No Gopher Trapping For Me!

Tom  has been laid up with a sciatic nerve problem and Jordan has been out of town, so there hasn't been any progress in the gopher eradication area this past week.  So, I decided to take it upon myself to set the traps.  I fiddled with them for a few minutes to figure out how to set the trapping mechanism and it's pretty scary being as how they could easily be tripped and smash the fingers that are holding them.

I set the three traps and put them in the gopher holes, then went back to check them in a few hours.  All of the holes had been repaired by the gophers without springing the traps.  So, I pulled them out, cleared the holes again and pushed the traps further down into the tunnel. 

I checked them again yesterday morning.  Again, the holes had been repaired without springing the traps...except for the last one.  It was sprung, so I pulled it out and was dismayed to see that the gopher was still very much alive.  The trap had snapped closed on it's NOSE.  I want to cry just thinking about it now.

It was struggling mightily and I hate to think about how long it might have been stuck in that trap...in pain.  I quickly released it and it immediately started to dig a hole, trying to get away.  So, what to do?  It doesn't make much sense to trap gophers and then let them go.  And I couldn't stand thinking of an injured gopher possibly living in pain or starving because it's mouth was broken.  So, I caught it in a McAlisters cup and took it up to the house to give to Harry, who killed it quickly.

Nope, no more gopher trapping for me.  I'm not cut out for it.  I feel sorry for even the most hideous and destructive creatures.