Friday, August 12, 2016

Things To Know On How To Set A Gopher Trap

By Jeffrey Long


Gophers, moles and generally pests and rodents have been a constant nuisance and stumbling blocks to the wellbeing of yards, lawns and generally vegetation. Gardeners and homeowners have always explored various ways through which they can exterminate these pests, to protect their treasured gardens. There are numerous techniques of controlling the rodents, though arguably, the most effective and commonest is using traps. This piece will elaborately discuss how to set a gopher trap.

When putting up trappings for these rodents, first, you need to ensure you have all required materials. The materials are a shovel, leather gloves, rodent trappings, and chain or wires meant to secure the trappings in place. Other necessary materials are a stake which is meant to hold wire or the chain in perfect position, wood, cardboard, plastics, or anything that can cover tunnel you will dig, in order to aid in blocking out light.

Also, probe the area near the pest holes using long slotted screwdrivers, till you finally find the main runway hole or tunnel. Ensure you dig a hole that is somewhat small, using a transplanting trowel, to clear any forms of loose dirt. Then, place double pest trappings, advisably back-to-back, and facing the two directions in pest tunnel. Ensure you cover the hole very carefully, and wait for approximately one to two days.

Ensure you critically analyze your property, to establish areas where there is probability of the rodents and concentrate on such areas. It is very easy to detect and spot new activity, for instance by pushed-over grasses, etc.

Secondly, establish where exactly the tunnels are. It can be a bit difficult to locate the tunnels. If you spot a mound of dirt, then definitely there is tunnel beneath it. Another way to establish the location of the tunnel is by using a stick, by which you can easily probe deep into the ground. This will help in feeling the tunnel.

Once you have already established the tunnel, you can thus progress to dig a hole and uncover it. During this step, it is advisable to use gloves. This is to protect yourself from getting hurt by the rodents, and also protect you from touching other items inside the tunnel using bare hands. Then, clear the tunnels wide open. Fill the whole hole back, in that the bottom of the hole is accurately level with the rodent tunnel. This should be done as silently as possible, considering the rodents have great senses of hearing.

At this juncture, it is now very easy to put your trap. Ensure you set the trappings in such a way that the rodent must crawl all over it to progress through its tunnel. Once you are certain that the trapping is in position, use a stake to secure the safety lines. This ensures that the injured rodent does not run away with the trapping. This is why the safety line must be made of material that cannot be gnawed by the rodents.

You can now cover the hole using a plastic, board or even cardboard, to ensure no light enters the hole. Light will definitely keep away the rodents. From there, all you can now remain patient and wait for the rodent to be trapped. If successful, the only thing left now is removing the trapped rodent.




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