Pocket Gopher Control

HankStains · Oct 25, 2021

Have a mole problem here and get them everytime with one of these.....

Amazon.co.uk

Pks · Oct 25, 2021

LindenBruce said:
Hello All,

Ok, I am hell bent on getting this gopher. I have tried flooding it out three times. I tried a 15min. road flare. Nothing. It is still there tearing up a section of my hill. I can't use baits or poison because of my pets. I can't seem to find the gopher gassers locally. Stores are telling me they have not been able to get those in months. I'm going to try a trap next. But I am pulling my hair out over this one. It is being very sly. Any ideas? Would the exhaust from my gas riding mower work? How about from my newer diesel tractor? Thanks, B.

I pour my cat's used cat litter into their hole. I've had good success with that.

fishdrivel · Oct 25, 2021

tomplum said:
By me it's moles. Some people can just think like mole and get them every time. I used these GopherHawks for the moles and they were pretty effective at first. I can't think of the name, but there is a pellet that is used for model cannons. It puts off a poison gas to fill the den. Of course, one can be crazy enough to light it....

Moles are easy to get rid of. Just spray your yard for grubs. That is what they eat. No food, bye bye.
Ofetn people confuse moles an voles. Voles are herbivores. They eat the roots off your plants and grass.
Best way to get rid of voles is to use poison peanuts - not available in some states.
In North Carolina, moles and voles are "endangered species" Damn straight!!!!!

hla · Oct 25, 2021

LindenBruce said:
Hello All,

Ok, I am hell bent on getting this gopher. I have tried flooding it out three times. I tried a 15min. road flare. Nothing. It is still there tearing up a section of my hill. I can't use baits or poison because of my pets. I can't seem to find the gopher gassers locally. Stores are telling me they have not been able to get those in months. I'm going to try a trap next. But I am pulling my hair out over this one. It is being very sly. Any ideas? Would the exhaust from my gas riding mower work? How about from my newer diesel tractor? Thanks, B.

If this is a pocket gopher and you are opening its run what ever type of trap you use must not have any light on it or the gopher will cover it with dirt. I used to use a spring loaded rat trap (giant mouse snap trap) in the Ron then place a board over the top of the hole and covered it with dirt so no light could get in around the edges. Then I found a trap that had been designed just for pocket gophers. It is a cylinder about 3” in diameter and 6” long. One end is wide open and the opposite end has a hole in it about the size of a quarter. Inside the trap is a spring loaded cable that retracts when tripped. The trap is inserted into the opening big hole down and dirt is pushed in around it. The gopher sees the light coming in the little hole and because of their poor eye sight thinks it is far away and runs into the trap to close up the hole and then you have a dead gopher. I am assuming you are in the USA, however, if in Canada they are available at Peavy Mart or on line at Peavymart.com. If in the States the attached picture may help to locate them.

hoytp · Oct 25, 2021

LindenBruce said:
Hello All,

Ok, I am hell bent on getting this gopher. I have tried flooding it out three times. I tried a 15min. road flare. Nothing. It is still there tearing up a section of my hill. I can't use baits or poison because of my pets. I can't seem to find the gopher gassers locally. Stores are telling me they have not been able to get those in months. I'm going to try a trap next. But I am pulling my hair out over this one. It is being very sly. Any ideas? Would the exhaust from my gas riding mower work? How about from my newer diesel tractor? Thanks, B.

She was there before you were. They were there before you were because they are good for the land.

Like2read! · Oct 25, 2021

LindenBruce said:
Hello All,

Ok, I am hell bent on getting this gopher. I have tried flooding it out three times. I tried a 15min. road flare. Nothing. It is still there tearing up a section of my hill. I can't use baits or poison because of my pets. I can't seem to find the gopher gassers locally. Stores are telling me they have not been able to get those in months. I'm going to try a trap next. But I am pulling my hair out over this one. It is being very sly. Any ideas? Would the exhaust from my gas riding mower work? How about from my newer diesel tractor? Thanks, B.

I have excellent luck with castor oil. It will not kill them but they sure scatter out of yard. Mix 2 ounces castor oil, 1 oz fragrance free soap (laundry or dish), blend in blender.
Add 3 ounces water, blend.
Use 2 Tabl of mixture to one gallon water. Use sprinkler can and start closest to where you don’t want then (ie the house or such). In a day or two keep chasing them out. I have not had moles or gophers near the house in years. Can use in all seasons. Not toxic to any animal.

DeanP1962 · Oct 25, 2021

My grandpa would find every outlet the gophers had plug them and then use his Ford tractor by choking the engine thereby creating lots of smoke to kill them. The key thing is to find every exit the little critters have and plug them.

Little Red Tractor · Oct 25, 2021

I guess I'm lucky I don't have them. I do, however deal with groundhogs/woodchucks. I use lead poisoning, delivered by way of high-velocity hollow points.

deserteagle71 · Oct 25, 2021

Little Red Tractor said:
I guess I'm lucky I don't have them. I do, however deal with groundhogs/woodchucks. I use lead poisoning, delivered by way of high-velocity hollow points.

That's what I did, growing up in Pennsylvania. My main source of entertainment! Necessary entertainment - I hated having to replace sickle bar knives torn off when the mower encountered one of those huge dirt/rock mounds hidden in the tall hay. Only "high velocity" meant a .22 long rifle hollowpoint. Couldn't afford centerfire ammo.

djohns · Oct 25, 2021

fishdrivel said:
Moles are easy to get rid of. Just spray your yard for grubs. That is what they eat. No food, bye bye.
Ofetn people confuse moles an voles. Voles are herbivores. They eat the roots off your plants and grass.
Best way to get rid of voles is to use poison peanuts - not available in some states.
In North Carolina, moles and voles are "endangered species" Damn straight!!!!!

This is the only post I've seen that addresses the root of the problem. They are there because of the food source. You can kill what is there now but if you dont eliminate the food source more will come.

Mcdust · Oct 25, 2021

Hi, Maybe it was here but I read of a small (mole) rodent solution that I have used and works! Mix equal parts corn meal and Plain cement, dump down hole being careful not to leave any on the surface for your pets to get into, cover the hole(s) with loam and voila! Part of my lawn was like caddy shack, actually dangerous to try to mow with my walk behind. I gave it the treatment, smoothed out the holes and its been fine all summer. If the critter gets out and dies it will only have a hard lump in it, no poison for birds or pets.

Petman · Oct 25, 2021

I like the black box by Victor. If you dont have the gopher by morning, something is wrong.

DutchUncle · Oct 25, 2021

Some animals are called different things around the country. I assume you are talking about what here in Michigan a Mole. Here's my technique for Moles, the little suckers that that burrow a tunnel just under the grass. They have primary tunnels that they like to keep open, if you stomp them down, they will quickly try to reopen them. So I find the primary tunnel and then sit back with a 12 gauge and wait. Before too long you'll see the grass start to move as they try to repair the collapsed tunnel. You need to be very quiet as you work your way to the movement. You'll see the grass moving up and down. Right when it moves up, blast it from about a foot away, then grab a shovel, and you'll find a dead mole, usually blown in half.

Petman · Oct 25, 2021

Moles and gophers are different. Black box wont work for moles. In-tunnel cinch traps are best for moles IMO.

xunit13 · Oct 25, 2021

buy a .17 caliber rifle. Either ,17HMR or a .17 Winchester super mag. Hide 50 yards away and choot em up.

jerrybob · Oct 25, 2021

Have killed hundreds of moles with a scissor trap. The trick....dig down deep enough to find their tunnel......make a mound between the tunnel openings.....place the trap carefully over the mound.....throw some light dirt on top.....check the trap next day.....dead mole.....have beer!

redobbin · Oct 25, 2021

Dachshunds - natural mole, vole, gopher hunters. I had one that taught my black lab and my brown nose pit bull to hunt them. Funniest trio you ever would see as they come sauntering up with dirt running up the bridge of their noses.
I would go check their “trails” and tell them how good of a job they did.

tomplum · Oct 25, 2021

redobbin said:
Dachshunds - natural mole, vole, gopher hunters. I had one that taught my black lab and my brown nose pit bull to hunt them. Funniest trio you ever would see as they come sauntering up with dirt running up the bridge of their noses.
I would go check their “trails” and tell them how good of a job they did.

Yep. We had the sweetest Dachshund girl. She'd dig at the mole mound and just lay there patient as could be. 20 - 30 minutes later, the thing would pop its head out, she'd snap its neck, whip the mole over her shoulder and finish her nap.

RaydaKub · Oct 25, 2021

Just last Thursday I mowed our valley for thistles and junk. I couldn't believe how many pocket gopher mounds there were, nor how big. Usually when I see them in in a road ditch they might be 5-7 inches tall and 16-18 inches across. This time they were insane. I hit one that was 16 inches tall and 3 feet wide by 5 feet long. My entire BX sat on top of this one mound. And there were several dozen mounds. My front axle would hit one and flex up on one side enough that the downhill wheel lifted completely off the ground. My feet would follow the flex of the front wheels while my butt would stay in line with the back wheels. I can't imagine how many traps and baits I would need to set to clear out all the gopher condos on this one acre.