i have been trapping them for about a week i cought 2 so far but they keep filling my traps up and i dont know what to do any help would be appreciated. thanks tom
tom,
are you saying that they are pushing dirt into your traps and filling them?
couple of questions if that is the case.
- how deep are you putting them?
- are you putting them both directions on a 2 way tunnel?
I haven't done this type of work for more than 8 months now but use steve's gophinator traps like you are using.
Here is how I set his traps
- from the mound I dig down till I find the place where the tunnel heads flat in each direction if that makes sense.
- when tunnel is only coming from one way I place the trap facing where the gopher will come from next time, this is
in my soil type about 14-16 inches below the lawn level.
- if tunnel goes both ways I set one trap facing into each run so no matter which way it comes from I've got the gopher.
From my novice perspective it sounds like you are too close to the surface and the gopher is coming up with the soil
that normally creates the mound and plowing right through your trap, firing it and leaving it empty.
If I'm wrong, no worries, I'm sure Steve himself or someone else can provide some other trouble shooting.
If I'm right going in there deeper should help.
I also place either cardboard or a grass plug over the holes and backfill so it is dark and sealed the way I found it.
Some folks don't but so far this has worked for me from the beginning.
Hope this helps, let us know what you figure out,
Justin