groundhogs/rabbits

I have groundhogs under my house and rabbits under my shed. My wife thinks they are cute and we should just lete them be - but I am wondering if there is damage on the way if we do that.

Should we get rid of them and if so what is the best way?

thanks

 

I'm no authority on groundhogs or rabbits but I would think home/shed foundation damage might eventually show up because they burrow sizable tunnels in the ground towards an even larger dug out space to accomodate however many might live within. I don't know how often groundhogs breed or how many offspring they generally have but in the case of rabbits...well...you might be looking at quite a few rabbits in no time at all...and more tunnels/family spaces being dug out.
I don't know about what's "best" but you might want to consider an exterminator in this case. Traps are available, as are poisons and flooding them out might help encourage them to move but as I understand it, these are often only temporary fixes because there's no way of knowing that ALL have been eliminated via these procedures and because they might dig escape routes. Plus, the same procedures might be somewhat expensive over a period of time. I have friends that used all of these procedures and more for moles, which might be worse lol and in the end, they still lost the battle.
Good Luck

 

Oh, one more thing. Do you and your wife have a garden? If so, she won't think they're so cute once they attack it.

 

Groundhogs can be quite destructive to foundations. I have had to do foundation repair to one of my rental houses where they dug their burrows under one of the houses pier foundations. Then add in their (groundhogs and rabbits) destructive affect on landscape plantings & garden and they are hard to love except out in the forest.

Make sure the animals are outside then block their entrance holes with steel or masonry. If you live in the county where hunting is permitted a few bullets is probably the cheapest solution though I doubt your wife will like it.

 

The groundhogs have to go. They will multiply quickly and their damage will worsen as they spread out to the surrounding areas for shelter. Future hogs will be attracted to the scents and odors. Because of this you should erect barriers of wire, metal, etc.

The methods to eliminate them include trapping, both leghold and live trapping; shooting; poisoning.

Your neighborhood and surrounding environment will guide which options you use.

It may/may not be legal to poison them. If I were to do that I would use the rodent bait blocks under the shed and in their burrows. A pound or more at a time. If dogs wander the area, forget the bait blocks.

Live trapping can be done by homeowners but you should close the traps at dark (every night) otherwise you will catch skunks, possums, etc. Hogs aren’t active at night anyway. Cabbage, apples are good bait.

Before you trap them think about what you will do with the live/dead animal.

 

Sounds like it might be time to contact an exterminator - Arnold's not still governor is he - maybe he's liooking for work (oh - thqat's the terminator - it's kind of the same thing?)