Victory at last!

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sevensisters Soquel, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 26, 2005

My sweetie is out of town so I just had to share this w/somebody...got my first gopher yesterday!!!
After 5 years of trying every trap known to humankind and watching all lilies go down, then tulips, muscari, parsley, etc you know the story. I found a really obvious fresh hole and felt lucky...and there it was! First the thrill, then hmm. What do I do, take a picture to document this momentous occasion? Morbid. Decided to stuff it back in the hole, to send a message. Later there was some sadness and remorse. I mean, what if this wasn't the one doing all the damage? But mostly I remain jubilant and anxious to get more---there are hundreds of mounds out there! And I understand they are all birthing now too...

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toni5735 Chicago, IL(Zone 5b) Apr 26, 2005

So how'd ya nail him?

T.

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sevensisters Soquel, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 27, 2005

in the end it was the trap I call 'jaws of death'...stainless steel, with a crescent that impales them as they come up out of their hole. it was a really simple insertion, no extra digging etc. I tried it in the past with no luck so maybe now they are just getting bold or I got lucky. One difference is I wore gloves this time when setting it--maybe they smelled too human before? It was so old and rusty I wasn't even sure if it would spring anymore but that didn't seem to be a problem.

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jdee Paris, TX(Zone 8a) Apr 27, 2005

My dad's cats used to catch gophers all the time. He tried everything, to no avail, so we always had celebrations when the cats would come strolling up on the porch with one.

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sevensisters Soquel, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 27, 2005

i was hoping my cat would but nothing yet...she did bring in a mole last week but i'm afraid that's as big as it gets!

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jdee Paris, TX(Zone 8a) Apr 27, 2005

My cats caught a mole last year. I didn't know I had them. They sure are hidious aren't they? :P

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sevensisters Soquel, CA(Zone 9a) Apr 27, 2005

evidence :)

Thumbnail by sevensisters
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jdee Paris, TX(Zone 8a) Apr 27, 2005

Yuck!! Your kitty is pretty though. My dad has an orange kitty. I have three indoor only cats that are pretty much worthless when it comes to catching anything but bugs, but the outdoor cats that adopted me, keep the mice and mole population down....And they are such good company to me while I'm outside.

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George Valinda, CA(Zone 10a) Apr 27, 2005

I used to use a trap made of bent wire that had two sharpened prongs that woulld impale the gopher. These got more effective after they were old and the green paint had largley been replace by rust. I attached a piece of light chain to keep the trap from being pulled back in the tunnel.

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