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Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

I killed 6 in the 2006 growing season, 4 in the 2007 growing season and now two more in the last three weeks!

At least I can say I have a very good system in that they tell me when they have arrived and are happy to be trapped that night! I have a certain tunnel that I catch them in, once caught, I leave the tunnel "open" to the elements and watch it. Once it gets plugged, I open it up, set the Victor Black Hole and by 10pm or the next morning..voila! Empty the gopher out for the hawks to eat, clean up and repeat.

So I have been doing quite a bit of research and see that they are "solitary" and fight to the death when they find eachother (except during mating season). However I keep getting them over and over. I don't back to a large field but I do back to a creek area. I keep trapping hoping that at somepoint I will have eliminated all parents and children such that there are no more to reproduce! They took an entire plant down the hole in 2006 and that was devastating so I am very eager to eliminate them.

I have read that there can be several per acre, but do you think I have any chance at driving them to extinction in my area?

12/13/2007 10:09:25 PM

Greensburg Pa

I had a problem with ground hogs, they would dig under the
fence would moved bricks piled in the spot where they dug. Last year I enclosed the whole garden with fencing. I put 4x4x8 and 4x4x10 down with 2 foot pieces of rebar pounded into the ground every 3-4 feet. The area where they dug I put 14 gutter spies 14 inhes long into the ground till 3 inches was left sticking out. Since then I have had no further problems. Hope this helps.

12/16/2007 2:20:28 AM

NILES , CALIF

Hi,Petman
I have the same problem; gophers and moles all over the place;You catch one you get all excited,then another appears.It reminds me of the movie CADDYSHACK. around here!let us know if you figure away to get um all before pumpkin season starts.

12/16/2007 7:20:29 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Well we set up resorts for these animals. Give them large canopies of pumpkin leaves, food to feed an entire family, and dirt that is finer than all the dirt in the surrounding area. Having had this issue before..barn cats, traps, and a rodenator will control the issue.

12/16/2007 8:41:08 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I did not know what a Rodenator was and looked it up. Thanks for mentioning it Shannon...this is great!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2umEFHeo6mw

12/16/2007 1:09:58 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

OMG...I can't believe this Rodenator is for real but it looks like it is! LOL

http://www.rodenator.com/

How the guy got business insurance is beyond me. Price is going up to $1990 the first of the year. It'll be $5000 as soon as someone blows their foot off so I would recommend buying one SOON!

12/16/2007 5:00:29 PM

President - GPC

57 Squirrels got new homes this year.....1 turned into compost.....I noticed two more this weekend while the trap is on vacation. I dont think it will ever end.....Where do they all come from?

12/19/2007 8:51:20 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Starting the count over in 2008, make it two gophers and two moles. After trapping, my are placed on top of an old 200 pound pumpkin I have by my creek. Within an hour or so, something gets a free lunch!

1/14/2008 7:31:22 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Another gopher. 3 and 2 so far. This one took less than an hour.

1/26/2008 7:56:31 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

And another gopher....4 and 2. This one took 24 hours.

2/12/2008 1:04:54 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Add another gopher to the tally. Baby this time.
5 and 2. Hopefully getting them early before they breed.

3/23/2008 6:05:14 PM

Johnston, R.I.

I have been fighting with them for about 10 years, I have cime to the conclusion that there is an endless supply. Good luck.......

3/23/2008 7:48:41 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Your research indicates that they are loners except for mating season.....so someone is always looking for a new clear home...which you provide by eliminating the prior inhabitant...then a great food supply with no tenants...looks like a great place to live...electric fence worked on my ground hogs but I believe your gophers are even tougher....good luck!....bubble gum kills ground hogs try it on your gophers...

3/27/2008 4:24:49 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Add yet another gopher. Another baby that was small enough it almost slipped through.
6 and 2 now.

4/7/2008 11:28:43 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Oh almost forgot, caught a roof rat of all things in the gopher trap last week. I use the black box traps for which the openings are entirely buried. Rat must have entered somewhere else and come out at my yard. I try to leave the gopher holes open so that I can tell when a gopher is back because the first thing they do is plug all holes. The rat must have found one of those holes.

4/7/2008 11:30:52 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Another mole today. 6 and 3.

4/27/2008 11:27:15 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Another mole

6 and 4

6/1/2008 11:55:29 PM