How to Get rid of Gophers | Top 8 Best Gopher Traps to Catch them Alive

Gophers are burrowing rodents that are endemic to North and Central America. They are known for their notorious tunneling activities that can cause severe damage to your trees, plants, lawns, garden, and farms.

Gopher are not known to pose any severe threat to humans but they might carry rabies, fleas, and ticks which may create lot of inconvenience.

Different Types of Gopher Traps

The various types of traps available in the market to get rid of Gophers are:

1. Wire Traps

Wire gopher traps are comparatively cheaper than other traps and can be placed at different place as it does not require you to dig a large hole.

2. Blackhole Traps

Blackhole gopher traps are flexible and have easy application. It looks like a gopher tunnel to attract the gopher and is the most expensive trap of all.

3. Box Traps

Box gopher traps are old in style and simple in its functionality. They are large and clunky boxes and best to buy if you want a confusing trap at a moderate price.

How to Get rid of Gophers?

Below are the best traps available in market to get rid of Gophers.

How to Trap Gophers

You can trap a Gopher easily by following the steps listed below:

Position the trap: Place the trap in the right place. The right place depends upon the activity of the gopher. If you find any tunnel in your lawn, then place it on its exit point or place it near the fencing of your garden or house.

Bait the trap: Gopher will come to your garden only in the search of food and therefore, you need to add bait to attract it. The most appealing baits for them are carrot sticks, celery sticks, apples, and peanut butter. Place the bait near the entrance of the bait to see effective results.

Handle the cage with proper care: When you notice that the gopher has been caught in the trap, throw an old cloth on the trap cage as this will calm down the gopher and wear gloves for safety purposes.

Release it: Relocating the trapped gopher at least 10 miles away from your house so that they won’t come back.

Top 8 Best Traps to Get rid of Gophers

The following are some of the best traps available in the market to get rid of Gophers:

1. Victor Gopher Trap

Victor Gopher Trap has a short base and a narrow design for easy application. The galvanized steel ensures the durability of the trap and the pincher-style can be used in mound opening or runways as the motile parts are firmly underground when in use, and the trap as a whole can withstand rough weather conditions.

How to Use: You can use the trap by following the steps mentioned below:

Widen the entrance of the hole or burrow so that the trap can slide in.
Use carrots as bait by throwing some of its pieces down the tunnel and inside the trap.
Place the trap at the end of the tunnel and burrows so that the gopher can trigger the trap as it pushes dirt through the hole.

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2. Gopher-Hawk Trapping Set

This gopher trap is a non-toxic product, also, it is easy to use and clean as the traps needs to be set above the ground and doesn’t require any shovel or bait. Gopher-Hawk Trapping Set includes components such as wedge and probe that ensures organic trapping without any mess.

How to Use: This gropher trap is easy to use as you just need to pull it in to a set position. It can trap the Gopher instantly by snapping it and you can determine when you have trapped one by seeing a yellow band once it’s sprung.

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3. Sweeney’s Gopher Trap

Sweeney’s Gopher Trap is a non-toxic, reusable trap that can withstand rough weather conditions. It has a pincher-style design that can be used in mound opening or runways.

The steel material and powder-coating used ensures durability as the motile parts are completely safe to use around children and pets.

How to Use: Using this trap, you can use the trap gopher by following the steps mentioned below:

Hold the Sweetney’s trap Gently.
Rotate the setting rod with the index finger so that the trip lever is positioned correctly.
Use both of your thumbs to push down the jaw platform while hooking the trip lever.
While adjusting the setting rod, apply pressure on it through a hole in the trip plate so that the trap is adjusted properly.

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4. Macabee Gopher Trap

Macabee Gopher Trap is a high-quality trap made up of carbon spring steel wire, that does not clog or rust.

It is suitable for both casual gardener or large-scale farming as it ensures quick and efficient trapping of gopher with its twisted wire design, that works best even in a restricted space. It also includes an extra-large trigger that increases its reliability of trapping a Gopher perfectly.

How to Use: Follow below listed steps to trap gopher using Macabee Gopher Trap:

Push down all the fresh mounds around the place where you have seen Gophers.
Make sure that you rub your hands in soil every time because the Gopher can smell whatever scent is on you.
Check the direction where the dirt is thrown. Since it is usually in the shape of a fan, you would need to dig in the opposite direction of the fan shape.
Dig in the opposite direction of the fan shape for about a foot or so and you will see a tunnel running across the entry tunnel that you have just dug.
You would require two traps, one for each end of the runway. Tie each trap to a piece of nylon or wire and stake it outside of the entry hole.

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5. Fasmoy Humane Live Small Animal Trap Cage

Fasmoy Humane Live Small Animal Trap is durabley and resistant to rust as it is made-up of galvanized steel. It is effective against Gophers, Squirrels. Rats, and other similar sized animals as it has a small opening and a strong door lock that prevents them from escaping.

How to Use: You just need to add bait to the trap, and when the gopher will slightly touch it the door will get closed which ensures no escaping of the gopher. This gopher trap is easy to set traps, just put the bait and rest on the trap. You just need to release the gopher, once captured.

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6. Humane Animal Live Cage Rat Cage Trap

Humane Animal Live Cage Rat Cage Trap is ideal for trapping gophers, mice and, other rodents as it can be used both indoors as well as outdoors.

This gophers trap uses non toxic bait, wont harm gophers, enables catching gophers alive, then relocate them. It is safe to use around pets and children and effectively.

This trap has two powerful spring doors that allows the gophers to penetrate from any direction which makes it effective in capturing gophers quickly.

How to Use: It is advised to use gloves and place a variety of bait and set it around the trap so that it leads the gopher into it. You just need to set the trap and the gopher will be caught once it enters the trap.

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7. HomGarden Humane Live Animal Cage Trap

This gopher trap is made up of metal and weighs 9.3 pounds, making it suitable to trap Gophers, raccoons, groundhogs, squirrels, rabbits, possums, moles, gophers, Gophers, chipmunks, and other animals.

HomGarden Humane Live Animal Cage Trap comes pre-assembled and can be used safely around children and other pets as the sensitive triggers and small mesh opening does not allow the trapped Gopher to escape.

This trap also includes a large handle to provide you protection while transporting the animal, and a back door for quickly releasing the animal, making it suitable for homes and farms.

How to Use: You need to set the release switch for the door very lightly and ensure that the hook is not angled to the side. Keep the hook straight and as cantered as possible. Since the trap has a sensitive trigger and a short trigger rod, as soon as the pedal touches the rod, it would shut the door immediately and trap the Gopher.

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8. LifeSupplyUSA Large One Door Collapsible Catch

This gophers trap made up of heavy-duty, alloy steel so that creatures can’t chew through the mesh and escape. The trap is excellent for gophers, racoons, possums, groundhogs, beavers and similar sized animals.

Its collapsible design and easy to fold feature saves space, and the highly sensitive trigger assures that the single door shuts down instantly.

LifeSupplyUSA gopher trap will help to catch gophers unharmed, and you can safely relocate them away from your home.

How to Use: The trap comes in a pre-assembled form and you just need to place the bait. Place the bait towards the end of the trap or at the back door to ensure that the Gopher gets trapped completely.

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Buyer Guide to Select the best Trap to Get rid of Gophers

Before buying any trap to get rid of Gophers, you should consider the following points and check if the trap is suitable for your use:

Size: Make sure that the size of the trap is large enough to trap the Gopher without harming it.

Material: The traps should be made up of thick metal so that the Gopher can’t chew it and escape. Also, an additional rear meh would not let it escape after getting the bait.

Safety: Usually, these traps are well-designed to avoid the chances of any injury as they include a safety handle for protection. But you should double-check its strength and durability before buying it so that the trapped Gopher is not able to escape and cause any harm to others.

Price: The price of any product normally depends on its quality. Expensive traps prove to be more efficient and vice-versa. Therefore, if you want to purchase a large number of traps, you might have to compromise either your budget or the quality of the trap.

Bait: Many traps come pre-baited and pre-scented in order to lure the Gopher in to the trap. If you want a trap for indoor use, you should opt for a non-scented trap that requires you to place the bait manually.

Trap Trigger: Sometimes, the trigger is not strong enough and keeps on shutting down. So, you need to buy a strong trigger that will trap the Gopher effectively and won’t let it go.

Not Harmful: Sometimes, the traps don’t have the good holding capacity and air circulation that could suffocate the Gopher trapped inside and result in its death. So, it’s really important to make sure that the trap you’re buying doesn’t kill it, but instead humanely traps it so that you can displace it later.

Conclusion

The best way to get rid of gophers is not by harming them but by humanely trapping them and taking them to a safe place, far away from your home.

There are various Gopher traps available in the market that don’t make use of any poison and safe to use around children.

The majority of the traps are made of galvanized steel to prevent it from corrosion, have a sensitive trigger, can trap various rodents, and include a safety handle and smooth inside edges to protect the trapped animal and you from any harm.