I am planning on trapping pocket gophers for my grandparents. How can I trap these since they cover up their holes and don't use the same one again and there is no tunnels?

Poke around with a wire in the mounds you will find holes, dig out the hole set a gopher trap in the hole I like the grab traps for them. Do Not fill the hole back in they will try to plug the hole because they don’t like daylight.

I put a rod to anchor them so they don’t get hauled off.

Spring is the best time to trap them as they seem a bit groggy for the long winter and are easier to catch. Fall rolls around and you need to find a fresh mound or they will plug the hole so deep that you'll never find it. I use a mixture of Victor #0 long springs or DK's depending upon the situation. Like Law Dog says, I leave the holes open with the DK's but cover the holes when using the long springs. I average around 500 pocket gophers a year but always run into a few tough ones. Feel fee to PM me if you have questions.

I learned the hard way to bring a cable, chain, or wire up to the top of the ground otherwise you can be digging for a while.

Thanks for the recommendations guys. It is very much appreciated!

When I leave the hole open with a trap inside 75% of the time they plug the hole. I do much better when I cover the hole with a black cover. I use those clutch traps. What are DKs?

DK 1 The original death klutch trap . And still the best.

[/quote]When I leave the hole open with a trap inside 75% of the time they plug the hole. I do much better when I cover the hole with a black cover. I use those clutch traps. What are DKs?[/quote]
Sometimes I'll plug the hole with a small wad of grass, just enought to distort the gopher view of the trap. With long springs I'll cover the hole like you do with DK's. Ask a dozen trappers how they do it and you'll get two dozen answers.

Not the best as sp far for me. Trapline has a come out with a MAGNUM D
GOPENATOR trap. It out shines every thing I have tried.
I never leave an open hole they just encourage plug ups.
The MG is the easiest large trap to use. Can be stuffed tight to large tunnels and sealed. O e just needs to find main runs or feed tunnels that are new or fairly new.
Gopher we have can weight pound an a half and be 12/13 inches in length plus tail.

The only place I have found that sells the MG is wildlife control supplies. Can't get it from TRAPLINE.

Is this the trap your talking about willvalley?

https://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/MAGGOPH.html

Those will work but personally I prefer the victor style gopher traps generally half the price but there made or marked by several different companies but after 40+ years of trapping the little buggers there the ones I find work best for me

Like others say though make sure to fasten to the surface with a cable or wire and stake or be prepared to do some digging




I generally use two per set with one down each side of the tunnel

You can open their holes by digging out the mound, if its fairly fresh the plug for the hole will be easy to see, if not take a steel rod and just start shoving into the ground around the mound till you locate the tunnel and dig it out, then just put your trap in, one down each side cover good and come back the next day, make sure you clean out all the loose dirt or you will find it plugged tight

As a kid we got .50 cents for the front feet, later that went to a dollar, don’t know if any counties still pay a bounty on them but a lot of large farms do or will trade other trapping access for taking care of their gophers for them

Was a decent way for a kid to make some good pocket money back in the 70s most weeks in the summer I averaged about 20/30 dollars a week, not only paid for gas for my mini bike but bought it with money earned that way as well, really wish I still had that old Honda trail 70

Nightlife, our townships pay $4/gopher and in some townships our local cellular phone company will match that. Seems some engineers thought it would be a good idea to coat their fiber optic cables in a coating made of soybean oil. A regular buffet for gophers. If your really lucky you might find a land owner that'll pay an additional $4 making a nice round figure of $12/gopher!

Dang I will have to check that out, haven’t really trapped gophers for the bounty since the late 80s but back then I was taking between 80/100 a day running traps before and after work and that was for a buck for extra spending money, and considering I have summers off nowadays even at 4 apiece that could make for a good summer income