Groundhog problem

I have a HUGE groundhog who lives under my shed and eats zucchini and pumpkin. He likes to eat between 6:30 and 7 a.m. and sometimes in the later afternoon too. Any suggestions to get rid of it?

I've got the same issue at my Community Garden. They're real pigs.

Haven't come up with a solution yet though. If you have a dog you could try putting it out there at those times.

I put up a chicken wire fence but the ground hog just pulls it down and hops over it.

I think if I had a solid fence of about 3 feet high it would keep the ground hog out. I may have to resort to that even though I don't want to spend that much on it right now.

nycquilter wrote:I have a HUGE groundhog who lives under my shed and eats zucchini and pumpkin. He likes to eat between 6:30 and 7 a.m. and sometimes in the later afternoon too. Any suggestions to get rid of it?

If you don't want to fence the garden and there is a firearms prohibition where you live, I suggest calling your state fish and game office for advice and maybe some help. good luck

though there is no firearms prohibition here, I am a city girl and don't own a gun nor have I ever shot one. I wish I could shoot sometimes and that I liked venison. The dogs chase the deer and the groundhog but that groundhog is fast! I was so angry at it that I stuffed the entrance to his home with all the weeds I pulled. Most of the garden is fenced. The deer and rabbits leave the zucchini and winter squash alone so it's not fenced.

Groundhogs are tenacious and a sturdy fence is probably the best defense. Killing the poor creature is probably a temporary solution until the next family of ground hogs moves in. Probably the best advice you are going to get is from your F&G officers. Good luck.

How about catching it in a have-a-heart trap and release it beyond whatever the territory size of a groundhog is?

We had a family of them living under our shed. I've had good luck trapping them with a have-a- heart trap. Bait the trap with a tomato and put it right where the hog comes out from under the shed. Be careful if you pick up the trap, big ones are strong enough to flex the wire and squeeze out under the door. I usually slide the cage into a trashcan and transport it several miles away to a wooded area and release.
I would suggest setting the trap very early in the morning and not leaving the trap open over night. I've had other guests in my trap from leaving it open at night such as skunks and opossums. Good luck.

You could try a nuisance trapper or have someone take care of it for you.I dont think relocating groundhogs is a good idea.

the solution is simple but not very pleasant you need to trap the ground hog.
then kill it. then return body to hole. if don't a new ground hog will take up residence.

if the hole was not under a shed you could smoke bomb the ground hog but he must be home when do it. the rest of details are not pleasant.

I have dealt with these creatures before and they will face down large dog.
they can be very vicious also if chased they can climb trees.

ps relocation usually does not work since you still have burrow which may be the new home of another ground hog.
psps there is the eating the pest option but it is not for every one require the hog is dispatched in manner that does not put creature under stress, since it will make meat not as tasty or so i have heard.

Could you possibly go to table top SFG next Spring?
Renee

@thegreatcob--I was informed that there is a recipe (maybe more than one) for groundhog in the Joy of Cooking. Hmmm....

@gregrenee, no that's not a possibility. But, if we don't trap and relocate the pest, I will put up chicken wire in that area to keep him (her?) out. I put the zucchini in the ground as most animals don't go near it. In 8 years, this is the first time I have had a problem.

The recipe for groundhog (woodchuck) shows up in Joy of Cooking's 1967 copy thusly: "Dress woodchuck as for rabbit, but watch for and remove 7 to 9 small sacs or kernels in the small of the back and under the forearm. Soak overnight in salted water. Drain and wipe dry. Cook by any recipe for rabbit or chicken." Okay, now, who's going to try it and report back? Hasenpfeffer of chuck anyone?

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:The recipe for groundhog (woodchuck) shows up in Joy of Cooking's 1967 copy thusly: "Dress woodchuck as for rabbit, but watch for and remove 7 to 9 small sacs or kernels in the small of the back and under the forearm. Soak overnight in salted water. Drain and wipe dry. Cook by any recipe for rabbit or chicken." Okay, now, who's going to try it and report back? Hasenpfeffer of chuck anyone?

Diverting for just a moment and not quite on point, I've never eaten wood chuck but I have eaten raccoon and would suggest parboiling first, as it's taste is quite gamey.

Suppose the hasenpfeffer way to cook rabit would work like parboiling? The cooked marinade for soaking the chuck/hog for two days consists of: 1 cup each chopped celery, carrot and onion--sauted in 1/4 cup cooking oil until "they begin to color." Then add 8 cups vinegar, 4 cups water, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 3 bay leaves; 1 tablespoon each of thyme, basil, cloves, and allspice berries; a pinch of mace; 1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns and 6 crushed cloves. Bring to boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Strain, cool and add rabbit or groundhog. Good luck! Nonna (we don't have groundhogs around here, just possums)

I look forward to the report!

GG

I think groundhogs are related to squirrels We used to hunt squirrels in the pecan orchards in Texas and my mothers husband would whip up an excellent batch of squirrel and dumplins I would guess groundhog could be prepared in the same way.

I've got a literal groundhog commune on my property--actually several of them. There are at least 7 separate burrows within 100 feet of my house, and the closest is about 8 feet from my living room window.

I can tell you that relocation, while it may make you (as it did us) feel like more humane humans, is actually pretty stressful for the critter, and in all likelihood will not survive very long since it will not have time to find or dig itself a replacement burrow in an unfamiliar environment. SO, once we realized this, we stopped trapping. (NOT that I haven't had murderous thoughts towards Chuck, BTW...refer to my avatar & I'm sure you'll know I can relate...)

What we did do was saved up to erect a fence. A *tall* fence, with the top 1' or so left unattached to the support poles so that Mr. Chuck will cause himself to flop over and (theoretically at least) fall on his woodchuck-tuckus. I think it's working, because he hasn't gotten into the clover that I'm growing as a green compost crop in the foundation bed by my front door since the fence went up a few months ago. Go on YouTube and do a search for "woodchuck climbing fence" and you'll see why we went tall. That and the deer...and the bear...did I forget someone? Oh, yes, the skunk, but I digress...

I forgot to mention that in addition to the floppy bit up top, I bent the bottom of the wire mesh into an "L" shape, used landscape staples to anchor the "L" down every 6 inches & buried the bottom of the L (about 12" long) under a thick layer of mulch so he can't burrow under the fence.

So anyway, there's my 2 cents' worth. The real test of my anti-critter fence will be next year when there will be plenty of delectables inside to tempt them. We're even thinking of adding one or two lines of electrified wire to the set-up since we're not sure the fence will stand up to the bear. He's a pretty big boy & when he sees the blueberries I've got in mind for one corner I think he'll easily climb over the fence to get at them.

An electric fence might work against Chuck, too, come to think of it...

Sounds like a fort. Let us know how it works in the spring.

I do like the separate garden for critters idea that someone posted earlier in this thread.

camprn wrote:Sounds like a fort...

LOL! Yes, I do think the neighbors think we're a bit on the extreme end but my basic point to nycquilter is that the only way to get rid of the critters, IMHO is to try to exclude them from the garden. Their nature is to breed & spread out, eating anything they can find in the interim, so killing or trapping one will only make room for another...and there will always be another.

There is a place that sells what they claim to be an 100% effective veggie fence...I have it bookmarked...oh, no--I'm a newbie so the forum won't let me post external links! OK, until my probationary period is up, here is a description from their website:

"Mr. McGregor's Fence® is a unique fence system designed to keep deer, groundhogs, rabbits, woodchucks, raccoons, squirrels and other like-sized critters out of vegetable gardens. Combining an 18" high barrier fence with an electric fence means that any creature looking to go over or under the fence will be zapped with a mild tingle, turn around, and go home. Years of experience have proven it 100% effective."

I'm not associated with them other than having purchased fencing materials from them in the past. I had the website bookmarked in case I decided to try out adding an electric element to the existing barrier (probably needed if Mr. Bear decides to raid my future blueberry patch). Does anyone have experience with this type of electric fence?

Our neighbors had a solar-powered electric fence to deter critters. Is the one mentioned with Mr. McGregor's fence solar powered? And what would happen if a skunk wandered into it and "got a tingle?" Might make for an aromatic, should we say, experience. (This comes to mind 'cause PapaVino shot his fourth skunk this morning--don't smell too good around here today.)

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Our neighbors had a solar-powered electric fence to deter critters. Is the one mentioned with Mr. McGregor's fence solar powered? And what would happen if a skunk wandered into it and "got a tingle?" Might make for an aromatic, should we say, experience. (This comes to mind 'cause PapaVino shot his fourth skunk this morning--don't smell too good around here today.)

Hmmmm....good point. In all seriousness, would you be willing to ask your neighbor? I'm assuming that if you have skunks in droves that they probably do/did, too. There's a PYO blueberry farm nearby that traps theirs & sometimes they're whiffy & sometimes not. Brings to mind an episode of "Mythbusters" where they were purposely trying to get sprayed & the skunk just didn't wanna. Maybe some are easier to set off than others.

Oh, and IIRC, those zap kits are either solar-powered or plug-in, with the plug-in models being for larger critters...like my bear...

Our neighbors didn't garden, but wanted to deter deer from munching on plantings in yard. Also, to keep horses from chewing top wood fence rails. The solar panel-run electric fence was supposed to keep cattle in their designated place. Don't know if that's true, 'cause they only had horses and llamas. This was 10 years ago, and I'd guess electric fence systems have been updated and improved. Keep us apprised. Inquiring minds want to know. Nonna

For other types of electric fencing check here;

http://www.premier1supplies.com/c/fencing/



I have a small charger that I bought locally years ago and have a single wire run at the top of some of my fences to keep the bucks (I have goats) in their pens and off the fences. I have run it near the bottom of the fence to keep dogs in or out. I have several different types of insulators to run the wire on different types of fencing (from chain link to wood to use on T posts, etc).

Many, many years and miles ago, we had a beautiful Husky dog we'd brought home from Alaska. The six-foot cedar fence surrounding the back yard failed to hold him in, so we resorted to an electric wire. He still cleared wire and fence. So I secretly watched him one day and noticed where he had to stand to leap up, catch the top of the fence with his feet, and pull himself over the top. Then I moved the electric fence out from the fence about 2-1/2 feet (where he was standing to launch himself over the fence), and the problem was solved. Twice he hit the wire, then he never tried again. Alas, the Afghan Hound we had at the same time wasn't as smart...about every 4-6 weeks he'd try to push past the wire. Afghans definitely march to a different drummer. My sons, Sesame Street fans, considered him intellectually challenged, and took to calling him Big Bird.

GG