How to Kill Gophers Without Killing Your Pets

Fumigants and dry chemicals intended for gophers can seriously injure or kill an inquisitive pet. Traps using a pair of sharpened pincers and a pressure plate are an effective alternative to toxic chemicals. These traps are buried below ground, where pets cannot easily reach them and are too small to kill animals bigger than a gopher. Knowing the right way to set your traps and where to put them are key to successfully putting an end to gophers in your yard.


Locate the gophers' tunnels in your yard. Look for mounds of dirt that have fresh, moist soil. Check the shape of the mound; gopher mounds leave a horseshoe-shaped mound with a distinct dirt plug in the middle, compared to the round volcano-shaped mounds left by moles.


Use a metal pipe or rod to probe the soil around the freshly dug gopher mounds you located. The main burrow is usually located roughly 8 to 12 inches from the open side of a mound. Most gopher burrows are 6 to 12 inches below the surface. Your probe will suddenly drop 2 to 3 inches when it penetrates a gopher tunnel.


Open up the ground above the gopher tunnel using a shovel. Remove enough dirt to reveal a 1-foot section of gopher tunnel and leave yourself room to work comfortably. Keep the dirt nearby so you can replace it after you remove your traps.


Drive a stake into the undisturbed soil next to the hole. Cut two pieces of string long enough to reach from the stake into the gopher tunnel with enough extra length to make two knots. Tie one end of each string to the frame of two separate gopher traps at the pincer end of the trap.


Position the trigger bar under the trap and press down on the arms of the trap to spread the pincers at the end of the arms. Hook the trigger bar into the trigger plate to set the trap. Repeat this process for the other trap.


Place one trap in one end of the exposed tunnel with the trigger plate facing into the tunnel. Place the second trap opposite to the first in the entrance to the other end of the tunnel with its trigger plate facing into the tunnel.


Tie the strings from each trap to the stake and cover the hole with a plywood board to exclude sunlight and pets from the tunnel. If you have a pet that likes to explore, weigh the board down with a heavy object to keep them from moving it. Wait two days to check your trap. If your trap has not caught a gopher within three days, move the traps to a different tunnel.