Most of us probably associate groundhogs with weather or recurring events, but did you know they can also be backyard pests? These burrowing mammals have been causing headaches to homeowners, gardeners, and farmers for as long as they’ve been forecasting winter. They may look cute now, but they’re not going to be when they start eating everything you have in your yard, littering it with entrance holes for their burrows.
Are you worried about what to do when groundhogs eventually invade your property? There is no need to, as long as you know how to get rid of groundhogs. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about them so you can better prepare yourself. Hopefully, you won’t have your own groundhog day involving them.
Identifying a groundhog can be tricky if you’re unfamiliar with them. Thankfully, woodchucks are hard to miss. They look like oversized, stocky squirrels.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks or whistle pigs, are at least 14 inches long but can grow up to 20 inches. Their average weight is about 10 pounds, possibly higher depending on how much they eat. They have brownish-gray fur; short, stubby legs; small ears; and large front incisors. They also have a tail, but it’s pretty short in relation to their overall body length.
Groundhogs, gophers, and squirrels might have similar faces, but they’re not quite alike. Out of the three, groundhogs are easily the largest, dwarfing the other two in length and weight by at least twice. And even though squirrels and groundhogs are in the same classification family of Sciuridae, gophers are classified as rodents under the Geomyidae family.
On the other hand, gophers and squirrels have a bit more in common appearance-wise. Their average length is quite close, with gophers measuring between 5-14 inches and squirrels about 11-25 inches long. Both are dwarfed by the groundhog, with its length of 14-27 inches.
Quite the loners, groundhogs live on their own for most of their six-year lifespan. They only mingle with other groundhogs when it’s time to mate between February and April, and after that period, the males return to their own burrows. The female groundhogs, meanwhile, tend to the newborns for up to three months; after that, the young woodchucks leave their mother’s burrow to live on their own.
When it’s nearing October, groundhogs ramp up their hibernation preparation. They eat as much as possible to gather enough food and energy to last until February or March. During their hibernation in October, their bodies really sleep – their heart rate drops severely, and even their bodies become cold. They may wake up briefly during this period, but they promptly go back to sleep.
So if you need to find out how to get rid of groundhogs humanely, you’ll need to do it during summer and fall when they’re still awake and actively eating. Trying to remove them during their hibernation is ineffective and inhumane.
By default, groundhogs don’t mean any harm. They’re just trying to keep to themselves and eat until it’s time to hibernate again. That’s all good and dandy until they invade your property.
Because groundhogs are excellent underground diggers, their burrowing activities can cause damage to the foundation of your house. They make quite a vast network of tunnels, usually with multiple entrances and exits. If you’re not careful, you or a pet could get injured from inadvertently stepping on these holes; if you’re a farmer, you risk damage to your equipment when driving over these burrows.
Their eating habits can also spell doom to your garden or farm. Groundhogs are herbivores, so they’ll eat anything green around them. That means they could wipe out a farmer’s entire crop in a short period or empty your flowerbeds in a few days. The more they can eat from you, the longer they want to stay.
Do you have a bunch of tall trees and long, uncut grass around your property? Are there dandelions or alfalfa growing wildly, or perhaps you’re a corn or soybean farmer? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you should start learning how to get rid of groundhogs in your yard.
Groundhogs invade your yard when they feel safe living around your property and have an excellent food source. These critters scare easily, so anywhere they can live without the danger of being eaten by predators is a good spot. They probably feel safe, secure, and well-fed in your yard, so they decided to live near you.
The good news is that it doesn’t take much to kick groundhogs out of your property. They don’t like living near potential predators and they don’t tolerate much noise directed at their burrows.
If you’re not sure whether a groundhog has invited itself over to your yard or not, don’t worry. Here’s how you can identify the signs of a groundhog problem so you can prepare better:
Before you resort to killing groundhogs, check with your state’s wildlife office first to ensure you’re acting within the law. Each state has its own regulations regarding groundhog control. For example, Indiana does not require a license to trap or kill a groundhog, nor are there any limits to how many you can kill. Arkansas, on the other hand, has specific guidelines on when, how, and where a property owner can trap or kill a groundhog. Depending on what you plan to do, you may even be required to get a license.
Now that you know more about them, you’re probably eager to learn how to get rid of groundhogs. You have a few options at your disposal, ranging from natural deterring methods to simply killing it. Let’s examine them closely.
The first thing you should try when battling groundhogs is to force them to leave their current burrow and relocate somewhere else. This method ensures that they don’t get hurt and you don’t continue to suffer at the same time. Depending on how much time and effort you want to dedicate to groundhogs, you can either use one of the best repellents for groundhogs we reviewed earlier or try one of these natural repellents:
If natural repellents prove ineffective against groundhogs, it’s time to resort to something more technological. Remember when we said groundhogs don’t like noise or other disturbances to their home? It’s time to use that against them.
You have several options for this activity. You can use ultrasonic mole repellent stakes or install your own noise-making apparatus. Let’s take a closer look at each one:
Let’s say the nasal assault didn’t quite work on them. It might have caused them to move but they’re still on your property, eating your plants and causing damage around your yard. If you don’t want to try deterring them again, you may have to do it yourself and relocate them manually.
If you want to trap a woodchuck, first thing you are going to need is a trap. If you do not have one already, you may want to check out our collection of best traps for groundhogs the market can offer today. The traps don’t need to be fancy but they do need to be secure and durable.
Here’s how to set your live trap so you can successfully catch your problematic groundhog:
After trapping your groundhog, it’s time to figure out what to do with it. As mentioned earlier, states have different regulations for handling groundhogs. Some allow you to manually relocate the animal to another location, while others only allow you to release it close to where you caught it. Regardless of your state requirements, make sure you know of them beforehand so you don’t scramble for information at the last minute.
If you’d rather just eliminate all possibilities of the groundhog returning, you can opt to kill it. However, we must reiterate that you check with your local wildlife authorities first as to the regulations regarding groundhog elimination. Before you do anything, make sure you’re in compliance first.
With that out of the way, you can choose fumigation to eliminate groundhogs. You’ll need to buy some gas cartridges from your local hardware store. These are inexpensive and are usually packaged with more than one cartridge. Here’s how to use them against groundhogs:
You should only need one gas cartridge, but feel free to use a second one if you deem it necessary. Just make sure you’re not doing this close to your house, in case some smoke escapes and wafts towards an open window.
You’ve finally gotten rid of that pesky groundhog in your yard. Congratulations! You deserve to breathe a sigh of relief. Take a small break because your work is not done yet.
Whatever attracted a groundhog to your property will draw another one sooner or later. To prevent that from happening, here are some precautionary actions you can take:
If how to get rid of groundhogs naturally is not producing any results after a week or two, you should call a professional. The longer you wait, the less time you have before the groundhog hibernates. Not only that, but you run a higher risk of getting your house foundation damaged if you wait for too long. And let’s not forget that you may not have any plants, fruits, or flowers left by the time the professionals arrive.
You’ve identified groundhogs; figured out their behavior and preferences; and are now in the process of evicting them. Great! Before you go celebrate with your newfound knowledge of how to get rid of groundhogs without killing them, here are some frequently asked questions about the critters.
Are Groundhogs Aggressive?
Because groundhogs usually try to live on their own, they treat everything that moves as a predator; as a result, they’re quite timid. However, if you suddenly approach them and they feel threatened with nowhere else to go, they may lash out and bite you. They may also do the same if you trap them alive and try to relocate and release them.
If you get bitten, assume they have rabies and immediately seek medical attention.
How Do I Get Rid of Groundhogs Under my Shed?
If you don’t know how to get rid of groundhogs under the shed, don’t worry. You can coax it out using deterrents or kill it using the same methods as if it was somewhere else. Just make sure you check the shed’s foundation afterwards so you don’t encounter any problems with the structure in the future.
Will Moth Balls Keep Groundhogs Away?
While it is true that moth balls can keep groundhogs away, it is not enough to kill them. Moth balls are good for deterring a groundhog from returning to its burrow because of their sensitivity to strong smells. Just make sure you leave one entrance untouched so they can leave and relocate; otherwise, they’ll get trapped inside their burrow and die.
Learning how to get rid of groundhogs is actually a pretty simple process; all you need to know is their behavior and preferences. Knowing when they’re actively moving and what they dislike can go a long way in trying to push them out of your property. And by having this knowledge beforehand, you can take action much quicker.
Don’t be afraid of groundhogs – they’re just as scared of you as they are. As long as you’re calm and deliberate with your actions, you can get them out of your yard and your life for good. Now, shall we go back to counting how much wood they can chuck?
