On 11/29/2013 6:41 PM, Danny D'Amico wrote:
Up until now I've been trying to pee down his

hole with chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid,

pool bleach, industrial ammonia, etc.

But, this guy (or family?) is already turning

my freshly wood-chipped "lawn" into dirt piles!

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Looks like I'm going to have to get tougher

than just using annoying chemicals!




Learn to trap them. It's simple. Get a Macabee trap,
and no other brand.
..
The secrets are few. Put a small chain or cord
on the trap so the gopher can't drag it down
into the tunnel.

One, always dig into the freshest, darkest
dirt pile you see. Get one of those metal Army
surplus type spoons. Dig down until you find the
tunnel, looking for the soft dirt and probing with the
small end of the spoon, and here's secret 2.
Open the tunnel up
side to side so the grabbers on the trap don't
hit the sides of the walls. You just have to widen the
spot where your trap will go, not the whole thing.
Go about 8" to 12" deep if you can.
Cock the trap. Use your forefinger to push forward on
the little trip flap to keep it from triggering as
you slide it down into the tunnel. After placement,
put the spoon in the tunnel to block
the dirt you will push in there from triggering
the trap. Put an orange cone on it so you can find
it. It takes me 4 to 12 hours to catch one. They are
active at all times, so just check it every 12 hours or so.
If you don't get it, move it to the freshest pile
if he has piled up another, recognizing it by the darkness
of it, as he has used wet dirt from underground.

Short story, I made a www.rodinator.com and had some very
interesting experiences with it, some not so good. I am a
gadget guy, but that scared me, and I dismantled it. Two
guys in Canada burned up several buildings, and caused
$600,000 USD damage with one. It was fun, but was dangerous
around houses, and trapping works MUCH better.

Once you get the hang of it, it is easy to trap them. Do not use
poison, as your dog or neighbor's cat can eat a poisoned
gopher and die.

It is actually very easy. e mail me if you need more info.

Steve