Southern Pocket Gophers, are the nemesis of golf course superintendents, athletic field managers, and home lawn enthusiasts throughout the South.
Tunneling is what they like to do, and, what they do best. They can drive you to insanity with the tunnels and the tell tale mounds cropping up in the most unexpected and inconvenient places on your property.
They do provide a certain recreational aspect to life in the South, it involves a six pack of cold beer, a folding lawn chair placed downwind from a fresh mound, and a shotgun! Recreational value aside, they can be pretty destructive to lawns.
There are several methods of dealing with them, ranging from a propane gadget, that fills the tunnels with gas, ignites the gas, and blows the toothy little vermin to "kingdom come," various types of strychnine laced grain, and of course, the beer and shotgun method.
There is another way. The least expensive, and least hazardous route is by using gopher traps created for the job. Let me warn you from the outset, that this is not a job for the squeamish!
You will need:
1. Thick leather gloves.
2. A probe, this can be the type of long thin rod with a handle used by plumbers, or a piece of any other thin, but sturdy rod to pierce the ground.
3. A shovel.
4. Some gopher traps, at least two.
5. Some wire or very light light chain, about two feet or so for each trap.
6. A flag for each trap. This can be the wire type flags like the phone company uses to mark cable, or a long bridge spike or a stake with surveyors ribbon tied around the top so you can find it easily.
The stake or flag should be attached to the wire or chain, and the other end attached to the trap in a way that will not interfere with it's operation. You need the stake and the wire or chain, to keep any trapped gophers from stealing your traps.
You will need to probe about two feet away from the mound. all the way around the mound until you feel the probe hit a void. You will know you have hit a void, by the sudden lack of resistance.
The tunnel you need is the same one exposed above ground, but will not take a straight path. It will take a more circuitous route, because the gophers want to make it difficult for any predators. You are now the predator!
When you find the void, dig around until you find one tunnel entering the hole and one exiting it. You will need to put a trap in both ends of the tunnel, because you have no way of knowing whether the gopher is entering, or exiting.
Set the traps, according to the manufacturers instructions, and carefully place the trap inside the tunnel with the "flap" at the hole end of the tunnel, and part way inside the tunnel, it should not be forced. Traps should be placed in both tunnel openings, and the stakes set in solid ground outside the hole.
If the trap part has you puzzled, it will all be clear when you see the device. The traps themselves can cause some minor injury if you are not careful. Do yourself a favor, wear the gloves!
The waiting is the hardest part! If you have a lot of territory to cover, buy several pairs of traps, and set them all, maybe you will trap one in the first one by the time you set the last one.
Then, you check the traps, and you find you have caught one! Did I mention that you should wear thick gloves? Well you should! Carefully remove the trap, avoid getting any of your fingers or any other appendage near the gophers mouth! They have extremely sharp teeth and chew through tough roots for a living, don't let it chew into you.
Well, I said that the waiting is the hardest part, but that is really not true. The hardest part, is figuring out how to deal with the gopher once he is trapped. This is, as I said, not an activity for the squeamish, and if you are faint hearted, you might want to leave the trapping to someone else. Dispose of them in the most humane way possible. I have never found a pleasant way to accomplish this. If you find a way, let me know!
Be sure to remove all traps if any children or pets will be playing in the vicinity, and of course you will want to cover the holes when you are done.
If all this trapping business is a little to much for you, there is always the shotgun and folding chair. Keep the beer cold, it may take a while!
James Burns is the owner of Bugs and Weeds, the pest prevention service of Burns Environmental, a vegetation management company in the "Piney woods" of East Texas, working to preserve biodiversity and infrastructure.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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