Death Clutch Gopher Also Good as a Mole Trap

The trap is to big to go into a mole tunnel. There are others that work great for moles.

Gopher moved into my pasture last autumn. Really tore things up this Spring. I tried easysets, macabees, box traps, propane gas with pop bottle rocket chasers. My neighbor's pest control guy had a carbon monoxide machine with a long tube inserted into tunnels..Gopher even stuffed this trap with dirt a few times as if taunting me. He was a devious little pest!Finally I put this into his tunnel correctly. It didn't go in easily on the bottom of the tunnel so I rotated it about 90 degrees so the bottom of the trap was on the side of the tunnel. Got him from the top and bottom instead of side to side pinceringLife's better without Gophers

Why would I give this trap a 3-star rating? I think this *type* of trap is very effective, but the particular trap I received is WAY too difficult to set! I am not talking about the technique, but rather the strength required. I am a strong guy and I gave up - it was absurdly difficult. That much spring power is not required to do the job, and that degree of difficulty makes it dangerous to handle, even with heavy gloves. This type of trap made by another supplier might be fine, but not this one in my case. Reduce the tension, guys!

These traps are durable and work well but take some patience to figure out how to use effectively. For setting them, there are several videos on youtube that go through the process step-by-step. Once it's set, you have to dig out the gopher's hole well enough to insert the trap deep in its hole and to ensure the jaws won't catch in the dirt. If the metal gets too rusty, apply some WD-40 to the jaws and tripping mechanism. If the trap still fails to clamp shut after triggering, you can bend the tripping mechanism so that it has less firm contact with the jaws. My father-in-law has a trap like this that he uses to catch gophers with great success which is what persuaded me to purchase one. I missed several gophers and got frustrated with it when I first tried one myself. Then I had him come over and saw how he dug out the gopher holes and placed the trap and started catching them every time. I even showed my grandma how to catch moles in her yard with them. She is 79 and uses a screwdriver for torque when setting them, but it works better than anything else. I'd also suggest attaching them to a stake and chain to prevent other critters from running off with your trap if it kills a gopher while you're not paying attention to it.

If you don’t know how they work, then watch some YouTube videos to get it setup correctly. Had a 50% success rate in one night! One step closer to no dirt piles in my backyard!!

The first day I set this traps I got 3 gophers, the next day I got one more. This DK-1 traps are great, easy to set and easy to remove the pest from it. Works very well, if you set the traps the right way. Highly recommended, getting my lawn and veggies back.

Probably a good trap for meatier gophers, but my gophers are small. They kept on burying the trap, sometimes setting it off, sometimes not. Had to buy a smaller trap (different manufacturer) for pocket gophers. I don't understand the "Safe around Pets and Children" claim. Perhaps when in the box; once this is set, I would keep pets and children away.

I'm a rookie at gopher trapping but I didn't catch any with this type. They kept burying the trap. I like the CINCH trap better and have caught 2 in 2 attempts, but they are expensive. But I can say this trap is well made, heavy duty and easy to set (after watching a youtube video showing me how - its all about holding it properly).