You really should check them several times a day. Every now and then
that also happens to me. Sometimes I put traps in the two tunnels only
to figure out they had maybe three and came in through the third. Just
have to keep trying. I had one just friday that I had been trying to
trap for two days. Tunnels were really small so I figured he must be a
little one. I finally figured out the highest point of his system and
put a garden hose in and flooded. Luckily after about 15 minutes he
had to come out and a shovel did the trick. This won't always work.

You have to be persistant. New gophers will come in and take over
tunnel systems of the dead ones. I have always placed the dead ones
back in the tunnel and that seems to discourage them for a while.

Try the Drano if all else fails. Just be extra careful if you have
pets.

Bruce

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 05:57:24 +0100, rfcdvc45
wrote:


Bruce Yates Wrote:
Over the last 15 years I have dealt with hundreds of gophers on my
half acre lot. There are only two surefire ways to get rid of them.

The first is gopher traps. You must use two traps. About $5 in any
feed or farm store.


I have a big problem with gophers all over my 2.5 acre lot. Most of
this acreage is wild. I have not obsessed about them until lately, as
they have been slowly advancing toward a landscaped turf area around my
home. The mounds are now only a few feet way from the turf. I bought
traps recently and tried to follow the instructions in placing them.
However, the tunnels don't seem to be wide enough to fit the traps
inside. I tried hollowing out enough so that I could force them in,
but the narrow tunnel size makes this a very tight squeeze. Anyway, I
covered the excavation with a board and waited. After a few days in
the ground I uncovered them to find the entire area I had excavated
buried in dirt that the varmits had pushed up into it, and the traps
were unsprung. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.[/color]

You really should check them several times a day. Every now and then
that also happens to me. Sometimes I put traps in the two tunnels only
to figure out they had maybe three and came in through the third. Just
have to keep trying. I had one just friday that I had been trying to
trap for two days. Tunnels were really small so I figured he must be a
little one. I finally figured out the highest point of his system and
put a garden hose in and flooded. Luckily after about 15 minutes he
had to come out and a shovel did the trick. This won't always work.

You have to be persistant. New gophers will come in and take over
tunnel systems of the dead ones. I have always placed the dead ones
back in the tunnel and that seems to discourage them for a while.

Try the Drano if all else fails. Just be extra careful if you have
pets.

Bruce

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 05:57:24 +0100, rfcdvc45
wrote:


Bruce Yates Wrote:
Over the last 15 years I have dealt with hundreds of gophers on my
half acre lot. There are only two surefire ways to get rid of them.

The first is gopher traps. You must use two traps. About $5 in any
feed or farm store.


I have a big problem with gophers all over my 2.5 acre lot. Most of
this acreage is wild. I have not obsessed about them until lately, as
they have been slowly advancing toward a landscaped turf area around my
home. The mounds are now only a few feet way from the turf. I bought
traps recently and tried to follow the instructions in placing them.
However, the tunnels don't seem to be wide enough to fit the traps
inside. I tried hollowing out enough so that I could force them in,
but the narrow tunnel size makes this a very tight squeeze. Anyway, I
covered the excavation with a board and waited. After a few days in
the ground I uncovered them to find the entire area I had excavated
buried in dirt that the varmits had pushed up into it, and the traps
were unsprung. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.[/color]