In using conventional gopher traps it became wearisome to dig a large hole to place multiple traps under the surface. Only to have to dig them up again without knowing if they had caught anything. Each time disturbing the landscape further doing as much or more damage then the gophers themselves.

We tried many traps available on the market, but none offered effective trapping without the use of a shovel. We had already been using the long probe for locating tunnels and narrowing in on where to place the conventional traps. Following in this above ground approach we began experimenting with many different sizes and shape designs that led us to a top down style trap that would not need to be placed inside of a gopher run. In order to minimize digging we decided on a top down approach that lets us intersect the tunnel from the surface instead of having to be placed inside the run.

After months of testing we began to finalize the prototype and began the process of creating a unit that could be sold in stores. Having multiple internal parts it became clear that much of the mechanism would have to be mass produced, through injection molding and outsourcing to other local US based companies.