To make the description clearer, I'll break down the process into steps. Assuming you have a fresh gopher mound. You can also find these materials like old wires from old scraps wires in your store. Step 1: Prepare the Stick Materials Needed: A fresh or newly cut 2 cm diameter, 1 meter stick Copper wire (18 gauge, 1 mm diameter) String-like freshly cut soft black wattle tree bark (preferably from a young tree) Small 3 cm long stick Step 2: Bend the 1 Meter Stick 1. Chop One End and Pin in Ground: Chop one end of the stick. Pin the bendable stick firmly in the ground, 0.7 meters from the back of the gopher hill mound hole. 2. Bend the Stick: Bend the 1 meter stick tightly so that it reaches the outlet of the gopher hill hole. Step 3: Attach Copper Wire Tie the Copper Wire: Tie a 1-foot long 18 gauge, 1 mm diameter copper wire to the other end of the stick so that the stick’s tip touches the ground. Make a 1 mm small hole to penetrate the top of the gopher hill hole 7 cm from its outlet. Shape the wire into a circular loop fitting inside the gopher hill tunnel. Step 4: Attach String-like Black Wattle Tree Bark Tie the Bark: Tie the soft black wattle tree bark to the bendable stick 7 cm from where you tied the wire. Similarly, make a 1 mm small hole in the gopher hill tunnel for the bark to penetrate. Step 5: Secure the Bark Secure with a Small Stick: Tie a small piece of a 3 cm long stick to the other end of the black wattle tree bark string . Make a small hole inside the gopher hill hole and bury the small stick FIRMLY. Leave the traps uncovered to attract gophers, as they are drawn to these openings in their search to plug them. Gophers tend to avoid exposed areas. Tip: You can also add just a few smelly vegetation like lettuce around the bark to increase attraction. How It Works Gopher Attraction: The gopher, hungry, goes to eat the black wattle tree bark string, mistaking it for a root. And also seeking to plug the opening. Trap Mechanism: The gopher's neck goes through the circular wire inside the tunnel FIRST before it eats up the black wattle tree bark, it trips the bendable stick, pulling the wire upwards. The wire then tightens around the gopher's neck, choking it. Check traps regularly and reset them as needed. If no gopher is caught within 2 days, move the traps to a new location and reset them. This method looks and sounds so elementary BUT works so well and it's also cost effective. Just follow the steps in detail. Hope it helps. Discover How to Turn a Typical Money-Draining House into a Tiny, Profitable Homestead
Growing up we could get some money from the county office for each pair of front gopher feet. I would trap those suckers all summer long (we had 15 acres of land growing up). Cut the feet off, put them in a jar in the freezer then come fall turn them in. I would get some spending cash, wasn't much, but to a kid (and being in the late 70's early 80's) it was enough. This is the type of trap we used, simple to setup and very effective.
