fiercely solitary animals there also could be multiple gophers in one area, but whose tunnels do not join with those of other gophers. To determine where the tunnels themselves are you start with that mound of dirt, locate the plug, and then go on a line from the plug. Use a steel rod (an old ski pole is good) to poke down into the soil here and there until you feel the rod break into some cavity.
Once you locate the tunnel you can place your bait or traps in the tunnel a few feet away from the dirt mound you started from. The gopher may continue to push dirt out that hole or it may create new ones periodically. Somewhere down in all of this, usually much deeper than these surface runways, will be the gopher's living chamber, but finding it is not necessary. You can place traps or bait in the shallow runways or in "pop holes" you may find that actually are open above. Traps are either "strangle" style or "impale" style and either will work, but trapping is time consuming and you need to ensure your customer understands that a high cost may be involved.
Begin by digging to expose the surface runway, and then place traps either down along your hole or in the runway itself, and if in the runway place traps on either side of the hole you dug. The traps need to be tied securely to a stake on the surface. Most often the hole is then filled carefully with soil to prevent spooking the gopher and to allow it to continue to move through the runway. Gophers do not like light, and may be suspicious if they suddenly see their runway exposed. Some people also prefer to leave the hole open to encourage the gopher to go there and try to close it with soil, perhaps then getting into the trap. Make sure your customer understands that trapping a gopher does not prevent new ones from moving in, and this could be an ongoing problem. But, trapping is a sure way of knowing you eliminated the gopher at that time.
Recognize too that traps may seem pretty gruesome to some people, so discretion is called for, and checking the traps frequently to remove dead gophers or reset traps that were sprung by the gopher is necessary.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
