Black Hole Rodent Trap
by F.B.N. Plastics
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Black Hole Rodent Trap
Customer Review: Works great...a little patience definitely helps though
Summary: 5 Stars
My poison probe seemed to stop working (didn't stop fresh mounds from appearing). My local paper printed an article about a couple that had just bought a property, only to discover there was a bad gopher problem there. The property owners seemed to swear by this product, so I ordered 2 of them right away.
Gopher activity seemed to stop a couple of days before I received them, so I knew already that a little patience would be important. After a couple of weeks, I finally found a fresh mound. I set the first trap that evening, then discovered that it caught a gopher before I went to work the next morning. A week or so later, I found another new mound in the back yard and set another trap. It took a couple of days (no new mounds were popping up anyway), and I at first wondered if I was really even dealing with a fresh gopher hole, but after a couple of days...it caught and killed yet another gopher.
Things to know about this product:
1. Trap diameter is probably at least twice that of a typical gopher tunnel. You will probably need to make the "damaged" area a little more "damaged" by displacing a little more soil in order to get the trap set. Consider the alternative (additional new mounds throughout) and you will hopefully realize the necessity of doing this.
2. Don't worry about setting trap completely parallel to tunnel. It doesn't take much light coming in the back of trap to get a gopher's attention.
3. Cover as much of the trap as possible without covering the end hole, if necessary. The first mound I had success with was in my front yard right next to the sidewalk. I also live at the end of a cul-de-sac where kids frequently play. Hiding as much of the trap as possible might be necessary to decrease the odds of a curious kid tampering with the trap. Don't be afraid to completely conceal the mechanism with a little soil. The springload on it is sufficient to make it easily throw the cover soil out of the way if it catches something.
You might have a hard time stomaching the site of a dead gopher hanging by its neck or chest from the end of this thing, but I personally take joy in getting payback for the damage that frequently gets caused to my lawns. Even if you can handle the site, you won't have to even touch the animal. Just hold the trap over an open trash bin, push down the mechanism, and the carcass will fall into the trash bin.
As long as you cover the trap entrance with dirt, this thing should work well - even if you have to wait 2-3 days for the gopher to return.
Customer Review: 2 for 2 and Counting
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw the little mounds of dirt left behind by the nighttime visitors to our back yard, I didn't know what to do. Until 2 years ago, I'd never had a lawn in my life. I got on the Internet and started searching for answers. Solutions to gopher problems varied wildly and none of them sounded particularly easy. So I just waited and hoped the problem would resolve itself rather than try to implement any of the absurd suggestions I found. Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Finally, when it became clear that I had no choice but to exterminate the little pests, I started looking at different traps and came upon this little device. It looked easy to use and the reviews were good so I thought I'd give it a try.
After the trap arrived, I only had to wait a short time before a fresh gopher hole appeared in my yard. Skeptical, but optimistic, I followed the instructions and set the trap. Once it was set, I assumed it would take a few days for anything to happen, but the very next morning the trap was sprung. It was easy to remove the trap and empty it into a trash can and then replace the dirt/grass I had to remove in order to set it in place.
A week later, another fresh hole appeared in our yard. So I set the trap just like before and figured I'd been lucky the first time. But once again, the next morning revealed a sprung trap.
I'm currently in the middle of a massive and expensive landscaping project and the idea that we would be plagued with a lawn full of holes had been weighing heavily on my mind. But now that I have this little trap, I'm confident that control over the situation is only a matter of time. I can't recommend this product more.
Customer Review: It worked the first time I used it
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a gopher that was devastating my artichoke garden. One by one, each plant was being eaten. Once the gopher pulled an entire plant down its tunnel.
I tried those gopher gas bombs. No effect. I hooked my car exhaust pipe to a hose and pumped exhaust into the tunnel for 30 minutes, twice. No effect. If I did not get results soon, every artichoke plant would be dead.
Enter the Black Hole Rodent Trap. It is approximately 6.5 inches long and 3.5 inches in diameter, open on one end and closed on the other (except for a small light-hole). The killing mechanism is the wire cable that protrudes slightly out of the entrance to the tube (you can see the cable in the picture). The trip mechanism is a lever inside the tube. It is simple to arm and simple to use.
I intercepted a fresh tunnel that was headed for one of my last three remaining plants. I placed the Black Hole into the tunnel per the instructions. One day later, Eureka, a dead gopher was inside.
My three remaining artichoke plants are now thriving and we've eaten their produce. Yum! I have seen no more traces of gophers.
I recommend this product, though it is expensive.
Update: Last week I found a fresh gopher mound. I dug it up and found the tunnel. I set the Black Hole in place. Next day it had a gopher. I reset the trap; the next day another gopher. Reset the trap; next day another gopher. I have killed six gophers in this one tunnel. I highly recommend this product.
Customer Review: Black Hole Rodent Trap Really Works
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using this trap for catching rats that have been attracted to my back yard due to spilling of the grain I've been feeding my goats. I've been using chocolate to bait the traps, so that my cats won't be attracted to them. The rats are really smart, and don't usually go for the bait until they get quite hungry (I've been trying very hard to avoid further grain spillage, but there's some old spillage mixed into the soil that they are still feeding on). Nevertheless, I've managed to catch a handful of rats in the last couple of weeks with these traps. When the rats do go for the bait, the traps work very well - the noose snaps up and breaks their necks instantly. I've only found one trap that's been sprung that didn't have a dead rat in it (and that was probably kicked by one of the goats), so I'm pretty sure the kill rate - when the rats go for the bait - is at or near 100%. I don't like to kill anything that's not harming me, but the fact is if I were to allow these rats to multiply in my back yard, they can and would do harm to my pets and family, through the spread of disease, etc. I know most folks use these traps to kill moles - and once I've cleared out my rat problem in the back yard, I plan on re-deploying them to address my growing mole problem in the front yard. In the meantime, though, they are an excellent means of controlling (and hopefully eventually eliminating) my back-yard rat problem, without endangering the health of my cats. I highly recommend them.Customer Review: No more caddyshack
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been trying to get rid of gophers for a few months now. None of the poisons really worked. I bought three of these black holes. As soon as I got them i decided to go out and give it a try. Being that it was getting dark I decided to just find a fresh mound, get to the hole and just place the trap at the entrance to the hole. I did not go down to the horizontal tunnel because that would be a lot of work and I'm not sure this trap would actually fit in the tunnels. I put alittle dirt inside the trap and then partially covered the back vent so as to let a little light in. I then found another mound and did the same thing. As I was walking back to the house I noticed that my first trap had sprung. Cursing the thing for not staying in place I picked it up and to my surprise there was a gopher in there. This morning I went out and my other trap had a gopher in it! I postioned the traps again and within 10 minutes I had another one. Of the three so far, two were killed and the other was alive and kicking (I released him in the forest). This trap is great. With superior equipment I now feel I'm winning the battle.