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Joined: Apr 2010
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Fingerling
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OP
Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Anyone know a viable method of doing in gophers? I've tried the poison and they seem to enjoy it. The traps look like a PITA.
Any ideas short of Caddyshack approaches would be welcome.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Any ideas short of Caddyshack approaches would be welcome. Well that ruins my first nine suggestions.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
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Those gopher traps that you slide down their hole work very well. The trick is to tie a string onto them, slide them down the hole, then cover the hole really well with a board. They come up the hole thinking they have to uncover the entrance and they walk right into the trap. If the opening is left uncovered, they see the trap and try to push it out of the hole, resulting in more misses. This is the type that I've used. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q...ed=0CHEQ8gIwAA#
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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OP
Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Any ideas short of Caddyshack approaches would be welcome. Well that ruins my first nine suggestions. Jeff, It's not that I don't like those ideas, but I'm already being watched by black helicopters. Sniper
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,488 Likes: 2
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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Ditto on esshup's comments; except that I leave the main or lateral tunnel exposed (uncovered) after setting the traps. Gophers always plug their tunnel-shafts to the surface - presumably to deny a snake's appetite for gopher. So, if a gopher senses fresh air or light, he’ll immediately head to the source and get it plugged. IMO, Woodstream makes the best version of this trap-design (the narrow jaw-spread makes for easier tunnel-insertion). ( SETTING INSTRUCTIONS) I trapped gophers in our coastal bermuda hay-pastures back in the early 70s. Mr. Gopher would sometimes shovel dirt toward the tunnel-opening, tripping the trap before being caught. I remedied that problem by removing all loose dirt from the tunnel, then pushing the trap into the hole as far as possible and then pressing downward on the trap’s frame to secure its position. A smallish hand really helped with that part. I also used chain and a rigid-wire stake to secure the trap, since a trapped gopher would sometimes barricade himself within the tunnel with dirt. When that happened, a trap-chain facilitated the extraction process - and also the occasional "termination" deed, if necessary. Locating the burrow is the most challenging part of the task. Before digging, I use a probe to locate the main burrow - which radiates in two directions from the mound. Once located, I dig until the main tunnel is exposed in both directions. Gophers regularly travel their tunnels, and could be in either direction from the mound. So, a trap must be set in both tunnel-directions (as shown above). These two traps are the lone survivors of 20+ gopher traps that I "ran" way back in the early 70s. I keep them stored in my truck's toolbox, and have occasionally received free meals from restaurants and free rooms from motels after trapping these pesky lawn-rodents while visiting such businesses. Usually take less than 30 minutues. Guess that makes me an "opportunist". Still, it's cheaper than calling an exterminator.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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I thought I had seen a lot of traps, but those are news to me... Course', gophers be pretty scarce in these parts....
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I had 'em when I was out in So. Cal. but there are none around this place. But, Mom & Dad, just 7 miles to the East of me have them.....
Kelly, you should save those traps and buy new ones. Those are rapidly approaching antique status!
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Kelly, you should save those traps and buy new ones. Those are rapidly approaching antique status! Exactly what are you inferring? These were MY traps as a pre-teen; not my grandpa's!
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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I thought I had seen a lot of traps, but those are news to me I decided to look for my collection of old traps, and finally found them stashed away in a corner of the garage. I was hoping to find some of my missing gopher traps - since they're now antiques. I'd bet you've never before seen these types of traps. I'm not sure of the company that produced them. Let me know if you're familiar with them.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Kelly, don't feel bad, I have trapping supplies that are as old as yours. I still have my Hickory Packbasket. Hawbakers was my mail order supplier of choice back then. You might want to save those traps in the pictures. I think I remember seeing something like that in a F-F-G issue a while back. IIRC, I see the box has 110's, maybe a 220 or 330, Victor longspring 1 1/2's or 2's, and some coil springs, maybe for fox - 1 1/2 or 2's? I've got at least one #1 Onida stoploss longspring in the barn, Onida jump traps, and a bunch of coil springs that aren't legal for dry land use now. I'm taking a SWAG here, but the first trap was for either mink or weasel, and the 2nd one for muskrats? The first one was positioned so the animal went thru the loop first and the jaws caught them right behind the head? The second acted like a Conibear. Close or way off the mark?
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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Like esshup, I've used many of the types you have in the basket, but I've never had any experience with the other 2 you show. They look like drowning sets for sure.
They are however, very cool!
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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I'm taking a SWAG here, but the first trap was for either mink or weasel, and the 2nd one for muskrats? The first one was positioned so the animal went thru the loop first and the jaws caught them right behind the head? The second acted like a Conibear. Close or way off the mark? No mink or weasels in TX, to my knowledge. Both of the strange traps worked like Conibears, in principle. I used them only for thinning the skunk-herd.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Mink in Texas? Yep http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/muvi/all.html Weasel in Texas? Yep http://icwdm.org/handbook/carnivor/ca_c119.pdf I once caught a Least Weasel in a #1 longspring that had a mouse in it's mouth. It died so fast that it didn't even drop the mouse. Kelly, if you gently clean off the rust on those skunky traps, is there any writing?
Last edited by esshup; 12/02/11 11:50 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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Mink in Texas? Yep Weasel in Texas? Yep I've never seen, nor heard of any reported sightings of mink or weasels in Texas - EXCEPT when Fall temperatures drop below the mid-60s. That's when less-than-lively specimens of both species are frequently observed inhabiting the shoulders of many older/well-healed female church-goers every Sunday morning. Maybe the lack of mink and weasels is why Texas has so many gophers? (How's that for an attempt to redirect a hijacked thread?)
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Fingerling
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OP
Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
I'll try the non-rusty traps. Also saw some gizmo engine that directs its carbon monoxide back down the hole thru a hose. Not PETA approved, though.
The gophers are really a PITA. Not only are the mounds unsightly, but then the coyotes dig these nice big holes pursuing them.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Maybe it was coyotes that ate all of our mink and weasels! Oh, nevermind........
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,676 Likes: 888
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Badgers do a good job of digging them out too.
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Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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Must have been fire ants Kelly. They are now blamed for everything but drought.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jul 2011
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Joined: Jul 2011
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I blame them for the drought, George Bush can't take the blame for everything!
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 62 |
Last edited by frigginchi; 12/05/11 05:24 PM.
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
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Hall of Fame 2015 Lunker
Joined: Dec 2009
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That sure looks like fun Chi! I would like to see the video of someone who tried it with Acetylene or Hydrogen, instead of Propane. Someone may have! As far as I know, we do not have Gophers in MI, cept' for some misplaced sports teams. BTW: you can blame it on Cecil, he has one named after him. Baird's Pocket Gopher
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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OP
Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. American technology meets male testosterone. A little pricey, but might be worth the big stupid grin on your face when using. Yee-haw.
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 62
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 62 |
I've done it with MAPP gas. LOL. Scared the crap out of me.
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Joined: May 2011
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Joined: May 2011
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I have seen the Rodenator at local farm shows and it is very effective. Every one in a while on the video, you see a gopher go flying. But they are hard to control.
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