How To Set ONLY Gopher Trap That Worked For Me: DK-1 | AnOregonCottage.com

[@mrblueskynm3968]

Great advice! I found an abandoned DK-1 trap at a public park today and will be testing it out on the pesky gopher that has come by my yard. I spent a lot of money and effort to have nice gravel landscaping in my yard and when the gophers show up and makes a mess in the nice gravel...they gotta go! It's a lot of work to clean the dirt mounds out of the gravel, only to have the little rodent make another mess the next day in a different location of my yard. Not only that, the little beasts eat on my fruit tree roots and have been known to kill them. I use a Gopher Hawk trap as well in the areas that don't have gravel with fabric beneath and it works like a champ!

[@AnOregonCottage]

Yes, the amount of dirt a single gopher can deposit in the wrong place is amazing. Really frustrating to have all your hard work ruined. The Gopher Hawk trap looks really cool. I was all set to buy one before the DK-1 started working.

[@mrblueskynm3968]

@@ericheatmiser2099 Yeah, it can be tough to trap the little beasts if the soil isn't cooperative.

[@peterhauer3960]

This is the first video which tells you how to set the trap easily, without any spring tension until the last step.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Glad that was helpful!

[@markfolino6976]

This trap is fabulous, ive used it for several years and it works!

[@AnOregonCottage]

Great!!

[@JSees]

Your passion for getting gophers is admirable, thanks for the tips.

[@AnOregonCottage]

😂 Kind of wish we didn't need to have a "passion" for them!

[@flashinpan]

Great video. I haven't tried the DK-1, but I will, just to see. I am in the Santa Cruz Mountains (California) so a bit drier. The trap that works for me, that I think you might like to try is "The Gophinator" (easy to find on the web). Sets the same way, but a little more foolproof ad far as the trigger. Also, I use pipe marking flags. You can get them at any hardware store and the stalk part is metal. You can stick it directly through a little natural hole in the Gophinator so its fast, easy, very cheap and the little plastic flag is usually fluorescent. Two things I would like to add though that I think might help people: 1) Gloves serve an important purpose. they keep your human stink off the trap. I always use gloves when handling traps and then rub the trap in the dirt before putting into the tunnel. Believe me, it totally matters and they can smell you. 2) I don't know about your method of leaving the hole open to the air. That has never worked for me (well, once with a cinch trap). In general though, that would repel them. You need to cover up the hole with something loose. I use old hay or grass, then gently put dirt on top. You really need to block out the light. Some people put a wooden cover over the set trap, but to me that's just more stuff to carry around and keep track of. If it works for you to leave it open, great. I've just never seen that as being effective. UPDATE: I did try the DK-1. That thing is awful to set. You can do it, but you'll likely get hurt at some point. The Gophinator is way easier to set especially if you are setting a lot of traps and you don't want to screw around. It works on the same principal too.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Wow, this is really helpful - we will look that up for sure!

[@twobeer3316]

I agree, the Gophinator is the most effective...

[@flashinpan]

@@twobeer3316 The DK-1 is probably good, but it's really big. It rarely fits in the holes the way I need it to. It takes up too much space. Maybe it's only for monster gopher holes?

[@twobeer3316]

@@flashinpan Gopher tunnels are different in size. The Gophinator has a smaller one for Moles, it's identical in design but a tad smaller. Tie them together and secure them, I use a cinder block. I have lost a Gopherhawk and 2 Gopinators to Foxes more than likely, they will smell them and run off with them...

[@fredc8346]

You are the man AnOrangeCottage. I did what you said and within a short time (as soon as I remembered and checked the trap just a few hours later) I got the rascal. I’m sure there are bigger ones but he? was awfully plump. I usually just used poison and usually didn’t get to the main tunnel like I should but it would usually work at some point. I was not having much luck with this guy though and I found your video. And the DK-1 is really the way to go. I may have not got it way down in the hole as far as you did but I thought it was down far enough to get him. Thanks for the info. I still worry about how you had your hand and wrist right near the claws in the video.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Awesome, that is so great to hear!!

[@bobbyvitatoe5081]

After watching this video, I knew this trap would work and I'd catch my gopher; in my experience, the gophers operate just as he describes. If you find their tunnel, and open it, they won't like that, and naturally want to close it. I did make one adjustment to his approach though: I poured Uncle Ian's Gopher Repellent in the hole, because I've noticed the gophers will be extra determined to close a hole or tunnel when you pour this stuff in there (enough of this stuff honestly repels them for about a month without traps, but they tend to come back). You would think gopher repelling would make stay away from a tunnel? Wrong, it draws them to the tunnel, because they want to close it due to the smell. I previously tried almond butter with a different trap, covering the hole, hoping the almond butter would lure them in but it didn't work. That said, I left my trap, and the gopher repellent in one of their active holes for a few hours, and bam, that sucker was caught!

[@AnOregonCottage]

Cool - that's a great idea!

[@fredc8346]

You had the spring set and when you were adjusting the trigger you had your hand right where the jaws could trap you. What am I missing?

[@AnOregonCottage]

I don't remember doing that, but you should definitely not if I did!

[@charlesmdasilva]

Gha I was like "HIS HAND WAS RIGHT IN THE JAWS!!!" Good video, I guess he knows what he was doing.

[@fredc8346]

@@charlesmdasilva I am not sure, but I have an idea that his hand was not really in it or too close. But better to be safe as that could be disaster if it tore into a wrist. What really was kind of scary to me was that others may handle it that way when set by showing that. Hold it from the other end!!

[@AshGreen359]

I've gotten a couple with the Victor Black Hole trap, the old version, the newer ones I hear are useless.

[@AnOregonCottage]

I think I also had one of the older ones. I was able to catch one with it. But then I buried it in a main run and couldn't find it again : ) The next one I bought was too small and never caught anybody.

[@AshGreen359]

@@AnOregonCottage I'm trying another version of them that I hope will work, a little discouraged because they do look a little smaller and it's a completely enclosed tube. I have the traps in your video on order

[@AnOregonCottage]

@@AshGreen359 Cool! Hope they work for you.

[@AshGreen359]

@@AnOregonCottage I hope so too my garden is being demolished.

[@floridaknight3052]

I just ordered a set using your link. I'm confident theyll work. I live in Idaho, just bought a house that has 2 shops on the property that had poisons and flares for gophers already in there. Seems they didnt work. I feel bad for the little animals but they have to go, I cant grow anything with confidence till they're gone.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Thank you! Yes, if they didn't wreak such havoc we'd share our space with them for sure.

[@ThoughtfulBiped]

@AnOregonCottage, do you find that you need to sanitize the traps after catching gophers? I have been using cinch traps and gopher hawks with some success but after a time they seem to ignore them just fill them in with soil. I am wondering if they can smell the previously killed gophers on them and need to bleach the traps. We are having a terrible gopher year here in Northern CA and I am at my wits end.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Oh wow, that's too bad. I actually haven't washed them, though there are always times they ignore them. I should keep track to see if this is an issue.

[@ThoughtfulBiped]

@@AnOregonCottage I think I just needed to put my frustrations out into the ethers. Caught a female and three young ones last night within a few hours after getting some renewed motivation from watching your video. I may have been getting lazy about it, the gopher hawk makes it easy to feel like I am doing something even though I can't really see what I am doing. Ended up digging up one of my fifty foot rows in the middle of my garden space and found a bunch of deep tunnels, waited for sign of activity and set traps. It is really hard with deep wood chip mulch to see their activity, we don't see much mounding because of the chips, just plants disappearing. Anywho, thanks for the motivation to keep at it and not pull all of my hair out over it.

[@AnOregonCottage]

@@ThoughtfulBiped I'm so glad it was motivating for you - I know the defeated feeling as it's an ongoing issue with us and at the height of summer is a mini job. But we don't have near the number we did when we first moved here, so there is that motivation to keep at it! Definitely would be harder to see if we had wood chips like you do!

[@greggmyers6135]

Hi, great video and well documented, too! I don’t have a DK-1 yet, but am thinking of ordering one. I did get rid of the colony of 4 gophers in my back yard, but it was a grisly process which I did by hand, and I didn’t like doing it. So I would rather trap them but I fear that the kind of gopher here in Idaho is smaller than you pulled out in the video. Do you possibly have some insight as to the minimum gopher size this trap would work with? I have spent hundreds of dollars on other methods and none of them worked.The county here reportedly uses the DK-1 but they admit it is time consuming and not all that effective so I suspect our gophers might be too small for the snare distance. But I also read a lot of bad information about gophers in general so I don’t know what to believe.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Hmmm, we've caught smaller gophers with the DK-1, though I don't know if they're as small as what you have. If your county isn't having a lot of luck, that may be your answer.

[@kevindixon6125]

Great video! Thank you. Ordered my traps on Amazon.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Glad I could help!

[@vbsurfinc.5156]

Just acquired a property in the Willamette Valley from some older folks that weren’t mobile, there must be 500 holes in the 2 acres. so I’ll let you know how this works out.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Wow - hope this works for you. Be prepared for years of work, but it is worth it - we can mow our large pasture/lawn through the dry months now without the cloud of dirt we had in the beginning. :)

[@OlTrailDog]

When I set these I certainly don't put my hand over the jaws 5:26 gloves or no gloves.

[@AnOregonCottage]

😀

[@lookinuparena]

This trap is the best! Thank you for the video. Question? How many gophers are in an area you think? Are they big colonies? Just wondering if I should supplement some poison in other holes? There’s just so many mounds!!

[@AnOregonCottage]

They are solitary so one can have holes up to 100 ft apart. So usually one gopher in an area. We have an established "gopher city" and new ones show up, so that could be happening, too. But for the most part once we get one in the area, that will stop it.

[@juanoutdoors7824]

I used to Run one of those on my gopher traps and surprisingly I found this out a while after using it that it was actually a mole trap and it was our best trap

[@AnOregonCottage]

That's interesting. I have a couple of moles I really need to take care of. I'll give the DK-1 a try.

[@heimbatman4516]

Have tried them multiple times, in different locations...every time they fill the trap up and I find it tripped with no gopher. The last time, I opened up the active exit hole (at my freshly planted succulent masterpiece), then found the main tunnel about a foot away, which followed the old irrigation line to the former sprinkler head and continued beneath my driveway. I set two - one in the main tunnel a foot from the exit hole, (at my succulents) and the other at the tunnel going beneath the driveway. I left the exit hole open, and covered both of the holes were the traps were set, my thinking being that they (or, it) would come to close up the exit hole and run into the traps, since it's defeated the ones I've put in the exit hole. The following day...all three holes were plugged, both traps tripped, and ...no gopher. This after trying a metal live trap - that didn't work either, and the opening to the live trap cage was never sealed. Poison hasn't worked either, and I'm trying to avoid that. I think the next step is to kill the wifi he's getting to watch youtube/surf gopher-survival blogs, then negotiate.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Ugh (though laughing at your wifi idea…). They are so FRUSTRATING. While this is what has worked for us better than all the others, it's still not 100%. Are they smarter than the others? Who knows? The battle goes on...

[@ImNotOld_ImVintage]

I wish I had found this video sooner. These were the cheapest trap at my local supply store but they didn't have a model number for me to try and figure out how to set it. After being totally flummoxed in the store for about 15 minutes, I bought a couple other types of traps. The gopher population in my back field has gotten out of hand so I set four traps and 6 hours later 3 out of four were set off with 0 gophers in them. After seeing how these work I'm dead certain they will be more effective, though I'm a little hesitant to try bait because we have one farm cat that kills way more gophers than I do, so I'm hoping to keep her away until after the trap has gone off.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Hope these work for you like they do for us! (Lucky you to have a good gopher cat, though!!)

[@robertovega936]

Sir, I use the cinch trap and sometimes I catch them, sometimes I don't. I also live in oregon, thx for your advice

[@AnOregonCottage]

You bet!

[@maziehopp770]

Hey this is like the traps we use. They work in almost the same way. It is called a death trap and the brand is cinch traps. They work the same exact way.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Yeah, they must be similar - this is called a "death clutch."

[@MarkVanWey]

I use the DKTraps, but the gophers fill the entire hole around the trap with dirt. Usually the trap is still set. Smart little buggers.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Yes, that's common. I would dig it out, clear the hole and reset it because it means they are active in the hole.

[@tbpc800]

I just received my dk 1 Gopher traps! Oh please dear God wish me luck!

[@AnOregonCottage]

Luck! Luck! :)

[@AnOregonCottage]

Brian says to remember to not be discouraged if you don't trap one the first time, keep at it, refining your setting and digging and you'll eventually get them.

[@idahoron]

Thank you this video helped a bunch.

[@AnOregonCottage]

We're so glad it helped!

[@epk2027]

Where thick leather gloves when you pull the trap out of the hole. One time I had one barely caught by the fur and he was still very much alive I was glad I wore gloves , I also had a long copper wire attached to the trap and a long piece of rebar to stake it with.that rebar was used to finish the job , my version of wackamole

[@AnOregonCottage]

Thanks for the tips! Brian wears gloves and has a wire system, but not the rebar idea, so I'll pass that along!

[@cackleberrycottage2340]

Thank you for this information. I only have a 1/4 acre property and they are destroying it! Last year I lost most of my plants to them. We have been trying poison, but with very little success. I have neighbors on either side of me that do nothing about their gophers and so they are breeding and coming into my yard from both sides! I have declared 2020 the year of gopher war and I intend to win!

[@AnOregonCottage]

I hope this works for you like it has for us! It's unfortunate about your neighbors - at least ours has been working to rid her pasture of them, too.

[@AshGreen359]

Perhaps soak the ground with a repellent, if they have better places to go, they'll leave you alone

[@michaelshadler292]

Great and entertaining video

[@AnOregonCottage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gracebock2900]

Hai, just curious to know - what's a gopher? ( I live very far from the US 😁)

[@AnOregonCottage]

They're a rodent that lives underground. Kind of like a cross between a squirrel and a mole.

[@gracebock2900]

@@AnOregonCottage Much thanks for the info.Haha now I hv an extra addition to my English vocabulary n more knowledge of animal world in God's creation😘😘♥️♥️

[@jell4662]

My brother and I used these back in the 70s for our Dads alpha field….the best traps ever! He paid us 25 cents a claw..lol

[@AnOregonCottage]

Nice!

[@Brycebomb90]

Hey man, thanks!

[@AnOregonCottage]

You bet!

[@cpatom777]

GREAT! Thank you!

[@AnOregonCottage]

Glad you liked it!

[@jerrythomas7401]

I have tried about everything that you talked about. Right now I'm using the victor, I only trapped 3 . There laughing at me. I'm in north east Washington and I'm going to order the Dk 1 tomorrow. P.s. I also have the gopher hawk. Don't buy it. It's very expensive and doesn't work. Now I know how they got the dialogue for caddyshack lol

[@AnOregonCottage]

So true! I've had no luck with victor and just this morning caught one with the DK-1! Pulling for you!

[@markfcoble]

Thanks! Good show. The war is on!

[@AnOregonCottage]

And it is a war, that's for sure.

[@MrBornfisher]

I`ve got 10 kills this year. 6 with gopher hawk, 3 with the green traps and 1 BB gun kill. I like the gopher hawk the best. Very quick and humane kills.

[@AnOregonCottage]

That's great and similar to our experience.

[@okamisan3642]

This device makes it four different gopher traps I'm using. The gophernator is my main squeeze.

[@AnOregonCottage]

That's interesting!

[@krisinoregon6806]

YES! I use the gophernator as well. I'm also in the valley. I think my count this year is 8 gophers. I have smaller version for moles, but am never able to trap those guys.

[@airdrop1670]

@@krisinoregon6806 Moles are tricky , place your trap in the run then rock the business end down into the run so they over shoot the trap , you don't want them to feel it or they'll go under it for sure . Here in Michigan we have a bigger and smaller star nose mole that mounds up dirt like gophers , so the 2 sizes are handy .

[@krisinoregon6806]

@@airdrop1670 thanks, my challenge this season is voles. They have absolutely exploded this year.

[@airdrop1670]

@@krisinoregon6806 Found this , interesting Idea , kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3u9qYWnhL9_fbM Also this lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXbPZWSAabxgprc

[@davidparker8242]

I have not tried this trap. It looks good. I caught my gopher with a Gopher Hawk.

[@AnOregonCottage]

The Gopher Hawk looks really cool. I was about to buy one before the DK-1 started working.

[@boonluerblanchette339]

thank you for Sharing this video I will try it hope I have some l luck.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Hope it works for you, too!

[@roberthenchenski6402]

Great video thx u

[@aldo-228]

I wish we had your soil type. I'm fighting lots of rocks and sandy conditions. But l like your videos.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Thank you (though we have a lot of rocks, too!)

[@drumtwo4seven]

DAMN GOOD VIDEO THANK YOU 👍

[@AnOregonCottage]

You're welcome!

[@michaelshadler292]

My problem is finding the tunnel. Got mounds though

[@AnOregonCottage]

I know - that's the time consuming part!

[@survivaltraining8743]

Use a screewdriver to probe the dirt. You will find the hole is much easier to probe even when it has Ben filled with dirt. I used trap gophers for money and you get real good at setting traps fast and they always work if set right.

[@jjharris8341]

I hate gophers as much as anyone, but PLEASE DON'T USE POISON. You will kill hawks, owls, bobcats.

[@AnOregonCottage]

No, we don't now (plus it didn't work the one time we tried it).

[@Laurel-Crowned]

Been trying this for years. I have been unable to find the tunnel after digging and digging and digging. My holes are so little and they cover their holes/tunnels so fast. My poor tree's 😭

[@AnOregonCottage]

I've been there. Sometimes I just can't find the run going down and I feel like I'm just digging a new tunnel. This is especially true when our soil is wet. I've had much better luck when it's dry.

[@sweetboba7971]

I purchase the DK-1 traps a couple of weeks ago ,there's no way I can turn the trigger all the way around, I just don't seem to have the strength to that. What a waist of money,

[@AnOregonCottage]

I wonder if you're trying to turn it too far? You just turn it enough to catch.

[@LarsenBenefitAuctions]

Check out Burrow buddy on KZbin. He sells a took to dig out the tunnel and to set the trap easy enough for a kid. They have worked for me. I hope that helps.

[@MarkVanWey]

In the manufacturer instructions they describe a way to make the spring lighter. Basically just turning it past where it's supposed to be. This stretches the spring so it's not as strong. If you can't set it right now, you will probably need to put it in a vise or clamp to do that. This also makes the trigger more sensitive. (lighter)

[@jamesdewer]

Man, the prep work required to set one of those is horrendous. The odds of it working for smaller coastal gophers questionable. The best traps are those stake type that drive a spike through the varmit. Time permitting a pellet rifle

[@AnOregonCottage]

That's interesting - we hear of different things working for different people. That's why we tested so many before finding this that worked for our gophers.

[@warrenmolle2405]

Set a gopher trap

[@AnOregonCottage]

Right

[@jneubauer76]

Omg do NOT adjust the trigger plate with your hand over the jaws like he is doing once it's spring loaded under tension. If you click it one too many notches while adjusting it your going to land in the ER with your entire palm pierced like a gopher and gloves won't do a thing to prevent it! 🙈

[@AnOregonCottage]

Agreed. Maybe the angle doesn't show it, but I do keep my hand out of the way of the spikes. You're right, it could unexpectedly close, so do be careful.

[@gatovolador1277]

Too much Blah Blah Blah for gopher trap

[@AnOregonCottage]

😂

[@barbaraconnolly9000]

Gross. Why do you feel need to kill all the wild life and Gophers are that. You talk about killing so easily.

[@BrettSutherland10]

When they tear up your yard and eat your food that you've spent months cultivating from seed, then you'll understand. Besides, I'm pretty sure that manual removal of pests is organic! No chemicals added.

[@shawnauw]

You must not have ever had a gopher problem. They literally ruin your yard and garden. A trap is actually a quick and humane way to do it.

[@AnOregonCottage]

Yep.

[@caroljohnson2102]

@@AnOregonCottage p

[@simpleliving4703]

That's disgusting! Leave them alone! Why the heck do you have to trap them? Not humane!!!!

[@AnOregonCottage]

I wish we could. They have destroyed the yard around our house. Leaving big divots so it's difficult even to walk there. And if we let them continue, could undermine the foundation.

[@gracebock2900]

@@AnOregonCottage Be at peace, not guilty.It's pest control😘😘

[@BrettSutherland10]

@@ericheatmiser2099 can I get an amen?

[@heimbatman4516]

You must not own a home, or, don't mind a front yard full of big dirt holes and nothing nice to look at, nor do you have a collapsing driveway and/or sidewalk/home foundation because they've excavated all the dirt from beneath it. Human homes displace their natural predators - they are a part of the environment and have a place, but like everything else, need to be managed due to...us. That means either live catch-and-release (hasn't worked) or trapping, then poison. Next to live catch (not easy AT ALL), instant-kill traps are the next most humane thing to do (catch and release will put them into areas that either give them the opportunity to fuck up someone else's yard, or puts them in close proximity to coyotes/gopher snakes). Poison is the last option, and shouldn't be one that is a 2nd generation kill (i.e. kills an animal that tries to eat the carcass). But doing nothing is only an option if you have a plot of land you don't do anything with. With a brother who's a zen buddhist, I totally get the do-nothing/do no harm to sentient beings thing, but...you'd better be a vegan to even say that.

[@thewizdad]

We have water be lines and the gophers will chew them to get the water. Dead gophers or $5k for new water lines .