Gophers

[exmatador]

Steve, do you still have alot of frost in the ground? I will probably start this weekend.. I got the first mole of the season yesterday..

Do you plan on running more cinches this year?

[trappnman]

had a farmer stop last week, and told me he saw fresh mounds on top of the snow on one of his fields, but I'm at least 3 weeks away. Still a lot of snow, and while the frost is out here and there, still a foot or more from what I've been told. Big rain tomorrow, and then close to 60 on sunday, so by early next week should be free of snow- a thunderstorm predicted for early next week, so that will break up what's left of the frost. Then it just has to dry up enough for them to really start digging. Hope it isn't like last year, when it was almost june before we could get going.

Going to get another doz cinches I think- I'm really happy using pan traps in divided tunnels, and death clutches in small singular tunnels, then the cinches in the other singular holes. each type of trap in the right hole, seems to matter.

lots and lots of fall digging, so should be a busy season

[exmatador]

I tried using pan traps but just could not get my catch rate as good as cinches.. No doubt technique to it using either trap. Problem with cinches is it takes twice the traps as most of mine I dig down to the fork in the tunnel. They really are digging here now that the frost is out.. There was about 3ft of frost since the first of the year as we had no snow to speak of.

[trappnman]

there is no real secret to pan traps, but there are a couple of things I always do. To begin with, I've found that 0's simply do not have near as high a catch rate as 1s. and coil #1s, have a much lower success rate than longspring 1s. not really sure why, but decades have shown this to be true, and I retired all my 0s and coils and just use WEAK springed 1s.

I've also noticed that a majority of my plugged pan traps, are because the loose jaw gets pushed forward, so keeping that loose jaw both low, and solid, makes a difference. I also dig out the bottom of the tunnel, so that the trap is sitting down into the dirt, rather than sitting on top of it. I cock the spring as far towards the dog as it will go, then set the trap so that the jaws are tight in one tunnel, so the gopher comes onto it between the jaws. the loose jaw is "kind of" wedged into the side of the tunnel, keeping it secure.

In the spring, we use pieces of cardboard cut into squares, and place this over the hole, and cover that with dirt. after haying, then we use nothing but waded up plugs of grass, wedged down INTO the hole, then cover that with dirt. The grass wad is much preferred, because we do (for whatever reason) have less plugging with the grass wads into the tunnel, than the cardboard across the very top of the holes. and when setting the trap, I prefer the last fresh mound, with the trap facing the direction of the other mounds. I've found that more times than not on a fresh mound on the end of a row of mounds, that the off side tunnel often ends within a foot of the mound.

One thing you can do that I find works pretty well, to be able to use one cinch at a shallow divided hole, is to dig a small trench on the surface, and either with cardboard or stiff grass, set the trap on the surface into the trench, than make a roof with the grass etc, and cover that with dirt- in essense extending the tunnel so that a single trap now covers both directions.

[exmatador]

Never thought of the trench.. Might have to break out the #1s and try your tips. Thanks..

[hdwolfer]

I was wondering if anyone back there was even going to be able to trap gophers this spring.
Been at it for about 3 or so weeks. Major rain event happening now so waiting it out.

[trappnman]

got in 3 days of trapping last week- then literally rain everyday except last sat, and too wet to go out

looks like dry this weekend, so Monday should be a go day

having a problem with my new cinch'- the first trigger wire is hanging up, at 20% or more, and haven't been able to figure it out by careful alignment of wires- I remember someone saying you need to "bend something" but just what cannot remember-

any help?

[exmatador]

Steve, Bend the last 1/2 in of the wire that engages the trigger down a few degrees.. Holding the trap facing you keep the first wire to the left as they can hang up on the on the second wire where they swivel or kind of bind.. Really need to try and learn to post pics..

[trappnman]

thanks- will give that a try- where it is hanging up, is exactly how you describe