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This review was published in the Probe, the official newsletter of the National
Animal Damage Control Association and is presented in a slightly modified form
here. If you would like a product reviewed click
review.
We don't have pocket gophers here in New England but having heard about them
I wanted to learn a little more about them. Ken Carver has produced a video
that does just that. I was amazed at how much digging those gophers could accomplish.
It seems that farmers need to control pocket gophers for two different reasons.
The first reason is the damage they do to the roots of various plants. The second
reason is the mounds they leave behind can damage farming equipment. Or at best,
these mounds require the farmer to raise the equipment above the mounds thereby
reducing his productivity.
Mr. Carver begins the video by providing an overview of the four traps he uses.
The visual quality of the picture at the beginning of the video is too poor
to really glean much from the opening about the traps. On the other hand, his
overview of the other equipment was very informative. Like the rest of the film,
Mr. Carver provides a meat and potatoes discussion of the gopher trapping experience.
It is to his credit that he refrains from hawking some new fangled gopher trapping
super tool that isn't really even needed. He tells you what you equipment you
need to trap gophers.
The tape moves quickly to identifying gopher damage and setting traps. Mr.
Carver emphasizes the need to set traps in the fresh mounds. While it was difficult
to see the difference between and old and new mound by looking at the tape,
I think common sense would tell a novice trapper the relative age of the mound.
Basic biology of the gopher is covered, but only those aspects relevant for
the trapper to capture them. This video is very focused on the how to's of catching
gophers.
The central, and lion's share of the tape is spent on setting traps and removing
gophers. Mr. Carver explains how to set traps in the plug holes and in the main
tunnels. A careful viewer will note how he probes to find the tunnels. The examples
get a bit repetitive but repetition is a good teacher. Like most animal damage
control, gopher trapping is not rocket science. It just requires attention to
the fundamentals. Although all the gophers shown in the video were dead, Mr.
Carver does wisely warn the viewer that a small percentage will still be alive
when the traps are checked. I would also add that it wouldn't be bad idea to
wear gloves when handling wildlife whether it is dead or alive.
I appreciated Mr. Carver's demonstration of how to make a gopher set that would
be safe around children and pets. Too often ADC information is given that doesn't
consider the liability risks of urban and suburban settings. Another bonus was
how he described how to make another child safe set, thus giving the viewer
two safer ways to trap for gophers. I am confident that his concern for safe
sets flows from being the father of two fine boys. I was also impressed to hear
how to make your sets less susceptible to trap thieves.
The video concludes with a discussion on the four basic traps he uses along
with demonstrations on how to set them. This portion was more useful than his
discussion of the same traps in the beginning because the video was much clearer.
This video doesn't cover all the gopher traps available but it does mention
the most common. I have given the video an animal damage control grade of a
B. Its strengths lie in its straightforward approach to gopher trapping. Mr.
Carter has provided enough information to get someone started in gopher trapping.
The negatives of the video as I see them are as follows. First, the quality
of the taping could have been higher. For example the video lacks picture clarity
at various times making it hard to see what he is describing. This doesn't happen
too often but the general lack of high definition can be annoying. The audio
also recorded the grinding noise of the camera's turning of the tape. Second,
regarding content I would have liked more information on pricing jobs. If that
isn't possible then a description of how much time it should take to trap a
given amount of land would have been helpful. In fairness to Mr. Carter, he
does talk about the costs of traps and how many sets could be made in an hour.
But telling us that a bounty of two dollars a gopher isn't enough to tell us
what should be charged to trap gophers. Finally, I would have liked to have
seen some discussion on handling misfired traps and problem situations. For
example, how long should one set traps in an area? Moles can go deep during
the dry summer months only to reappear on the surface after a rain. Do pocket
gophers act in a similar way? This information would be important to know for
the beginning gopher trapper.
Despite these negatives, the video still merits a B rating. It is almost eighty
minutes long and does include information on where to buy traps. It even has
Mr. Carter's address so I am confident that he would answer other questions
if you wrote him. Bottom line, for twenty dollars post paid, this tape is a
bargain. You could certainly make your money back in gophers in no time.
Copyright 1996 Stephen Vantassel
Stephen Vantassel is a Certified
Wildlife Control Professional. He is a nationally known writer including
having been an assistant editor for Wildlife Control Technology magazine, author
of numerous ADC articles as well as The Wildlife Removal
Handbook rev.ed and the Wildlife Damage Inspection
Handbook rev. ed. Mr. Vantassel is also a vocal critic of the growing animal
rights movement. He has exposed the fallacies and deceptions of the animal
rights protest industry through debate, lecture and publication.
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on resolving human/wildlife conflicts. We welcome suggestions, criticisms to
help us achieve this goal. The information provided is for informational purposes
only and users of the information use it at their own risk. The reader must
consult state/federal officials to determine the legality of any technique in
the reader's locale. Some techniques are dangerous to the user and to others.
WDC encourages readers to obtain appropriate training (see our informational
literature at our Store ), and understand that proper animal damage
control involves patience, understanding that not every technique/method works
for every situation or even 100% of the time. Your use of this information is
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11/9/03
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