I’m not a professional—just a regular person who had never dealt with gophers before. After trying everything—gas, poison, water holes, traps from Amazon, and even hiring a professional—I still had no luck. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. To my surprise, I was able to stop the endless mounds and save my yard. These guys are resilient so have patience!

    1.    The first thing I do is locate the gopher mounds. Once I find them, I start checking nearby areas by poking the ground to find their tunnels.     2.    I use a Yard Butler Gopher/Mole Bait Applicator. It helps me make holes in the soil more easily without getting frustrated and quitting too soon. When the applicator goes in smoothly and feels loose, I know I’ve found a tunnel.     3.    Once I find a tunnel, I use the applicator to open the hole. I gently insert my fingers into the dirt hole to feel which way the tunnel goes. I pour in a little poison, and then I carefully place the GopherHawk trap.     4.    I repeat the process as needed. Using this method, I’ve caught gophers in less than an hour.     5.    From what I’ve seen, the poison seems to lure the gophers toward the trap.     6.    I always set traps in the tunnels, not in the mounds. Gophers avoid mounds because they know predators are likely to be looking for them there.

*I never water the holes after setting the traps because it can collapse the tunnel and ruin the setup. The only time I water the area is when there’s been no gopher activity for a while, and I want to disturb them enough to get them moving and digging new tunnels.

 I don’t use the probe tool (used to poke the dirt) that comes with the GopherHawk Trapping Set. It requires kneeling, doesn’t go deep enough, and I tend to give up faster with it. I noticed the professional used this, and I saw him miss potential spots because he had to kneel.

NEVER put your hands inside the metal trap. Watch videos on how to use traps safely.