Good morning..
This morning we were greeted by unexpected company. A groundhog was headed directly toward our bird feeders. This is in the middle of a city. It was bigger than our smallest dog and she is the huntress of the group. Has anyone else experienced this problem and if so, how did you remedy the problem?
Thanks,
Don
Posted by Alan Olander on June 26, 2011 at 11:22 AM
A groundhog is a large rodent, what's to worry about, a few holes in your yard, possibly?
Posted by Kent Staubus on June 26, 2011 at 12:44 PM
This sounds goofy but I'm told it works. Put several sticks of Juicy Fruit Gum by its burrow. When they disappear put out several more. In a few days the groundhog will have its digestion blocked up (they can't digest it) and you'll be rid of the groundhog. A friend tried it and swears that it works.
Jim, that sounds like a pretty slow and cruel death..
Don, How about humanely trapping him and moving him to another far-away place far from the city? Unless he had a weapon, he won't hurt a thing except a few vegetables in your garden. Groundhogs (woodchucks) are vegetarians - do not even eat seed.
Sandy,
Do you have groundhogs in California? They are mainly in the northeast and central US into Canada NW into Alaska They are mainly herbivorous. They will also eat snails, insects, grubs and other small animals. I have one that loves bird seed. I just have to get her/him to eat more dandelions.
John
John, many, many groundchucks during my childhood through 20's in Ohio. I've never known them to eat small animals or bird seed - but bird seed makes sense, I guess.
From the encyclopedia:
" Groundhogs are almost exclusively herbivorous. They primarily eat grass and other vegetation, including clover, dandelion greens and alfalfa. They also may eat small insects, nuts, and agricultural crops. During the summer time, groundhogs binge to purposely put on a lot of weight to prepare themselves for hibernation. "
Sandy
Posted by Gary Gulash on June 27, 2011 at 12:46 AM
I would get out my camera and photograph him and be thankful. Oh, please post some of the photos.
I agree with Gary. Also, I'm not sure why this would be a problem, especially after only one day. I'd photograph the groundhog as much as I could and then wait and see what happens.
If you have dahlias they love them. Even had a family eat one dahlia a night, dig under the foundation and appear in our root cellar to feast on onions and potatoes. A have a heart trap worked with a head of lettuce. Once trapped we took them to our local forest preserve. For the rest of the story... a skunk also found the tunnel. The root cellar is now cemented over.
We've regularly have ground hogs living under the shed and the front porch. They will devastate many kinds of flowers. I've even had them eating common milkweed (drove my Monarch's away). There really isn't a good solution because by they've done such a good job of populating the suburbs. I've live trapped them and taken them to a wildlife area for release, but they probably die because it's new territory and there are already ground hogs living there.
First of all I want to thank everyone for their comments and/or suggestions. I think I have let enough time pass by that I can tell you that we have not had to employ very many of them. “IT” has never returned.
Therefore, I cannot post any photos, nor make any trades.
I did find where it came under the fence. That area has now been filled in with a large rock surrounded by other large rocks, dog hair and moth balls. (No the hair did not come from our short haired dogs. It came from brushing our sons’ larger long haired dogs.) A lot of the underbrush has also been removed.
Should one appear in the future, or any other creatures, I shall be more prepared even it has to be an “iPhone” photo.
Discussion
16 repliesThis morning we were greeted by unexpected company. A groundhog was headed directly toward our bird feeders. This is in the middle of a city. It was bigger than our smallest dog and she is the huntress of the group. Has anyone else experienced this problem and if so, how did you remedy the problem?
Thanks,
Don
Kent in SD
Don, How about humanely trapping him and moving him to another far-away place far from the city? Unless he had a weapon, he won't hurt a thing except a few vegetables in your garden. Groundhogs (woodchucks) are vegetarians - do not even eat seed.
Sandy
Do you have groundhogs in California? They are mainly in the northeast and central US into Canada NW into Alaska They are mainly herbivorous. They will also eat snails, insects, grubs and other small animals. I have one that loves bird seed. I just have to get her/him to eat more dandelions.
John
From the encyclopedia:
" Groundhogs are almost exclusively herbivorous. They primarily eat grass and other vegetation, including clover, dandelion greens and alfalfa. They also may eat small insects, nuts, and agricultural crops. During the summer time, groundhogs binge to purposely put on a lot of weight to prepare themselves for hibernation. "
Sandy
Therefore, I cannot post any photos, nor make any trades.
I did find where it came under the fence. That area has now been filled in with a large rock surrounded by other large rocks, dog hair and moth balls. (No the hair did not come from our short haired dogs. It came from brushing our sons’ larger long haired dogs.) A lot of the underbrush has also been removed.
Should one appear in the future, or any other creatures, I shall be more prepared even it has to be an “iPhone” photo.
Once again, many thanks.
Don