Trap for burrowing animals

A method of trapping a burrowing animal where the burrowing animal makes a burrow with an entrance hole comprising a crater with sloped walls, and a burrow mouth in a sloped wall of the crater, the method comprising:

• providing a trap apparatus comprising:
• an elongated base plate defining a trap aperture in a lower portion thereof, and a pointed bottom end below the trap aperture;
• slide grooves defined along each side of the base plate adjacent to a first surface of the base plate;
• a trigger arm having a lower end extending over the trap aperture, and pivotally attached at an upper end thereof to the base plate at a pivot location in a middle portion of the base plate above the trap aperture such that the trigger arm can move away from and toward the first surface of the base plate;
• a slide plate engaged in the slide grooves such that the slide plate can slide up and down in the grooves between the trigger arm and the first surface of the base plate from a raised cocked position where a lower edge of the slide plate is substantially above the trap aperture, to a lower tripped position wherein the lower edge of the slide plate extends across the trap aperture;
• a bias element operative, when the slide plate is in the cocked position, to exert a downward bias force on the slide plate toward the tripped position;
• an arm trip element mounted on a middle portion of the trigger arm and configured to engage a corresponding slide trip element mounted on a middle portion of the slide plate to maintain the slide plate in the cocked position;
• wherein movement of the lower end of the trigger arm away from the base plate releases the arm trip element from engagement with the slide trip element and allows the slide plate to move to the tripped position in response to the bias force;
• pushing the pointed bottom end of the base plate into the ground at the bottom of the crater such that the base plate is supported in the ground with a second surface of the base plate facing the burrow mouth and the trap aperture aligned with the burrow mouth and the lower end of the trigger arm extending over the trap aperture opposite the burrow mouth such that a burrowing animal exiting the burrow will contact the lower end of the trigger arm and push the lower end of the trigger arm away from the base plate;
• moving the slide plate to the raised cocked position and engaging the arm trip element and the slide trip element to maintain the slide plate in the cocked position.