Sweeney's Gopher Trap, 2 Pack S9013

The size is just right to fit in the tunnel. I did however take a file and remove the paint they were dipped in from the areas that contact other parts. Where the pin/rod goes into the trip plate and where the trap spring trip rod engages the trap as the paint was thick and created too much friction for the trap to be sprung without a lot of pressure. The traps work a lot better than poison bait or the smoke bombs. Just make sure you place them in the main tunnel one in both directions. It involves a little digging with a trowel but worth it.

I had a running battle for years with gophers in my front yard. This is in a suburban development in Northern California. There is a canal and greenbelt right next to my neighborhood with a massive number of gophers so they sometimes migrate over to the houses (although they skipped several houses to choose mine!) Over the years, I've tried: fox pee salt repellents, flooding, smoke bombs, poison, digging out their tunnels and I forget what else. Nothing worked.Finally, I got two of these Sweeney's traps and two of the Victor traps. I set two of each type in various holes that I found, baited with peanut butter. I know the instructions say to dig into the main burrow and set the traps going in each direction, but I didn't see any way to do that without massive digging (previously, I'd dug down nearly 4 feet without finding any main burrow). So I just dug the exit holes wide enough to fit the trap and let it spring without getting caught on the tunnel walls. Some of them, I could just get it into the very end of the tunnel so the trap would be stuck vertically into the hole. Others, I could dig enough out so the trap sat horizontally into the tunnel. I used cable ties to attach it to a stake or a nail which I put in firmly on the outside of the hole. I covered the hole with a clod of dirt, ball of newspaper or paper plate to keep the light out (if they see light, they will push a dirt plug in front of them, which will set off the trap without catching the gopher).Results were that I caught 2 gophers within a couple days and another within a week. All of these were with the Sweeney traps and none with the Victor traps. I did find that they Sweeney ones fit and sprung better in narrow tunnels than the Victor ones, which would get caught on the tunnel walls easier. A few months later, another gopher moved in at the other end of my lawn and I put a couple Sweeney traps there (don't bother with the Victors anymore) and caught that one in about 3 days.So I would say that the Sweeney traps are the best way to deal with a gopher problem. They work better than the Victor ones and trapping in general has the advantage that you know when you have caught something. With all the poison, etc. methods, you never know whether you got them until there is the indirect evidence that there aren't new dirt piles for a while.

Moles and gophers were destroying my front yard so I had to act.* I had tried poisons which had no effect.* I tried gassing them out which I believe only gave them the munchies after they got high on the gas.* I tried the above ground trap that drives a stake into their tunnels. No luck.* I tried hooking up the shop vac hose to my cars exhaust and choking them out, but autos these days run so clean I think think they enjoyed the filtered air. Plus I succeeded in melting my shop vac hose.* I tried drowning them by inserting a garden hose into the holes, but merely ran up my water bill. I'm also pretty sure I could hear them having a pool party one night.Lastly I tried Sweeney's Gopher Trap. At first I did not have any success as I was merely wedging the trap into the gopher hole at the surface. The gopher or mole would simply avoid the trap, or would set it off unscathed.I then discovered the proper way to set the trap:* Take a shovel and dig out a large grass/dirt plug at the gopher hole roughly 10" or so across and 10" deep.* Once you remove the plug you will usually find a nice tunnel to place the trap. You may need to widen the tunnel just a little bit so the trap sits flat on the bottom and the trap pincher arms are unimpeded.* Secure a 2' long string to the trap and place the activated trap in the hole with the trigger plate facing the surface exit.(I like to sprinkle a little dirt on top of the trap pincher arms, but I'm not sure if it really matters. Just make sure the trap is placed so the gopher can walk over the trap pincher arms without disturbing the trap.)* Now place the grass/dirt plug back in the hole carefully, making sure that you don't accidentally set off the trap.* Secure the string to a brick or stake. (You don't want the gopher taking off down his burrow towing your trap.* Now go have a beer or a glass of wine and relax.Note: This trap works for both gophers and moles. The only difference is that moles are usually smaller so the trap may be a little large for the tunnel. To solve this simply enlarge the tunnel where you are setting up the trap. Don't disturb any more dirt than you have to as it may spook the mole.By the next days you should come out, remove the plug and find a dead gopher or mole. It might take you a bit to separate the critter from the trap, but after you have done it a few times it gets easier. The you can then dispose of the ex-nuisance or just simply stuff it back in the hole. Replace the grass/dirt plug and you're done.Now if you have has a gopher problem for a while there maybe be lots of tunnels so the gopher may not revisit the one you set the trap on for a few days. So be patient. Or, if you see a new mound you can relocate the trap or set another one.I'm very pleased to have found this solution. Gophers are no longer an issue in my yard. When a mound pops up, I set a trap and usually catch the nuisance by the next morning. Keep in mind that your underground pal has built a highway system underneath your yard making it easy for his replacement to move in and start over where it left off. However, if you are diligent about taking care of these pests as soon as you notice new activity, the tunnels will eventually fill in making it harder for new gophers and moles to move in.Funny, as I was finishing this review my neighbor texted me with the picture of the now dead gopher that was destroying his yard. He's been trying unsuccessfully to kill it for months with poison, and I set one of my Sweeney's Gopher Traps for him last night now and now problem solved.If you found this review helpful please take second and click the "Yes" button below. Thank you.5/27/2018 Update:I haven’t had any gopher or mole problems for quite some time. However my neighbor had one chewing up his yard and asked if I could help. We set a trap at the freshest look mound and when we checked it an hour later we had a gopher. 👍