6 Best Gopher Traps For Preventing Damage To Irrigation That Old-Timers Trust
Protect your irrigation from gopher damage with time-tested solutions. We review 6 classic traps that seasoned farmers trust for reliable, effective results.
You walk out to your garden one morning and see it: a fresh mound of dirt right next to your main poly pipe. A gopher has found your irrigation system, and now it’s a race against time before you find a leak. Protecting those drip lines and pipes isn’t just about saving your plants; it’s about protecting the time and money you’ve invested in your setup. This is where old-school trapping knowledge becomes one of your most valuable tools.
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Gopher Tunnels vs. Mole Hills Near Drip Lines
Before you set a single trap, you have to know your enemy. A gopher mound is crescent-shaped or fan-shaped, with a dirt plug sealing the hole just off to one side. This is the work of a vegetarian that sees your drip lines as just another juicy root to chew through.
A mole hill, on the other hand, is a perfectly conical, volcano-shaped mound with no visible hole. Moles are insectivores, tunneling through the soil in search of grubs and worms. While their tunnels can heave up soil and disturb roots, they rarely chew on plastic pipes.
Misidentifying the pest is the most common mistake. Setting a gopher trap in a mole’s surface feeding tunnel is a complete waste of effort while the real culprit continues its destructive work underground. Take five minutes to properly identify the mound, and you’ll save yourself days of frustration.
The Macabee Trap: An Old-Timer’s Go-To Choice
The Macabee is the quintessential gopher trap for a reason. Its simple wire-and-pincher design has been proven effective for decades. It’s a straightforward tool that relies on the gopher’s instinct to plug any light or air leaks in its tunnel.
When a gopher encounters the trap, it tries to push dirt forward to seal the tunnel. This action presses against the flat trigger pan, releasing the spring-loaded jaws. It’s a simple, brutally effective mechanism that works in a wide variety of soil conditions, from sandy loam to moderate clay.
There is a learning curve, and you need to respect the power of its spring—it can snap a finger. But once you learn how to set them safely, a pair of Macabees placed in a main runway is one of the most reliable methods out there. They are inexpensive, durable, and what many seasoned farmers reach for first.
Cinch Traps for Shallow Irrigation Pipe Protection
Cinch traps, sometimes called choker loop traps, work on a different principle. Instead of a jaw mechanism, they use a wire loop that "cinches" around the gopher’s body as it passes through. This design makes them exceptionally good for the shallow feeder tunnels that often run parallel to irrigation lines.
Because they catch the gopher as it moves through the tunnel, you don’t need the animal to be actively plugging the hole. This makes them a great choice for intercepting gophers along their regular travel paths. If you have drip lines laid on the surface or buried just a few inches down, a well-placed cinch trap can protect that specific area very effectively.
Setting them can feel awkward at first, as you have to arrange the loop and trigger wire just right inside the small tunnel. It takes a bit of practice. But their effectiveness in tight, shallow spaces makes them an indispensable tool for targeted protection around critical infrastructure.
Trapline Gophinator: For Tough, Compacted Soil
The Gophinator is essentially a cinch trap on steroids. Built from heavy-gauge stainless steel with a formidable spring, it’s designed for the toughest conditions. If you’re dealing with hardpan, compacted clay, or rocky ground, this is the trap you want.
In tough soil, gophers don’t move a lot of loose dirt. A standard trap with a less sensitive trigger might fail to spring. The Gophinator’s power and sensitive trigger mechanism ensure it fires reliably, even with minimal disturbance from the gopher.
This is not a beginner’s trap. It’s more expensive and its powerful spring demands serious respect during handling. But when you’ve had other traps fail because the ground is just too hard, the Gophinator often provides the solution. It’s a professional-grade tool for a persistent and difficult problem.
Victor Black Box: A Safer Trap Around Livestock
The Victor Black Box trap takes a different approach by enclosing the entire mechanism. It’s a plastic box with a tunnel running through it and a powerful snap trap inside. You place the box directly in the gopher’s runway, and the gopher is caught as it moves through.
Its primary advantage is safety. On a hobby farm with free-ranging chickens, curious dogs, or even goats, an exposed trap in the ground is a liability. The Black Box completely contains the snapping parts, making it a far safer option to use around other animals.
The tradeoff is that it can be less effective than a more discreet in-tunnel trap. Some gophers are wary of entering the plastic box, so placement has to be perfect, with the tunnel entrances aligned exactly with the gopher’s runway. It’s an excellent choice when safety is your absolute top priority.
The DK-1 Gopher Getter for Deep Tunnel Systems
When you’re dealing with a large, established gopher population, their main tunnels can be surprisingly deep. The DK-1 is specifically designed to target these deep runways with minimal digging. It’s a vertical-set trap that you lower into the tunnel from above.
The process involves using a probe to locate a main run, which might be a foot or more below the surface. Once located, you use an auger or spade to create a small-diameter hole just big enough to lower the trap into the tunnel. A trigger wire hangs down, and when the gopher bumps it, a set of spikes is released.
This trap is a game-changer for large areas because it saves an immense amount of time and labor. You don’t have to excavate a large hole to expose the tunnel. It does require the skill to find those deep tunnels by feel, but for managing a widespread problem, its efficiency is unmatched.
Sweeney’s Jaw Trap: An Accessible Hardware Store Pick
You’ll find the Sweeney’s style of jaw trap in almost any hardware or farm supply store. It’s a spring-loaded jaw trap that you set and place vertically in the gopher’s tunnel. For many people, it’s the first type of gopher trap they ever buy.
Its biggest advantage is accessibility and intuitive design. If you’ve ever set a similar style of trap, you’ll understand the mechanism immediately. When you discover a gopher problem and need a solution today, being able to run to the local store and grab a couple of these is a major plus.
However, many old-timers find them less reliable than a Macabee or a Cinch trap. They can be less sensitive and sometimes require a larger hole to place them correctly. While they can certainly work, they often function as a decent entry-point trap before a farmer moves on to more specialized and effective designs.
Proper Trap Placement in Main Gopher Runways
You can own the best trap in the world, but it will catch nothing if it’s in the wrong place. Successful trapping is 90% placement and 10% the trap itself. The goal is to find a main runway, not one of the dead-end feeder tunnels that lead to a mound.
Start by finding a fresh mound. Then, take a long screwdriver or a dedicated gopher probe and poke the ground in a circle 8-12 inches away from the mound’s plugged hole. You are feeling for a sudden give, where the probe drops into the hollow tunnel. This is the main runway.
Once you find it, carefully dig down to expose the tunnel. You should see it running in two opposite directions. Place one trap in each opening, facing into the tunnel, and use a wire or chain to stake the traps to the surface. This prevents a scavenger from making off with your trap and your catch.
Finally, and this is crucial, cover the excavated hole with a piece of plywood, a bucket, or a large stone, sealing the edges with dirt. You want to block out all light. A gopher’s instinct is to find and plug any light or air leak in its tunnel system. This instinct will lead it directly into your trap.
Ultimately, the best gopher trap is the one that fits your soil type, safety needs, and the specific gopher behavior on your property. Don’t be afraid to try a couple of different types to see what works best for you. Mastering this skill is a fundamental part of protecting your irrigation and ensuring your hard work in the garden pays off.
