GopherHawk® Trapping Set, Includes Wedge and Probe Tool

I don’t normally write reviews but this thing is shockingly good and amazing value at the same time. I didn’t even follow the instructions well: I cleared out a recent hole and pushed the trap down instead of finding a good perpendicular point. We had our first trap within half an hour and another one about ten minutes after I reset the trap.It’s easy to set, easy to clear, and a tenth of the price the local gopher trapper wanted to charge us. I can’t wait to reseed our grass for summer.

This trap can be very effective; sometimes it's easy to set, other times not. The plastic dibble that comes with it is insufficient for most situations; shallow tunnels are not so difficult if the soil is soft, but firm enough to hold (it may help to water the spot first), but it's hard to get it past about 2" without shoving a lot of soil into your hole, you really need a soil auger; these take some practice to use well, and require a fairly large drill (preferably with side handle), but will pull dirt out rather than pushing it down. Beyond 8", you can't get a grip on the trap to set it. The metal bands that do the actual trapping tend to deform, but can usually be bent back into shape; replacements are available, though a tad priceyIt's worth mentioning that once you've caught a gopher you need to do your best to destroy its tunnel system, or another is likely to inhabit it soon.

I'm torn between killing these guys and catching them alive and sending them off far. The latter is very difficult to do. At the least 97% of time, this trap will kill gophers immediately. Great product, works amazing, wish the quality of the barrel is better and not made of plastic. So far I'm 6 for 6 (first one was still alive - had to kill it)

First, let me say I am a bit like Bill Murray in Caddyshack; I'm obsessed!. I have said "I hate moles" thousands of times over the last several years as I constantly battle the litttle buggers. I live in the country on 1.5 acres with a very well kept lawn. For years my yard has suffered from moles. I’ve tried all sorts of spring loaded “jaw” traps, tunnel traps, arsenic bombs, carbon monoxide fitting on my car tailpipe, mole repellent lawn spray, moth balls (they just push them back up and out of the holes), poison pellets and electronic sonic pest deterrents. Literally hundreds of dollars in failed products. Nothing worked to get rid of moles on my property. Not once had I ever been able to catch a mole with spring loaded traps. Previous to finding this product my most effective method was digging them up with a large shovel (nick named "Whac-a-mole") when I saw the ground moving or pumping three rounds of 12 gauge shotgun shells into the ground when I saw the ground moving (I live in the country and my neighbors do the same thing). I saw this listing on Amazon and watched the “how to” video and I had an “ah-ha!” moment. No digging up my nice lawn to set a trap in the tunnel! I just had to push a pointed tool into the ground that created a small round hole to insert the spring loaded pole, set the trap and wait. Using the probing tool was really cool because when you do find the tunnel you can just feel the difference in how the probe slides into the dirt. First try, I set the trap and nothing happened for two days. This morning, the spring loaded rod showed yellow on the shaft. I have been disappointed by so many kinds of devices in the past that I was ready to think that this too was a failed product. To my amazement, when I pulled up on the rod, out came the nasty little mole! It worked like a charm!For those of you who worry about the little buggers suffering…….well, I tried setting the trap in the house and used a plastic straw to trip the trigger…..BAM! It was frightening! There is a LOT of force that slams these little guys when it goes off. I can guarantee you that they don’t even know what hit them and that they are dead instantly! I cannot comment yet on durability. Drawbacks: The punch tool for creating the hole in the ground is very sturdy PVC and I think it will hold up for most applications, I can see it breaking for users with extremely hard soil. The punch tool is very hard to push into the ground and did take all my strength to get it in past all of the lawn roots. I can say that it is nice to set this and walk away, knowing it is a bit like fishing. Just be patient. I was so impressed, I bought two more stand alone traps today (I don't need to pay extra for the set that comes with the probing and punch tools). I'm going to offer all of my old garbage mole traps on Craigslist for free now since those other products don't seem to work for me.

The media could not be loaded. For the past few months my yard has been infested with gophers. Having an elderly mother and pet, I was worried they could step on loose dirt (due to the numerous tunnels these gophers had made) and sprain something. which at her age, could be serious. I researched everything imaginable (exterminator, poison worms etc). I saw a video on a a social media platform about this trap and was excited and ordered it. I have to say the shipping took longer than expected, however I am giving the benefit of the doubt that it was (maybe) on back order. The instructions weren’t too clear ( at least to me) and the first time I tried to set it, I couldn’t figure it out. One afternoon after work I came home and saw the gopher had gone in on my lawn and made about five different holes in the past few hours. I was pretty irritated and grabbed the trap and somehow my irritation helped in setting the trap. No lie - within about five minutes the trap went off (the yellow portion of the trap was exposed indicating the trap had gone off). As I had previously read reviews online about faulty alarms (set off by dirt) I didn’t check the trap until the following day. I gently pulled the trap from the ground and shouted in surprise as it had caught the gopher.About the product itself. The trap itself is very sturdy and you can tell it’s made to last. The size is just about right to fit inside one of their various tunnels. The poking stick is useful but I wouldn’t say required. The instructions were confusing, I hope this helps somebody, when sticking the trap into the hole, you place an open palm at the very top of the trap and use your other hand to pull the sleeve up and then twist slightly until you hear a click. My mistake was pushing the trap down. For obvious reasons I am not showing the trapped gopher in the video but the mess they made in my back yard. I would defInetly recommend this trap to anybody with a gopher problem. One more thing, after it catches the first one, you can reuse and stick back in the ground. Also you don’t have to get your hands dirty to release. You just pull the plastic sleeve up and the trap releases to discard. Also, the yellow portion will pop up to let you know once the trap has been set.