Ground Hogs

I've tried Fox urine powder and moth balls.....I guess Have-A-Heart traps are next,but lets be real how long and how many will I get...dunno!!!!!!!

Any experts out there with a few pointers? short of blowing up the back yard that is

 

Groundhogs are more difficult to control in residential settings because they can not be shot. The damage to gardens can be pretty bad. They we eat just about any plant, but prefer vegetables and fruits. They dig burrows until concrete slabs, decks, and porches, and dig holes in pastures where horses and cattle can trip and break a leg.

Gardens can be protected by netting or a repellent like Ropel which makes plants taste bad. Live trapping is effective. A trap approximately 12"x12"x36" is a good size for trapping groundhogs. You can bait with a vegetable or fruit. You can start baiting an area by the burrow before placing the trap, so that the groundhog is used to finding food there. Once the trap is placed, the groundhog will enter the trap for the bait.

There are also scented bait lures available that can be used to trail groundhogs to the trap and to enhance the smell of the bait inside the trap. Once trapped, release 5 or more miles from home in the morning so the groundhog can get an early start searching for food.

Kill traps can be used. These are staked near the burrows. There are others that can be placed over burrows where groundhogs have no choice but to enter the trap upon exit of the burrow.

 

twelve,You say they burrow "until"concrete slabs.I have an in ground pool.Does that mean they have possibly burrowed along side or beneath the pool?It seems weird but there are 2 holes along the fence about 30 feet away from the pool on the outskirts of the yard,and one hole on the opposite side of the pool also about 30 feet away.I've seen the pest(s)going from one place to the other by walking the circumferance of the yard.Is it possible that they could have gone under the pool.Whoa boy now I'm really getting ticked about this.I really don't want to share the pool with critters

 

Is shooting the ground Hog out of the question? My Have a heart trap is just a pile of twisted metal. She could have just escaped, but also chose to leave the H A H trap in shreads.

I was up at hospital staying with my wife for an Apendectomy, & my Son who sat perched on a an 8 foot step ladder for 2 evenings, called & told us he had shot a 12 pound Sow. In less than 3 nights this mega mouth Hog, cost us over $1,500 in market produce, & rabbit fencing.

By shooting at an almost straight down angle the bullet went through the head & into the ground. I live where it's OK to shoot if you live in the county. Shooting down into the ground will provide the bullet with a safe back stop. We have not seen one hog since, but if we do, No more Mr Nice guy with a devil of a pest like the Ground Hog.

A 410 shotgun will also work if the .22 cal is not legal, just use the # 4 shot if you want a fast clean kill. In the end it is a bullet that put's a stop to this fearless destroyer of plants & property.

There are still professionel trappers but their bill is steep. In the end you will have to make the call, because once they make their tunnels it's a birthing burrow next, with little hungery Hogs everywhere.

 

Myself I've caught about 50 groundhogs with the Havahart trap and never had a problem. Even though I never really had the heart to release them live, only because I didn't want to be the one to open the trap, especially when those groundhogs are pissed off.
The problem with the live trap is they can be very expensive for a home owner, who only has one ground hog. I would either suggest buying one used or try to get some other people to put in for the trap and share it.
When I went out trapping, all I did was place the trap next to the hole with a nice big apple in it, most of the time the next day there would be a groundhog in the trap. The thing with groundhogs is they can't stay out in the sun for to long, so 75% of the time by the time I got back to the trap they were dead.
If you do get one in the trap live, if you are going to release it, like the other guy said take the ground hog about 5 miles away and try to release them very early in the morning, this will give them the best chance to live.
If you have problems now with groundhogs, it would be smart to take care of the problem now. Because early July, thats when the baby's get kicked out of the den. Most of time a ground hog will have 4-5 babys.

Good luck

 

Thanks all,Shooting them is not an option for me....not legal in residential area.I'm gong to try the H-A-H trap(s) and hope for the best.......Ironically I havn't seen a hog in a few days.It has been nice out and I've monitored the yard in the early morning and at dusk.Maybe one of the neighbors took care of it,which would be good.I'll post back with any changes....Good or Bad

 

Groundhogs will burrow "under" concrete slabs. It is possible that groundhogs will burrow along side a concrete pool.

 

This is particularly disturbing....built in pool here

 

Anyone ever heard of using a fruit flavored bubble gum, like watermelon Bubble Liscious to get rid of Ground Hogs? I read that while they are attracted to the fruitty flavor, they will die if they eat the gum because they can't digest it.

 

My mother told us kids that we would die if we swallowed our gum. We swallowed any way and lived to talk about it. The gum will pass through the groundhog's digestive tract, too.

 

To kill a groundhog, you must first locate all their holes. They usually have two or three and the one with all the dirt piled out front is the main entrance. Fill in all the holes you find, except the main entrance, with dirt and stomp it down good. Then slip a cotton sock over the end of a piece of stiff garden hose and shove it down the main entrance hole as far as you can. Don't pull it back or you will lose the sock, and if you lose the sock, the system doesn't work! Now fill the hole in around the hose with dirt. Insert a funnel into the hose and pour a quart of chlorine bleach down the hose. Immediately pour a quart of ammonia after the bleach. Pull the hose out and stomp the dirt solid. If you did it right, that woodchuck will never see the sun again.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
DO NOT MIX THESE ITEMS TOGETHER ABOVE GROUND. THE FUMES KILL
NOTE: Some folks have used a plastic freezer bag instead of the cotton sock and report that it worked just as good, provided you don't poke a hole in it. Give it a try if you don't have a cotton sock.

If you just want to keep them from eating your garden, spray the plants with the following mixture.

2 ozs. Of fish oil
1 tablespoon of dish soap
1 pint of warm water.

Mix all ingredients together in a clean bowl and strain through several layers of nylon stocking to remove any solids. Put the mixture into an old spray bottle and spray the plant leaves, top and bottom and the stems. This mixture works well on all rodents.

 

Jval:
I have a appox. 4 inch round hole appox 8 inches deep dug under my concrete slab patio. I have refilled it everyday, and it is dug out every night. I filled it up with rocks and they were gone. I recently was doing some patio work using A LOT of masking tape and stuck it in the hole sticky side out. In the morning it ALL was gone! I have put the sticky type mouse pads down in the hole and covered it with a plastic lid and went to have dinner. Came back about two hours later and the lid was moved and the pad was GONE, no trace, just gone!! Have visions of Long John Silver here, Thump, and dragging sound!!!! Strange part is NO tracks around anywhere!.
I have put the bait killers used for the Super Rats of the South Bronx NY in there with no joy! This has become like Caddy Shack!! Where's Bill Murray?
I believe I can safely assume that the end product of this combination of yours is is Choloride gas ( shades of WW1!). That should get anything! My luck this thing will have a gas mask!!!!

 

Our local Humane Society loans the live traps for free ($10 deposit refunded when it's returned) once you catch one you just take the trap with the hog in it back to them. They humanly kill it then test it for rabies. Evidently rabies is an issue with these critters. So check with your local humane society.