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Puppy-proof gopher killer?

Discussion in 'Home Improvement' started by Darkness, Oct 5, 2020.

  1. Oct 5, 2020 at 12:58 PM
    #1
    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    I have a puppy. My puppy likes to dig. My puppy smells things in the soil all the time and digs to eat them (banana peels, egg shells, composte stuff).

    I have a gopher. The gopher likes to dig. I have $700+/- worth of plants that I would not like the gopher to dig up or eat. I'm afraid to use poison because my puppy may eat it.

    I read about putting cotton balls with peppermint oil, or even fabric softener sheets in their tunnels. That allegedly is a deterrent, I can try those. The problem is my next door neighbor has a pest control company treating his yard, I am sure this gopher found my yard to be his sanctuary. If a gopher is faced with the options of poison or smelling like sea breeze laundry I'm sure he will pick the laundry.

    My brother has gophers all over his yard. His technique is to camp out and shoot the lil bastards. I don't have that much free time.

    Any suggestions?

    By the way my neighbors pest guy offered a treatment for $125 with a 30 day guarantee, I didn't ask what the guarantee means but he said if the gopher moves he will poison the new tunnel too within 30 days.
     
  2. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:05 PM
    #2
    Moon Puppy

    Moon Puppy I'm not new!

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  3. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:08 PM
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    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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  4. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:19 PM
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    sask3m

    sask3m New Member

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    What kind of gopher, pocket or richardson ground squirrel? Pocket gopher makes mounds with no entrance whereas the rgs makes a mound with a visible hole. There are traps for both that will do them in quick, just have to make sure your puppy stays clear.
     
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  5. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:24 PM
    #5
    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    I haven't seen a hole yet. A mound appeared Thursday morning and I looked for a hole, saw nothing, stomp the dirt back down. Today I saw the same mound appear with no hole. Hard to see in the photos.
    20201005_124727.jpg 20201005_124736.jpg
     
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  6. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:27 PM
    #6
    Randy Morton

    Randy Morton Life takes its toll, please have exact change.

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  7. Oct 5, 2020 at 1:56 PM
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    MTRock

    MTRock 1889

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    Yep propane works! Or just take the garden hose and flood them out! But the mounds look like moles?
    https://www.almanac.com/pest/moles
    If it is...You can find the hole and still flood them out.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2020
  8. Oct 5, 2020 at 10:03 PM
    #8
    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    You might be right, the soil in my yard is full of insects, grubs, and larvae. Now I'm almost excited because I've never seen a mole.
     
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  9. Oct 5, 2020 at 10:11 PM
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    GODZILLA

    GODZILLA Hail to the King, Baby.

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    If your brother has the time for his yard, invite him over to camp your yard. Pay him with food or beer. Likely cheaper than your neighbor and safe for Tuco. Unless it's a mole. Then I got nothing.
     
  10. Oct 6, 2020 at 12:02 AM
    #10
    sask3m

    sask3m New Member

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    If there are mounds and no holes it is a pocket gopher, they basically live underground. The mounds you see are where they push the dirt out from their underground tunnels. There is generally only one gopher as they tend not to live in groups even though there could be many mounds.

    Here is the kind of trap you need. People generally just put a carrot in them.
    https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Spr...ords=pocket+gopher+trap&qid=1601967555&sr=8-4

    Here is how to trap them. I've never done this myself but there many in our area and one of my neighbours caught one.

    https://www.trap-anything.com/trapping-pocket-gophers.html
     
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  11. Oct 7, 2020 at 5:40 PM
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    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    Thanks to all for the advice so far. I shoveled the loose dirt into a bucket and found his hole. I did the first thing that came to mind and stuffed my hose in at full blast. I expected it to overflow in short time... just over 2 minutes later and it was still taking the water. My hose pushes easily over 5 gallons per minuteo this guy has more tunnels than Chapo Guzman.

    Im studying the info provided to figure put what im really dealing with. I'm also watching the mound and so far it hasn't kicked out new dirt. There is a chance the exterminator got him.
     
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  12. Oct 10, 2020 at 7:43 AM
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    Done That

    Done That New Member

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    Trapline brand traps. Ive killed 100's of moles with the small version, they make a gopher size.
     
  13. Oct 10, 2020 at 8:09 AM
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    SteveCanyon

    SteveCanyon New Member

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    I agree with "Done That." I have A LOT of experience with this unfortunately. I killed over 100 gophers when I moved onto my property 10 years ago. DON'T use poison; use these http://www.thegophinator.com

    It takes a small amount of work on your part, but the results are 100%; it just may take some time. What I like about them is that I KNOW I killed the little b*stard.
     
  14. Oct 13, 2020 at 7:58 AM
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    Moon Puppy

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  15. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:04 AM
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    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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  16. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:08 AM
    #16
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    I invested in 3 of these killers. They stack mice/pocket gophers/voles/rabbits up like it's a competition.

    I tried the poison route. Didn't work well and could have been really bad for the environment.

    IMG_5476.jpg
     
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  17. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:11 AM
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    GODZILLA

    GODZILLA Hail to the King, Baby.

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    A house cat is a small ecological disaster in it's own right! :rofl: I read somewhere (take it with a grain of salt) they are the most prolific and successful predators.
     
  18. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:17 AM
    #18
    ColoradoTJ

    ColoradoTJ Certified tow LEO Staff Member

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    We had so many rodents it was crazy. Not so much a year later. Ours are barn cats...and only come into the garage when dipping below 32*F. In the winter...that's a lot.
     
  19. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:20 AM
    #19
    GODZILLA

    GODZILLA Hail to the King, Baby.

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    They are good at what they do. Keep them well fed and they will hunt for fun, and you will really see the rodent population drop. The two in your pic look happy and healthy. Perfect mousers.
     
  20. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:30 AM
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    ColoradoTJ

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    They are well fed. These two heathens are more "trophy" hunters for sure. Well, the grey one is passed on to the next life, but we have two kittens that are about to be put out full time meow.
     
  21. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:36 AM
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    Randy Morton

    Randy Morton Life takes its toll, please have exact change.

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    Yes, they're cute little murder floofs. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill
     
  22. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:44 AM
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    ColoradoTJ

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  23. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:46 AM
    #23
    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    The only problems there are my neighborhood is full of coyotes, and I won't do indoor cats. Edit- if I got cats I would get only black ones, they kill faster.

    @Black Wolf I've never seen that truck but thats pretty damn awesome :rofl:

    I thought the gopher or mole was gone because after the exterminator visited next door I didn't see new dirt piles. I saw a new one Sunday so I picked up the GopherHawk trap. Gonna set it up tonight and see if I can get some gopher-kabob. Where he is hitting my yard would be kind of hard to set that blackhole trap, that seems to be quite effective though.
     
  24. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:49 AM
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    ColoradoTJ

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    We have the same problem, but so far it's not been one. Our biggest issue is traffic. My dog keeps the fox/coyotes/ML/bear out of our fenceline. Hell, even he eats the gophers.
     
  25. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:52 AM
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    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    My dog would probably get into trouble with the cats, but so far he hasn't shown interest in any.
     
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  26. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:54 AM
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    GODZILLA

    GODZILLA Hail to the King, Baby.

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    Can't speak for Tuco, but Stella likes cats. Pugs tend to like everything they are introduced to when they are young, as long as whatever it is plays nice. Stella had a bad experience with a bigger dog, so she doesn't like any dog bigger than she is.
     
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  27. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:57 AM
    #27
    Darkness

    Darkness [OP] Allergic to white

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    @AzureNightmare thats what I'm afraid of, a cat would beat him up. He's a tough guy but his eyes are pretty exposed targets. He walks by cats every day but doesn't notice them because they stay still.

    Either way, gonna plant the GopherHawk and keep an eye on it.
     
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  28. Oct 13, 2020 at 8:59 AM
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    GODZILLA

    GODZILLA Hail to the King, Baby.

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    Yeah, the eyes are definitely easy to injure on a pug. Stella has cut hers before. Anyway, the cats are a non issue because you don't want them. Here's hoping your trap works and it's all moot! :fingerscrossed:
     
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  29. Oct 13, 2020 at 9:05 AM
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    ColoradoTJ

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    If you get baby kittens (highly recommend), this is something we taught our GS. They are like best friends. Kilo also protects Panther from bigger predators. Kilo cleared our 4.5' fence after something in pursuit of him last year.

    IMG_2085.jpg

    Kilo is pretty gentle with our kittens....



    Well...not always.:rofl:

     
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  30. Oct 13, 2020 at 9:08 AM
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    fbingha

    fbingha New Member

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    This ^^^^^^^^^^^

    You just need one and can buy it at home depot. If it doesn't come with wire attached to it, get some thin wire, attach it to the trigger side, long enough so you can leave some outside the hole. They don't always work so you'll want that wire which will allow you to pull the trap out of the new mound that was left behind. Sometimes their dirt pushing triggers the trap without snagging them, so the deeper you can push it in, the better.

    If you don't have a fresh hole to put it in, use your hose to work on a recent mound, find the hole. Set it, stuff it down in there with the trigger side towards you. You want the gopher to crawl onto it before he triggers it.

    If you're afraid the dog will dig in there and get skewered, put something he can't overturn over the top of the hole. Either way, the gopher is going to come back to fill that hole in.

    Also, with the water flush method, it only works if the gopher has recently moved in. When you see that first mound, get at it and you'll have him pop out rather quickly. He'll spend his time trying to scare you rather then running away like a rat so they are rather easy to pound with a shovel or catch and relocate, per your preference.
     
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