Moles
 

From now until freeze-up, I doubt I'll need to buy dog food.[IMG][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/tl6D2GUl.jpg[/IMG][/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/PCibsWAl.jpg[/IMG]

Those little buggers can sure make a hay field rough in a hurry.

Not to mention the badgers that come to hunt them. This field looked like a bomb-cratered battle ground just a few years ago.

Not moles (lots of people call them that) they're northern pocket gophers. Be warned about coyotes/foxes stealing traps with pocket gophers inside. I secure mine with an 18" piece of very light decorative chain attached to a 10" ardox spike and even then the odd one gets pulled by a coyote.

I have these buggers wreaking havoc in my yard in the city! I tried gassing them, but it didn’t work. Are these above ground traps and if so where does a guy get them?

Have to dig them in a bit. Definite knack to figuring out hope to trap successfully. UFA or any farm supply type store should have them. Wouldn't be surprised if you can get them off Amazon.

Redhorse has them figured out pretty good.

Victor makes a similar tubular pocket gopher trap too. Halford's, Peavey Mart or UFA should carry them. I looked and Amazon has them too.

The trick to pocket gophers is know that the gopher pushes mounds of dirt up at the end of side tunnels to the main tunnel. You have to set the trap in the main tunnel and not the side tunnel used to push dirt out. Remove the dirt mound to find the hole and then you can figure out which way the main tunnel is. The main tunnel will be a next to the pile of pushed up dirt. Dig out part of the main tunnel and place a trap in the main tunnel run and cover the trap set area with a lid of some sort to keep the set dark. You'll catch pretty well every gopher using that main tunnel. As a kid I even used no.0 and no.1 leghold gopher traps set in the main tunnels.

Here's what mine look like sitting in the hole....and you can see this one has been sprung.

https://i.imgur.com/TsS7Vpm.jpg

I use an old golf club shaft with no head as a probe to find an open/active run...usually around the outside perimeter of the mound.

I use 3/32 aircraft cable for anchor line, same as we use for extension cables on coyote snares or drowning rigs for beaver. Bushmaster is using slightly lighter snare cable but it's just as secure. Never lost a trap. I use heavy lath for stakes and drive 'em deep.

Any preferences as to the type of trap? Both have their advantages I think, but I prefer the square ones with no "floor". The round ones are a little easier to bed in a narrow run, though.

A good probe is a must-have.

I do the same, but with a rake handle as it's already in my hand from knocking the mound down.
Do you always leave the hole open at the end for light? I found in doing so they would start pushing dirt before the trap and just fill it full of dirt. I actually have more success covering up all the cracks and hole on the end so no light gets in. Maybe these western pocket gophers operate differently :)

Yes, I leave the hole open. maybe 1 in 20 or 25 fill the trap with dirt.I also find I usually have to leave the trap overnite for a catch and if not, I check the trap hasn't been filled with dirt.

What would happen if you put your Finger in that trap?

Serious question….

If you mean the hole in the back of the trap....nothing. The trigger is towards the other end.

I have caught dozens on our skeet field using those traps, but I dig the trap down into the run and cover it, so I can catch them during the day. Lately, I have switched to the gas bombs, and they have worked excellent.

I had a bunch of these traps they kept filling with dirt.
I put 6 inches of black garden hose in the hole, so the moles could still feel the air coming down the hole, but couldn't see the light. It cured the problem.

Interesting idea. Thanks

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/MYRN5TS.jpg[/IMG]

This is a typical c-shaped molehill. The end of his tunnel will be right near the opening between the arms of the "c". My probe is in the tunnel.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/z9uD1l5.jpg[/IMG]

I always cover the trap completely except for the bait hole, sight hole, air hole, whatever you call it. Like Bushmaster sez, only once in 25 or 30 sets will the mo...uh, critter plug the trap. If that happens, reset at the other end of his workings...nine times out of ten, he'll be there in the morning.

Try a Gopher Hawk. They work quite well. Buy them at UFA for $30. Watch video on you tube to use them.

Thanks, just ordered one.

X2 on the gopher hawk - do not need a shovel.
I have caught many with mine.

Sig

My first kill.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a2ee8f5987.jpg

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I know that the price of fur is damn near at an all time low but I sure hope this mole "talk" is not a sign of the times...:sign0176:

I want something for the console in my truck..bait it with change and wait for the local thieves to stick their fingers in ;)