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09-22-2021, 12:10 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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Moles
From now until freeze-up, I doubt I'll need to buy dog food.[IMG][IMG] [/IMG][/IMG]
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09-22-2021, 12:12 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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[IMG] [/IMG]
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09-22-2021, 07:04 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: onoway, Ab
Posts: 7,278
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Those little buggers can sure make a hay field rough in a hurry.
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09-22-2021, 07:47 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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Not to mention the badgers that come to hunt them. This field looked like a bomb-cratered battle ground just a few years ago.
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09-23-2021, 02:58 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Carstairs
Posts: 6
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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.
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09-23-2021, 05:16 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: My House
Posts: 13,630
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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?
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09-23-2021, 05:21 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sns2
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?
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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.
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
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09-23-2021, 06:55 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: central Alberta
Posts: 12,630
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainTi
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.
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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.
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This country was started by voyagers whose young lives were swept away by the currents of the rivers for ten cents a day... just for the vanity of the European's beaver hats. ~ Red Bullets
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It is when you walk alone in nature that you discover your strengths and weaknesses. ~ Red Bullets
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09-23-2021, 06:59 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Provost
Posts: 5,018
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Here's what mine look like sitting in the hole....and you can see this one has been sprung.
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.
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09-23-2021, 07:46 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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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.
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09-23-2021, 08:13 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushmaster
Here's what mine look like sitting in the hole....and you can see this one has been sprung.
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.
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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
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
Last edited by MountainTi; 09-23-2021 at 08:28 PM.
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09-23-2021, 08:25 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Provost
Posts: 5,018
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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.
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09-23-2021, 09:12 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,877
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What would happen if you put your Finger in that trap?
Serious question….
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09-23-2021, 09:18 PM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Provost
Posts: 5,018
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If you mean the hole in the back of the trap....nothing. The trigger is towards the other end.
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09-24-2021, 07:04 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Camrose
Posts: 46,469
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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.
__________________
Only accurate guns are interesting.
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09-24-2021, 04:24 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 407
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainTi
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
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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.
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09-24-2021, 04:25 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James 1
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.
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Interesting idea. Thanks
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
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09-25-2021, 08:28 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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[IMG] [/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.
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09-25-2021, 08:33 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver County
Posts: 180
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[IMG] [/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.
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09-26-2021, 09:12 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sns2
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?
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Try a Gopher Hawk. They work quite well. Buy them at UFA for $30. Watch video on you tube to use them.
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09-27-2021, 11:23 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: My House
Posts: 13,630
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumbly
Try a Gopher Hawk. They work quite well. Buy them at UFA for $30. Watch video on you tube to use them.
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Thanks, just ordered one.
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09-27-2021, 11:29 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: My House
Posts: 13,630
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09-27-2021, 12:01 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Strathcona County
Posts: 242
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X2 on the gopher hawk - do not need a shovel.
I have caught many with mine.
Sig
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10-01-2021, 12:13 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: My House
Posts: 13,630
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My first kill.
Sent from my SM-A705W using Tapatalk
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10-01-2021, 12:22 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: northern AB
Posts: 2,241
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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...
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10-01-2021, 10:33 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,877
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushmaster
If you mean the hole in the back of the trap....nothing. The trigger is towards the other end.
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I want something for the console in my truck..bait it with change and wait for the local thieves to stick their fingers in
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