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I'm Just Getting Started

As desperate as I am for Mexican food, I am not that desperate.

But I could put him in a flat rate box if someone else really wants him.
 
I have been chasing this gopher for a week now. New mounds showed up behind my shop. I think when the weather gets cold they start to cache some extra food. I noticed new mounds this time last year but didn't have time to really pursue them. Different ball game now.


Yesterday I found one of her food caches:


Nov2019Gopher1OPT.jpg



Figured I wasn't going to be particularly popular this Thanksgiving. But that problem solved itself last night:


Nov2019Gopher5OPT.jpg
 
Shooting gophers requires a lot of spare time to kill. I have the patience, but not the time. Maybe after I kick The Varmints out and can join the ranks of the UOBs. 'Cept I am hoping to have won this war by then.

Now, shooting squirrels (no offense intended to present company), that is another matter. I have sent something on the order of fifty of them back to their maker this year.
 
My latest victim:


Gopher1Spring20201OPT.gif



He was right in the area of the pear tree I planted last year, the tree that started this little war:
Gopher1Spring20202OPT.gif
 
What's the name of that long skinny trap? Do you find them more effective than the Mcabee style trap?
 
I don't know the name of it. I found them at a local feed supply. I have three different styles and this one is by far my favorite. It is a wicked thing to set though.

It also has a downside in that it doesn't always fit in the holes. It is pretty wide when set. The gophers I have here are larger than the ones I used to catch in SoCal. I imagine the narrower tunnels might rule it out entirely unless you have soil that can be easily scraped away to widen the tunnel. As it is there are some times I won't bother to try to fit it into the tunnels I have here and will instead use one of the other styles.

If you are seriously interested in it I will try to find some details on it so that you can pursue it, or, if you want to pay for it, I can pick up one locally and ship it to you. IIRC, these are actually from a company in California. OTOH, knowing Kali, they may not even be legal there.
 
Thanks for the offer, but no need to dig up details on the make. I was asking because it looked like it was narrower than the Mcabee style trap.
What you describe is exactly what I'm up against here in SoCal...the trap is often too large/wide to fit in the tunnel. I try to set the trap with a hair trigger and more often than not end up tripping the trap trying to get it just a little deeper in the tunnel.
 
I have one called from a company called gophirnator. Great trap but it has the same problem of being a bit wide for the small gophers here.

I found a dead gopher last week, Maui was so proud. I guess for her it's the thrill of the hunt and not a nice warm snack like it was for Berlin.
 
Ordinary gopher trap, down about 6in in the hole. Do not plug a cover the hole so that light gets in. Gophers can't stand having an open Tunnel and they will almost immediately go and try and fill it. No brainer, consistent results. Works every time.
 
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