gopher problem....what to do

[Paladin]

alright people i have a new unwanted neighbor that has decided to dig a hole in my front yard. i need your opinions on how to take care of it. keeping it alive would be nice, i can then release it in my neighbors yard....lol no the park actually. but if you know of ways that involve killing it im open to anything

i know they sell traps at home depot but im not sure if they sell harmless traps. killing it is a last resort

 

[MilkmanWes]

When I lived on a farm we had two solutions.

The first was to plant castor bean plants. The roots grow out very large and no gopher will come near it.

Second was a vacum hose connecting a truck tailpipe to their burrow, but while you can do that in the country a couple decades ago, I doubt it would be seen as humaine today.

 

[LPacker79]

Actually, my brother and I used to catch gophers on a regular basis when we were younger. We'd cage them for the summer and get them nice and fat then release them. What we did was locate the entrance to their burrow (and any additional entrances/exits that might exist) and take a large jar of water. Dump the water into the burrow and hold the jar over the hole. The gopher would almost always come out and end up in the jar and we'd quickly put the lid on it thereby entrapping the gopher into the jar. We then put it into the cage.

 

[DracosBana]

Ever watch Caddyshack? Plastic explosives are definately the way to go.

Actually, my grandparents had gophers in Washington, they ended up getting these ultrasonic things that chased them off.

 

[Paladin]

hm this jar thing sounds interesting.....should i be doing this early in the morning or just whenever

 

[eksong]

I agree with LPacker... flooding the burrow is the best way to drive the gophers out of the hole. Just make sure all entrances are accounted for!

 

[OldHag]

I was watching some "amazing machine" show with my husband once. There was this guy in Colorado or Wyoming or somesuch gopher infested place that had a huge truck with a LARGE vaccuum.... He would stick the end of the hose in the hole and SUCK the gophers out!! The gopher would then fly into the inside of the truck hitting a mattress so it wouldnt be harmed. It seemed kind of cruel but darnit it was funny!!
Thats what comes to my mind when I think of catching gophers.

Michelle

 

[Immortal_sin]

well, wish I could tell you, but we're waging our own war against them...they have taken over our place completely. Mark is fond of hanging out on the back porch with the .22...but he has yet to actually SEE one! However, our yard is built on fairly flat ground, and we now have small hills!

 

[LPacker79]

hm this jar thing sounds interesting.....should i be doing this early in the morning or just whenever

Well, as we were kids (under 10 years of age), we'd just do it whenever we felt like it. No particular time of day seemed to be better than any other.

 

[Paladin]

i dunnp what ups up but we stuck a hose in of its many and no cigar....this thing is evil. we couldnt find the other holes becuase its just covered up by so much dirt....

 

[avmaviator]

I was watching some "amazing machine" show with my husband once. There was this guy in Colorado or Wyoming or somesuch gopher infested place that had a huge truck with a LARGE vaccuum.... He would stick the end of the hose in the hole and SUCK the gophers out!! The gopher would then fly into the inside of the truck hitting a mattress so it wouldnt be harmed. It seemed kind of cruel but darnit it was funny!!
Thats what comes to my mind when I think of catching gophers.

Yeah I saw that too! It was so funny to see the gophers fly through the air. Imagine the ride for the gopher! yeeeeeeehhhaaaaaa

Arno

 

[kenniey]

a big black snake would do the trick!

 

[Malkavian]

How bout a gopher snake

No, seriously, if it were me i'd be on the porch w/ a .22 (adjust caliber as necessary for range)

Gassing them might well be illegal these days, as well as being rather inhumane. You could probably head to a large gardening/landscaping shop to ask about live-traps. One made for a rabbit would probably work alright if you use different bait.

Speaking of bait you could also poison it somehow.

 

[Wade]

First you drop in a token, then the gopher pops out and you wack him with a mallet. Do it enough times and you might win a teddy bear or BB gun, but don't loose the tickets.

Wade

 

[Cooper]

Use thin thin wire, put it over the exit in a noose and dump water into the entrance. Might choke em a bit but it worked for me back in alberta.

 

[Paladin]

if it were up to me id just pull out a chair and wait there with my pellet gun but i doubt my neighbors would be comfortable with that....

 

[Atalanta]

First you drop in a token, then the gopher pops out and you wack him with a mallet. Do it enough times and you might win a teddy bear or BB gun, but don't loose the tickets.

Wade

Nice...and I always thought that was only for moles.