Unless it’s February 2nd and you need to know if spring is on the horizon, you don’t want to see a groundhog on your property, as it means trouble for your landscaping and gardening. Groundhogs, or woodchucks, are large rodents widespread across North America. They gorge themselves all spring and summer for their winter hibernation. They have medium brown fur and grow to be about 20 inches in length, with a stocky body and short legs, long front teeth, and a 6″ tail.
If you have a groundhog on your property, you will likely see it as they are daytime foragers who are used to living around humans. However, it’s not uncommon to discover their holes or garden damage first. How to get rid of groundhogs in your yard is something every homeowner should know. Read on to discover:
- Are groundhogs bad for your yard?
- What types of harm do groundhogs create?
- What attracts groundhogs to your yard?
- Can I get rid of groundhogs on my own, or do I have to call a professional?
Signs of Groundhogs in My Yard
Groundhogs dig extensive burrows with multiple entrances, usually near their main eating area (your garden) or under a nearby tree. In your garden, you might find bites taken out of fruits and vegetables. They will also eat flowers, dandelions, and the tops of carrots. You might also notice that your shed or porch has a sinking foundation.
Yard Damage
Their digging habits leave large piles of dirt and gaping groundhog holes all over yards, and their burrows can affect the structural integrity of fencing, sheds, and home foundations, depending on their placement. Since these burrows have several chambers, they can leave your lawn feeling soft beneath your feet. Also, it’s not unusual to find discolored grass that follows a specific path made by them killing the roots as they dig their burrows.
During a heavy rainy period, their burrows can fill with water, leading to drainage problems. In addition, the holes their entrances create can become a fall hazard.
Woodchucks love most vegetables and fruit. If you are a gardener, they will love your leafy greens, carrots, beans, peas, and fruits such as apples and cantaloupe. It can be devastating to work hard on your garden only to find it ravished by these hungry creatures.
In addition, groundhogs will attract their predators to your yard: coyotes and bobcats.
Why Are Groundhogs in My Yard?
Like all animals, they are driven by the need to find food, water, and suitable shelter from weather and predators. Groundhogs are likely to be in your yard because your yard fills those needs.
- Food Availability – Your yard may have lots of their favorites, such as clover, grasses, a vegetable garden, and fruit trees.
- Suitable Burrowing Conditions – Loose soil that is easy to burrow into makes an ideal spot to dig their complex burrows and chambers in which to have their young.
- Lack of Predators – Living amongst humans makes it less likely groundhogs will encounter coyotes, foxes, or bobcats, which are their most likely predators.
- Access to Water – If you live close to a pond or a stream, have a bird bath, keep your pet’s water outside, or even have a leaky hose or faucet, groundhogs will gravitate to your yard.
Groundhogs mate right after they emerge from hibernation in March and give birth to four to six pups in April. These pups will be ready to dig their own burrows in about six weeks. So be on the lookout for signs of digging and groundhog holes in the yard in March and again in early June.
How to Keep Groundhogs Out
Groundhog Exclusion Barriers
Install structural barriers only after confirming that the groundhog and any dependent young are no longer inside the burrow. To reduce the risk of groundhogs in your yard, consider fencing around gardens and lawns. Fences should be buried at least one foot underground with the ends bent at a 90-degree angle away from your fenced area. They should also stand four feet tall to be effective, as woodchucks are gifted diggers and climbers. At the first sign of a groundhog in the yard, property owners should contact the wildlife removal professionals at Critter Control to take care of the problem and prevent damage.
Repellents
Repellents are devices or things that groundhogs find offensive. They include strong scents such as garlic, rosemary, lavender, mint, and predator urine to help keep groundhogs away. These scents dissipate after time or rain and will need to be reapplied. Motion-activated sprinklers or strobe lights set up near plantings or sheds you want to protect can be helpful. However, groundhogs often become used to these devices.
Certain types of yard work will make your property less attractive to groundhogs, such as having well-trimmed bushes and lawns, keeping trash tightly lidded, keeping pet food and water inside the house, and not leaving fallen fruit in the yard.
Trapping
Trapping and relocating groundhogs should only be done by a professional wildlife service like Critter Control. As groundhogs can become aggressive, use Critter Control to set groundhog traps for you. Critter Control is fully versed in how to humanely and safely trap and relocate groundhogs according to local, state, and federal ordinances. You don’t want to trap a groundhog that has young pups who are still nursing in the den.
Critter Control uses a humane live trap that is baited and set in strategic locations, and then relocates the groundhog at least ten miles away.
When to Call a Professional
If you suspect a groundhog is damaging your property, call a professional before the damage worsens and becomes costly. Groundhogs build extensive tunnels with multiple entrances they can use as escape routes. Critter Control knows how to locate groundhogs and humanely trap them so they can live their best lives in a more natural habitat. If you are experiencing the following signs, it’s time to call Critter Control to conduct a free inspection and groundhog removal:
- Garden and flower bed destruction
- Groundhog holes that can cause injury
- Sings of digging under a shed, porch, or foundation
- Multiple groundhog sightings
Don’t risk battling with an angry and aggressive groundhog.
Contact Critter Control Today
Take the worry out of how to get rid of groundhogs and avoid the risk of diseases from groundhogs. You’ll find Critter Control’s specialists to be fully trained, licensed, and insured. In addition, all Critter Control services are guaranteed. Call 1-800 Critter now or use our location finder to find an office near you.
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Install structural barriers only after confirming that the groundhog and any
