Groundhog, woodchuck, or whistling pig - all of them amount to the same : a lovable, bushy pest. The genus, Marmota monax, known best thru its weather-predicting speaker, Punxsutawney Phil, is in lowland areas of the Northeast ( like Punxsutawney, PA ) and the Midwest US, but has also somehow burrowed its way into northwards Washington state, Alaska, and Brit Columbia, Canada.

Groundhog Facts: Why They Are A Bother

Things which make groundhogs unwelcome:

• A horse or other large animal can break a leg from stepping in a groundhog hole.
• Their tunnels are rather extensive and complex, having many entrances and emergency exits; if a web of tunnels extends under a structure’s foundation, they can crack, weaken, or even sink it.
• They love to eat vegetation, and that includes vegetation that the owner of the groundhog-besmirched lawn has planted for their eating and/or viewing pleasure

By clearing out forests and murdering off wolves and other natural predators, farmers and foresters have caused the groundhog to proliferate during the previous century. Now that human home is expanding beyond cities and suburbs, householders face close encounters with these buck-toothed fur-balls. While the not-so-little varmints ( they can weigh up to 30 pounds ) still fear their standard predators, lots of whom aren’t around, they are not all that scared of humans. Hunters can get near enough to get a straightforward shot at Mr. Woodchuck.

Hunting, you would think, would keep groundhog populations in check. It doesn’t, any more than it keeps the deer population in check. These rodents reproduce faster than marksmen could possibly eliminate them, and hunting, as a sport, has declined in popularity over the past few decades. Besides, if you’re going to hunt something, why not hunt something you can eat?

Getting Rid of Groundhogs

Hence unless you would like to use them for target practice ( that might be illegal where you reside therefore if you’d like to shoot them, best check with your local authorities ), you are going to require some system for dumping them that doesn’t need a gun.

There are as many old-time “people cures ” for shooing them, as there are advanced technologies:

* Dropping moth balls in their burrows or blocking the holes with ammonia-soaked rags
* moth balls Simulated urine of predators, such as foxes; supposedly putting some in their burrows scares them off
* Putting commercially available poison gas cartridges into their burrows, particularly during their hibernation period.
* Hooking a hose to an automobile exhaust pipe, extending the hose down a burrow, and running the engine until the groundhogs come out; they will then have to be trapped
* Placing near their burrow an electronic device that emits high frequency noise; this irritates them to the point of leaving.

Groundhog Removal

The only certain way to rid yourself of groundhogs is to trap them. Leghold traps may be used, though with one of those, you will then have to kill the animal, and you need to check with local authorities on whether such traps are legal where you live. You may also use a non-lethal trap to catch the groundhog and then release the trapped animal in another location. Such traps may be purchased or, sometimes, borrowed from a humane organization.

Drawbacks to catch-and-release:

* As with any kind of trap, you’re going to have to find the opening to the burrow to place the trap; this is not always easy.
* The animals may not take the bait, preferring to eat what’s available around them.
* You may not have a place to release them. You cannot release the creatures on private property without the owner’s permission. Public lands may prohibit releasing them there; in fact, some states don’t allow this practice at all. If you do find a place to release the animals, the place must be at least five miles away so that they cannot find their way back.

Your best chance is to try this in the spring, when groundhog holes will be simpler to find and groundhogs, leaving their hibernation, will be hungrier for your bait. The place that provides your trap can provide you with recommendation on baiting it. Spring is also superior because you’ll be ridding yourself of the groundhogs before they reproduce and give you more animals to eliminate.

Please read more here about groundhog trap

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