some places the local SPCA does, or the gov animal control people

Bill

What are you trying to trap, and what will you do when you catch it?

Sometimes you get surprises. I caught a skunk in a have-a-heart once. The traps are not very expensive and you will likely use it every year.

squeeze...thanks, I will try calling them tomorrow.

kubo...we have a woodchuck and we are looking for volunteers to adopt it? What do you say, will you take it? [g]

pnbrown...Yes, I have heard that leaving it closed at night cuts down on those experiences. Wow..finding a skunk must have been a shock! :-) Thanks, I did see one advertised for $90 and one for $57. Not sure if they are different sizes or what size I need for a woodchuck. I HOPE we won't have to use it every year!!

Thanks all..
:-)

prairiemoon2 Please reconsider what you might be thinking. If you trap the woodchuck in the live trap you either must kill it, or release it on your own property. There are no other options under the law. Nobody else can adopt it either -- it's your woodchuck. You can kill it, but you can't remove it from your property.

Here's some info from the Mass. Audubon Society

WOODCHUCKS AND THE LAW
Relocating wildlife is illegal in Massachusetts. It is detrimental to the well-being of wildlife as well as the public. Unknowingly, sick animals may be transported and released in other locations, causing the spread of disease. Animals released in unfamiliar territory have a hard time surviving. They must compete with resident animals, and they have difficulty finding food and shelter. Furthermore, relocation is ineffective: each time a territory opens, there is always another woodchuck "waiting in the wings."

It is also against state law to possess wild birds and mammals. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained and licensed by the state to care for injured and orphaned wildlife. If you need the services of a rehabilitator contact MassWildlife (Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife ) at 508-366-4470, or Mass Audubon's Wildlife Information line at 781-259-2150.

According to state law, animals which are damaging property can be destroyed under certain conditions. MassWildlife should be contacted if this course of action is being considered.

Ya, it's screwy. I catch them in a havahart then blast them. The only one that I was going to release had a heart attack and died.

I can rent one at my feed store- ask at a feed store.

Taylor Rentals, which has a few locations in Massachusetts, rents traps for $8. Here's one in Worcester. Hardware stores often rent this sort of stuff, especially in country towns.

But that doesn't improve your options, I'm afraid. It sounds like what they want you to do is either put up a fence, or kill the animal but don't tell them about it.

NYGardener...thank you so much for looking that up for me! Renting for $8. is a lot better than buying one for $60.

Well, our entire backyard is fenced in with both stockade and post and rail that was backed with chicken wire fencing. But the animal is actually burrowing under and when we stopped up the holes with rocks he chewed right through the pickets to get in. We are sure not going to erect more fencing and the animal can get in anyway. How do they expect you can extend chicken wire on the ground 2ft outside your fence? That would be on someone else's property in most cases.

On top of which, they do climb as well. Someone posted a photo of them up in a tree eating fruit. As a matter of fact, when they suggest the chicken wire fencing, they say that it is better to do this before the animal gets a taste of your yard..lol. Now how much sense does that make? When does a homeowner know there is a groundhog problem 'before' the animal gets into the yard? The reason they say this is that once the animal gets into the yard and tastes your goodies, he is pretty determined to get in. So here they are recommending you go to all that trouble and expense to put this fence up and make your property ugly and then you could be finished with it and he could still find a way in.
Very helpful of them. I wonder how many homeowners have felt pretty unhappy with Mass Audobon for these recommendations.

As for killing the animals. When I called the private company that will remove it, I asked what they did with it and they said..the law does not allow them to be relocated so they must kill them. They force them to use a havahart trap to catch them and then kill them. Pretty hypocritical using a product called 'Haveaheart'.

Sorry for the rant...and thanks so much for the information about Taylor Rentals. I think there is one even closer to me than Worcester that I will call.

:-)

Of course, this is the predictable outcome of many backyards, lots of varmint habitat, and no wolves or wildcats. We ought to be teaching our dogs to kill woodchucks, squirrels, rats, rabbits, etc as used to be common. If we replace the predators, then we assume their function, like it or not.

All I know is I'm very thankfull I live in a woodchuck-free zone. By all acounts they are much worse than deer, even.

prairiemoon2 the guy at the rental place and the private animal control guy told you the same thing I did. So if you decide to trap the woodchuck, it means you have to decide how to to kill it.

Now you need to decide are you going to let the woodchuck eat your entire garden (which it will if left unchecked) or are you going to kill yourself a woodchuck and if so how? It is a hard choice and you seem like a kind-hearted person, but adults have to make tough choices sometimes especially if you want to grow your own food.

The most humane way to put down these animals is with a firearm like Pablo said, if you know what you are doing they never feel a thing. A .22 rifle or a pellet gun works fine. A pellet gun doesn't make any noise. I think you need a license even to own a pellet gun in Mass. (ridiculous in my opinion but that's an OT discussion). And you need to develop skill with a firearm in advance and some people for whatever reason "don't like guns" so this might not be the right option for you.

You can also use gopher bombs which are a smoke bomb they look like a giant firecracker, since you know where the hole is, you light it drop in the hole and cover with dirt the smoke asphyxiates them quickly it is more humane than drowning in my opinion, they come in packs of four and I would use all four one after another. They do work quickly and the definitely work but you have to get them while they are in the burrow or drape a tarp over the cage for the smoke to stay inside. The creature has no idea what is happening they just go to sleep. Or in the same vein you can get a tailpipe hose at an auto parts store and hook it up to a car exhaust or a lawnmower, run it down the hole. They just go to sleep and never wake up.

I have a 3' wire garden fence with chicken wire at the bottom- bent so that 1' extends on the ground. I staked it down and let grass grow through it (could mulch as well). They get up and try to dig under, so they keep hitting fence. It works. I don't have an issue with them climbing over the fence.

You have to understand that when you transport them- it may cause many more issues. The animal is then out of sight, but potentially sick from the ordeal, in other animal's territory- causing stress for them as well, without a burrow so that they are susceptible to predators (dogs and coyotes), they may search for new territory- crossing many roads, they may end up as someone else's pest, they don't have a readily known water or food source- which may lead to starvation or weakening so that they become sick.

If you are going to remove it- putting it to a quick end is often much kinder than the fate that they and other animals may suffer being moved. As I mentioned- one that I caught was barely breathing when I found him- less than 2 hours in the trap. He died within an hour. That tells you what sort of stress just live trapping may cause.

Well, a new development today...we discovered excavation along the opposite fence line to where the first burrow was located. The excavation was right along the fence line for about 10feet and then ended in a hole about 10-12inches in diameter. This fence line is about 100ft away from the 1st burrow. So now what? Do we have a second animal? Or did the first animal have babies and they are building their own burrow?

So where can you get these smoke bombs? Won't I scare my neighbors using it? I am sure smoke will come out of the holes correct? What about the dead animals in the burrow, will they create a problem? Should the holes be filled up once you are sure they are not alive? Will this keep another animal from moving in? Would we be better off trapping them first?

Thanks very much for all the information.

Ok, I have been told that if you fill those holes with coffee grounds it sends them the other way. I think if you can find the begining and end it may be an option for you. Won't hurt them and won't be illegal. I haven't tried it, but my place is so big it is just inevitable.

Good luck

You can buy the smoke bombs at any hardware store, feed store or garden supply store. They come in packs of 4. Last time I had the problem I bought 2 packs just to make sure I had enough it is only $5 a pack.

You may notice a few wisps of smoke coming up out of the ground it does not look like a house on fire or anything like that. It stays low to the ground and the neighbors would not notice it. The smoke is heavier than air so it mostly goes down the hole not up. Don't just step on the hole with your foot or you will give yourself a hotfoot. They burn pretty hot.

The other hole could be a second animal or then again sometimes they have a back door like the escape hatch. I would cover the 2nd hole with something heavy. If there is more than one down there you get all of them. If you do it at night they will be home in the burrow. Light the fuse on the smoke bombs if they have a rear exit you may see some smoke come out of it. It is not going to scare the neighbors the smoke is underground. You may smell a sulphur smell like a firecracker for a minute or two that just means it is working. Or toss a few down the 2nd hole.

I would not worry much about dead animals in the burrow causing a problem, nature will take its course. In nature most of them die in their own burrow anyway.

Sure, I would fill the hole just so nobody steps in it and sprains an ankle.

If you want to try the thing with the coffee grounds first that's fine I am dubious but try to keep an open mind. No harm done.

Pablo and Kubota, which would you prefer: being moved to an unknown location, perhaps fraught with difficulties and dangers, or summary execution? The "humane" option, or the option with a chance?

I know which I'd choose.

pnbrown- I understand your position. I look at it as "would you rather starve and die slowly of illness, or be quickly and humanely dispatched".

That's why I occasionally feel compelled to play Kevorkian.

Add to that the fact that it's not legal to transport and release them elsewhere in MA and if you can't keep them out of the yard the decision is- catch them and kill them, let them destroy the garden, or break the law.

I do have a heart, by the way. Today as I was driving to Starbucks after lunch, I stopped to rescue a small turtle that was crossing the road. Holy moly it was almost squashed several times before I got to it. Probably went and crossed the road again after I left :)

No moral dilemma for me. I grow food to feed my family. The rodent that takes food off my child's plate is the rodent whose days are numbered.

Since it is illegal to relocate wildlife, as a law abiding citizen and not so arrogant that I think I am above the law, I will not relocate wildlife in violation of the law. That is the end of that discussion.

And as a responsible, reasoning adult, knowing that relocating wildlife spreads diseases, has about a 90% death rate of relocated animals, and causes a problem for my fellow gardeners I will not perform the self-serving and irresponsible act of releasing a possibly diseased animal into another population. Even if that were legal in my state, I would still not do it.

I bought a trap then watched as the woodchuck sat outside of it munching away. At $8/day how long could you look at that. $8*7.5days=$60. You coulda, woulda, shoulda bought the trap.
Not to mention where there is one there are many.

I used fox urine to get the whole fam damily to relocate. Put some by their holes, just don't forget to fill the hole or something else will move in, skunks, woodchucks, rabbits, etc. all will use the ready made den.

HTH,
Gumby_CT

Usually rental places will charge only a little more for a week's rental than for a day's. In our hardware store they charge I think $8/day or $16/week for a trap.

I had a similar quandary this month with voles, little mouse-like critters who had a population explosion this year. I caught about 20 in a couple days of trapping and will be putting in tighter-mesh fencing the next couple of weekends. I feel worse about the fencing, which will keep out beneficial animals like snakes and toads, than about killing the voles. It was really gross, but they've been ripping my seedlings to shreds and their breeding habits make rabbits look like Puritans. If I could be there every day I'd probably get a cat.

prairiemoon2, would a dog chase your groundhog away?

... By the way, I didn't use hav-a-hart traps. I used regular snap mousetraps, which kill the voles instantly.

Another option, if there are no kids etc. nearby, is an electric fence. A few shocks might discourage him enough to leave.

Is a woodchuck a rodent? I think maybe it is. Skunks aren't, nor raccoons. And where is the line between "wildlife" and vermin that live off of our activities? A squirrel might by a stretch be considered wildlife, but not a norway rat.

I think it's rather apt to release trapped rats near their brethren - the money-lenders. There is usually nice landscaping around banks that rats enjoy, and heck, we all helped pay for the grounds.

We have ground squirrel problems here in southern california. We also live near a national recreation area. I asked the rangers there, if I could relocate my ground squirrels to the Nat'l rec. area, and they said "they probably came from here, so you might as well."

Prairie moon, although I am not advocating that you do something illegal, and I have killed any number of rodents over the years, I wonder if there might be a similar option in massachusetts. If a national park ranger OK'd the relocation, I would think that would change the picture. There are, after all, various laws on the books that are not particularly sensible in practice. True, the animal might have disease, on the other hand the animal might benefit the ecosystem by re-entering a more normal food chain, when it is relocated.

(We had a woodchuck once. I thought he was sort of cute - and when he died (hit by a truck) his home was taken up by an opposum. Ugly, ugly thing. Then we moved for unrelated reasons.)

I don't have a woodchuck problem this year (yes, they are a rodent) but we do have a serious chipmunk infestation. I bagged two of them at once yesterday on my patio using two rat traps baited with peanut butter. There is ground cover around the patio and they seem to make their burrows under the foliage where it is hard to find the hole. We have a small herb garden on the patio separate from the kitchen garden.

I've heard that if you 1/2 fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and float sunflower seeds in it- then chipmunks think it's a solid surface and will drown. A 2x4 leaned against it with some seeds on it to entice them is supposed to do the trick.

I've not had to use it (no chippy issue here), but have seen people rave about how incredibly effective it was in getting them in a garage.

I bought a havahart clone trap at Harbor Freight a few weeks ago for $19.99 I think. It was something like 37" x 12" x 12". It was the biggest one they made. It's currently sitting in the living room until I find a need for it. There's a big woodchuck that walked right by me last year--almost between my legs while I was bending over a tray of plants in the driveway!--that has been sighted by my neighbor again this year. So far only some expensive echinacea plants were mowed down to the ground but I saw a rabbit a few weeks ago cross the street from one yard to another so don't know which is doing the damage yet. I'm in the middle of the city with no real wildlife habitat yet these 2 are around, go figure...

What do you use for bait in the have-a-heart trap for ground hogs?