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
Some more things which make groundhogs unwelcome:
* 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.
* 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 may think, would keep groundhog populations in hand. It does not, any more than it keeps the deer population in control. These rodents reproduce faster than marksmen could likely eliminate them, and hunting, as a sport, dropped in renown during the last few decades. Besides, if you're going to seek something, why not hunt something you can eat?
Losing Groundhogs
So, unless you want to use them for target practice (which may be illegal where you live so, if you want to shoot them, best check with your local authorities), you're going to need some method for getting rid of them that doesn't require a gun.
There are as many old-time "folk remedies" for shooing them, as there are modern technologies:
* Dropping moth balls in their burrows or obstructing the holes with ammonia-soaked rags
* moth balls Simulated piss of predators ,eg foxes; apparently putting some in their burrows shocks them off
* Putting generally available poison gas cartridges into their burrows, especially during their hibernation period.
* Hooking a hose to an auto exhaust pipe, extending the hose down a burrow, and running the engine until the groundhogs come out; they'll then need to be encircled
* Placing near their burrow an electronic gadget 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.
Downsides 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 most likely chance is to try this in the spring, when groundhog holes will be easier to find and groundhogs, leaving their hibernation, will be hungrier for your bait. The place that provides your trap can supply you with advice on baiting it. Spring is also superior because you will be ridding yourself of the groundhogs before they reproduce and give you more animals to get rid of.
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how to get rid of groundhogs
