Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 05, 2012, 05:08:18 PM
Title: Gopher in my front yard. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 05, 2012, 05:08:18 PM
There is a gopher digging up my brand new front yard. We've tried moth balls in the holes, but he just kicks them back out and digs more holes.
I don't want to kill the thing in an act of violent outburst and frustration, so does anyone know how to get rid of a gopher?
p.s. I'm not above killing the thing, but I would prefer not to if I don't have to.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: broodwars on January 05, 2012, 05:17:48 PM
Have you considered calling Bill Murray? I think he may have some clay "friends" to introduce to your gopher.
(And, yes, coincidentally I just recently saw that movie for the first time)
In all seriousness, I'm not sure what you do about the creature. We have wild boars and moles that dig up our lawn, and we can't get rid of the things. You can try calling an exterminator, perhaps, but I think the only way you can get rid of it without risking it returning is to have it killed. Or you could just live with it, as we've had to do.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 05, 2012, 06:08:58 PM
But I just grew that grass... and re-did the whole front lawn :(
IT HAS TO GO.
I would like to capture it and re-release it somewhere else.... or I could just kill it and bury it in the last hole it dug.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: King of Twitch on January 05, 2012, 06:30:45 PM
No, hang it from a tree as a warning to other rodents.
My favorite has to be this:
10 Feed them Juicyfruit gum. Handle the gum with gloves only so your scent doesn't get on it. Twist the gum, foil and all, and insert it into a fresh mound or a hole you have opened. The gopher will eat it and die in its burrow. Experts scoff at this, perhaps because they get their scent on the gum before they try it. Homeowners swear by it.
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Gophers
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 05, 2012, 06:44:30 PM
I will try that.
+5 to you if it works.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Morari on January 05, 2012, 09:46:48 PM
Funny how that works, aye? I wish I indiscriminately kill any human that bothered or annoyed me.
Go out and buy yourself a live trap, then release the critter in the local park or forest instead.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Chozo Ghost on January 05, 2012, 10:49:01 PM
There are some smoke things specifically designed to kill moles and gophers. I'm sure you can buy them from your local stores. All you do is light it and drop it into the gopher hole and the poisonous smoke will do the rest. It will kill the gopher yes, but its probably the most humane way you can do it.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Dasmos on January 05, 2012, 11:30:47 PM
Funny how that works, aye? I wish I indiscriminately kill any human that bothered or annoyed me.
Go out and buy yourself a live trap, then release the critter in the local park or forest instead.
this. and maybe instead of letting the animal free you can rip the things head off with your bare hands, that's the most satisfying kill.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Caliban on January 05, 2012, 11:34:50 PM
Use a snake. It was nature's intention for that gopher to be eaten by the snake...
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Chozo Ghost on January 05, 2012, 11:48:09 PM
Has anyone here ever read Walden by Henry David Thoreau? This topic reminds me of a chapter in that book where Thoreau has a bean field but then a gopher comes and tears it up and Thoreau (who was a vegetarian) got so enraged that he killed it with his bare hands and ate it.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 06, 2012, 12:11:20 AM
I would buy a trap and I have thought of that, but I'm tired of spending money on this yard and things related to it.
$.99 for a pack of gum fits into my budget just great though. $45-60 for a live trap that I have no use for 3 days later does not.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: bustin98 on January 06, 2012, 01:13:36 AM
I'd say live trap too. I just started thinking about any kind of stink that a dead gopher is going to have.
My dad has used a shotty on many a woodchuck in cornfields, sometimes a compound bow when he's feeling lucky.
A good dog will take care of the vermin too, though your lawn won't be pretty.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Morari on January 06, 2012, 12:04:00 PM
I would buy a trap and I have thought of that, but I'm tired of spending money on this yard and things related to it.
It's sad that the life of an innocent creature doesn't fit into your budget. I would suggest not spending so much (or anything at all!) on your lawn. Do you live in the suburbs or something? Let the trees and moss overtake it instead. A thriving ecosystem is better than trying to have the greenest yard on the block.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: King of Twitch on January 06, 2012, 01:12:16 PM
From the guy who thinks eugenics are necessary
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Ceric on January 06, 2012, 03:17:24 PM
Can't... resist....
Just put out a Web with a World on it.
Also a lot of Animal shelters have live traps you can borrow for catching things just like this.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 06, 2012, 03:29:00 PM
Do they?
I'll call one over the weekend and see. As I said before, I don't want to hurt the thing, but it is getting on my last nerve, so any cheap humane ways to remove the critter come first... wrigleys gum will be the second to last resort.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on January 06, 2012, 03:57:48 PM
It's sad that the life of an innocent creature doesn't fit into your budget.
Perhaps you would be willing to buy the live trap for BnM?
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Ymeegod on January 07, 2012, 10:04:51 AM
How many are in your area? Trapping one or two won't solve anything if you area is flooded with them. If it's just one you can try the box method (one box, stick, string, bait--boyscouts 1.1). Also you should try oils and other scents like garlic. Cats are the better choice then dogs IMO, less to clean up, easier to train.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 07, 2012, 12:37:15 PM
Only 1 gopher so far that I've seen.
(http://i.imgur.com/ANLUC.jpg) Not sure if that's gonna work :P:
We tried mothballs, but it just kicked them back out of the hole.
Our cat is old, she won't chase it.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: noname2200 on January 07, 2012, 01:08:07 PM
From personal experience I can tell you that those gopher spikes don't work, so if you were considering them, don't! Also from personal experience, the water-hose+shovel method really DOES work!
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Chozo Ghost on January 07, 2012, 03:03:52 PM
My grandfather used to kill moles by stabbing them through the ground with a pitchfork. It was definitely not the most humane method, but it was effective.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: BranDonk Kong on January 08, 2012, 12:23:44 AM
My dog will kill it for you, my dog used to kill just about everything (moles, snakes, birds, frogs, possums)...and he's a 15 lb Miniature Pinscher.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Ceric on January 08, 2012, 01:25:13 AM
My grandfather used to kill moles by stabbing them through the ground with a pitchfork. It was definitely not the most humane method, but it was effective.
I finally saw a live Mole the week of my wedding. He was only the size of a mouse... I thought they be much bigger from stories like this.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: bustin98 on January 11, 2012, 01:10:20 PM
I finally saw a live Mole the week of my wedding. He was only the size of a mouse... I thought they be much bigger from stories like this.
After all the influences of cartoons and whatever, I pictured moles being like the size of a very small cat or something, with claws bigger than their heads. Very enlightening to see in person. Though maybe it just depends where in the world you live. There is a russian one that is 18 - 21 cm long. Still not big, but compared to the american shrew mole, it is.
Title: Re: Gopher in my front year. HAAAAAALP!!
Post by: Chozo Ghost on January 11, 2012, 05:01:54 PM
There are about a dozen or so different species of moles. The word "Mole" refers to a family of animals rather than a single species. I'm sure they run the gambit from very tiny to maybe as large as a cat or something. The ones I've seen that live around here are about the size of a potato or a rat. They are really neat creatures with hands that are almost human like, and the tiniest eyes you can imagine.
