Groundhogs and Live Traps

[benjamin]

Thanks for all the great tips, but does anyone know if these ideas would work for gophers and moles? We have a ton of them in our backyard and it is driving us nuts.

Thanks in advance for your advice

Poison for gophers.

For moles, bait a rat trap with bacon grease, place near hole in run, cover with bushel basket to keep it dark and tasty smelling. Repeat. Compliments of Wisconsin Public Radio.


CO2 maybe should have been CO which is quite effective. New thread idea convert your gasser to a lethal gasser. Also, propane or acetylene are heavier than air and will displace enough oxygen to kill in a confined space, CO2 might do the same.

 

[Jags]

For moles, bait a rat trap with bacon grease, place near hole in run, cover with bushel basket to keep it dark and tasty smelling. Repeat. Compliments of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Huh, never heard this one, but it sounds logical.

 

[BrotherBart]

For moles, bait a rat trap with bacon grease, place near hole in run, cover with bushel basket to keep it dark and tasty smelling. Repeat. Compliments of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Huh, never heard this one, but it sounds logical.

Or just a great reason to eat a lot of bacon. :cheese:

 

[Jags]

Bacon - the only reason for lettuce to exist.

 

[basswidow]

I saw a TV article on a guy that turned an old septic sucking truck into a gopher catcher. Called his business Dog Gone something or other. Worked a charm... sucked them suckers right out of their hole.

They stuck a TV camera inside the truck and you could see them dogs fly. The guy put in a big piece of foam cushion so the dogs had a soft landing. It was hilarious watching the dogs bounce off the foam with a dazed look.

I doubt you could entice them into a live trap.

This might fall into the category of you might be a redneck........ sounds halarious. I can't wait to get home and watch the youtube. It's blocked at work!

 

[woodsmaster]

I've traped them using cabage.

 

[Czech]

90% of mole diet is earth worms. That known, save your grub and whatever else money and buy one of the following....Talprid and/or spike traps. Or spend some cash on some beer and one of these! http://www.rodenator.com/

 

[vvvv]

in maine its illegal to transport/relocate the vermins

 

[Jags]

90% of mole diet is earth worms. That known, save your grub and whatever else money and buy one of the following....Talprid and/or spike traps. Or spend some cash on some beer and one of these! http://www.rodenator.com/

:lol: :lol: Baahahaa that thing is FRICKEN AWESOME!

 

[begreen]

Caddyshack anyone? Bill Murray would have loved this, but at $1500, you need to have a major problem or a major attitude.

 

[BrotherBart]

OK Bubba. Hold my beer and watch THIS!

 

[kenny chaos]

Rags soaked in diesel oil and smoldering inside a closed up hole
will also do the trick.
My one paying gig for the summer is mowing the lawn for the widow Jo
who at 91 decided she didn't want to mow her lawn anymore.
She uses clorine to remove vermin.
Last year she beat a full grown woodchuck to death with a broom
and live trapped another.

 

[Dix]

Rags soaked in diesel oil and smoldering inside a closed up hole
will also do the trick.
My one paying gig for the summer is mowing the lawn for the widow Jo
who at 91 decided she didn't want to mow her lawn anymore.
She uses clorine to remove vermin.
Last year she beat a full grown woodchuck to death with a broom
and live trapped another.

Go Jo !!

;-P

Pun intended

 

[mrurbplanner]

Thanks for all of the advice. The groundhog seems to have moved on over the past week as I have not seen him in the yard nor around the hole. Maybe the neighbour's dog had some fun with him.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Does anyone here have any experience with live trapping ground hogs that could offer some tips and lessons learned?

I have discovered one on my lot and am looking to live trap it and relocate it. It looks as if the groundhog just set up the den within the past day as the sand pile down from the hole is fresh.

I live in an urban fringe / suburban area so am also curious as to how far I should relocate the ground hog once I trap it. I am considering a location in a wooded area about 6 kilometers away (10 minutes by car).

Thanks

I did not read the posts after the OP but....


Why would anyone live trap an animal and then relocate it to become a problem for someone else? To be very honest, it really ticks me off when I hear of this sort of thing being done. I know around our area people who live in towns like to live trap the animals, especially coons. Then they will bring them out in the country "where they won't be a problem." Excuse me! They are a problem out in the country. It makes no difference if it is coons, woodchucks, skunks or whatever. We don't want your problems. Take care of them yourself.

Oh, but some folks don't want to kill an animal. What do you suppose happens to those animals that get live trapped and then let loose in the country?


Here is one good example: A neighbor had gotten rid of over 20 coons last summer. He has a rental home across the road from his place and his renter called one afternoon to tell him that over 20 coons were in his yard! Are they a problem? Yes. Have you ever seen a corn field after 20 coons have had a night or two in them? An even bigger problem is that when the animals get so populated, disease then strikes and one of the worse seems to be that rabies become wide spread. Is that what the live trappers want?

Okay. Rant done. Carry on.

 

[LLigetfa]

Okay. Rant done. Carry on.

The city folk are always turning their unwanted cats loose around here. It feeds the foxes. We get our retaliation by turning our unwanted kittens loose at a schoolyard in town. %-P

 

[Hunderliggur]

Thanks for all of the advice. The groundhog seems to have moved on over the past week as I have not seen him in the yard nor around the hole. Maybe the neighbour's dog had some fun with him.

Maybe he was reading the list over your shoulder and got the message!

 

[Gooserider]

Worth pointing out that it is illegal in MOST places to relocate a trapped critter, for multiple reasons, and often with VERY hefty penalties...

Relocating is also counterproductive - the reason why the critter moved into your neighborhood to begin with is that his old digs were getting to crowded. If you relocate him, you increase the crowding, and the odds that even if the original critter doesn't come back, that you will cause the one in your neighbor's yard to get "pushed" into yours - it is sort of like one of those tile games where you have to make room for the critter you are trying to move by pushing one into the space you are clearing...

OTOH, if you bump off the critter, you don't add to the pressure that made him try to move in on you...

Gooserider

 

[bsa0021]

How do you do the propane thing.....safely? Do I get a torch adapter from HF for my grill tank fill the hole for a few and throw a match in the hole?
Live trapping always concerned me in another way.......What if you catch a skunk??

 

[Gooserider]

How do you do the propane thing.....safely? Do I get a torch adapter from HF for my grill tank fill the hole for a few and throw a match in the hole?
Live trapping always concerned me in another way.......What if you catch a skunk??

My understanding of the propane thing from looking at their website, is that the torch is a special adapter w/ a lighter head built in, and a long hose. The idea is to put the head in the hole, and run the hose out a long distance, then turn on the gas for a specified length of time, followed by hitting the spark head...

In terms of the skunk, supposedly they won't spray in the dark, especially in a confined space that doesn't offer a , so the advice I've seen is to cover the trap w/ blankets or other light blocking material, and then transport it to the point where you will be releasing it... It is also best to be as gentle as possible while doing this. Then set up the trap to release out one end, and flip the cover off that end while you get out of range in the opposite direction. You will probably have a few seconds, possibly much longer (allow several hours) while the skunk is evaluating the situation before it comes out, and then it will be much more interested in making a break for the nearest cover than it will be in seeking revenge... Remember they don't spray except as a last resort, so if you provide a clear and non-threatening escape route, they would far rather take that as opposed to giving you the spray bomb .

Gooserider

 

[benjamin]

How do you do the propane thing.....safely?

safely??? this is the DIY forum, maybe you were looking for something else?

The southeast asian tunnel elimination technique, (as I've been told, wasn't there), is to use an oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane cutting rig adjusted to a carburizing flame but extinguished to fill the hole with a mix of oxygen and heavier than air explosive gas, then light from a distance. I assume the rodentenator uses propane and air or oxygen in the same manner, and is safe as long as the tunnels are small enough.

Never tried it but small engine exhaust or maybe even a bucketful of hot coals (odorless carbon monoxide) might be effective if the tunnel entrances can be located and sealed up.