Anyone here Trap Gophers/Groundhogs/Digging F**kers?

I Have a (Family of?) gophers or ground hogs or some sort of fat digging assholes destroying my property. Anyone here trap them or know how to eliminate them? I Have a haveahart trap or two but no idea how to bait. If someone here traps and is interested, property is 7 Acres (5 AC farmed) with a Barn and House in Elk Township/Glassboro NJ. Assholes have dug under every deck, shed, the barn, you name it. Holes everywhere. Discharging is legal so dispatching them is no issue once trapped. I Just want them gone!

I know for a fact that they eat cat food

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I’ll give that a shot! I’ve seen them out and about a few times now but don’t want to walk around with a 22 trying to hunt them with tenants living in the house, they are definitely the progressive types. I just don’t want to wait until they move out, these things are doing some real damage. I’d rather trap and then dispatch.

Also just to clarify, the tenants only have the house and front yard, we occupy the rest of the land and barn so no concerns as far as the law goes with shared/common space etc.

Cantaloupe has worked well for bait, just leave a trail into the trap.

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Set the traps up facing the hole and use some boards or blocks to funnel them right into the trap. It’s what I have done for years and works great. And don’t even bait the trap most of the time. Just make it so there only path is straight into the trap.

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It is illegal to release them on public land in NJ and you need permission from the landowner if you want to release them on private land - good luck finding anyone that will do that.

A .22 is pretty effective against them. Shoot them while they are still in the trap. You do not want to fight one.

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So. If you’re in elk twsp. Theres actually a contest that goes down there. Longest kill shot. I believe its now around 700 or so yards. Let your local guys know. Theyll take care of it. Maybe contact handyman. I believe hes in cohansey area.

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A slice of apple with some peanut butter always works for me(in the trap).
If you got a bow or crossbow you can hunt them… silently. Lol.
Now if those deer are problem come September…give me a call. :slight_smile: :wink:
Nick

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It would be a shame if your rain barrels or 55-gallon drums collected water.

I just wanted to trap them so that i can unalive them in said trap ensuring a safe backdrop; RT55 is within ‘oops’ distance if one was to fire a firearm in the wrong direction (Probably 400-500 yards?) So are some 55+ homes. So, trap, then dispatch, just to be safe. Do i trust my shot? yes. Do i trust that a 22 won’t ricochet off a rock and hurt someone? Nopes. Can always bring them home to my folks house and dispatch em there, much safer to shoot here and i have a range out back.

That i am. I’ll post in the Elk Group on Facebook, mayhaps?

Havahart trap with watermelon rinds (make sure to take it in at night or you’ll trap a raccoon). I’ve dispatched of multiple with the trap and some CCI Quiet .22LR in my Henry Lever action and it’s just a little pop. They’re pretty fat so you gotta hit 'em in the head.

Armadillo are our digging scourge. They dig up yards and flowerbeds in search of grubs.

Usually, treating for grubs keeps them from digging up the yard, but so does a suppressed .22.

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Following you for more recipes! :rofl:

We don’t eat those damn things! They carry leprocy!

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Nah. Ill bare knuckle them.

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I believe you

How about using a crossbow. Silent.

+1 for a crossbow.

Expect a great thrashing when you land the shot - they may look slow and sedate normally, but I can tell you from experience that they can go plaid when hurt.