January 30, 2012

california ground squirrels and gophers in lawn

I have California Ground Squirrels and now a Gopher in my lawn. It looks like the ground squirrels have hibernated for the winter because I have not seen them for a month or more now but now a gopher is using their tunnels! He pokes his head up several times a day so he doesn’t seem to be sleeping much for the winter. Any suggestions on how to take care of these two pests with one kind of trap? I wanted to get the body grip traps for the ground squirrels but don’t know if they’ll work for the gophers. Thanks, Mark

We have articles on both GROUND SQUIRRELS and GOPHERS. In our articles we list traps for each and if you review the options, you’ll see the BODYGRIP TRAPS that work well for ground squirrels aren’t listed for gophers. This is because the two animals behave differently and can vary a lot in size.

Now if you want a trap that will work for both, I would only recommend the LT5518. This is a true live trap cage design which would be deployed above ground, just alongside their dens. Using a local food as lure, you should be able to capture any animal that wanted to use the tunnels in your yard.

But if you decide you want to stick with kill traps, the Bodygrip for the ground squirrels and the CINCH TRAP for the gophers would be the way to go.

Lastly, don’t forget to treat the dens with COYOTE URINE once the animals are removed and then fill them in as best as possible. This should help stop new animals from coming around wanting to use the tunnels and dens as their home.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

BG 110: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/conibear/body-grip-110-5-x-5

Live Trap: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/cage/live-trap-5-x-5-x-18

Cinch Trap: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/snap-snare-and-tunnel/gophermole-cinch-traps

Coyote Urine: http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/liquid/coyote-urine

Ground Squirrels: http://www.bugspray.com/article/groundsquirrel.html

Gophers: http://www.bugspray.com/article/gopher.html