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Cottage Gardens

there's a groundhog living in my yard!

13 years ago

I discovered yesterday that there's a (huge!) groundhog living under my shed. What should I do about this guy? Live and let live? I'll leave my rantings to my blog (http://mysticvalleymusings.blogspot.com/2010/05/groundhog-day.html), but seriously, any suggestions? I don't know anything about these critters!

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Comments (10)

organic_kitten
13 years ago
That isn't good! They tend to eat what they want, and damage other plants according to what I've read on other forums. They are cute, however...but that probably won't make up for the downside.
side
ianna
13 years ago
Perhaps you should contact a wildlife pest removal service.
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schoolhouse_gw
13 years ago
I have a resident groundhog every year. Do you have a dog? Walk your dog around the area once a day so the groundhog gets its scent (be careful, groundhogs can do damage to dogs) or scoop up dog poo and place it right at the entrance of the groundhog's burrow. He'll hate that! Or if you have a cat, dump the litter box there.

Try to make his life miserable so he'll move on. I'd tell you to block up the burrow entrance but he probably has one or even two exits somewhere. A live trap will work if you bate it, but then you have the concern of where to take him after he's caught. Some say it's more cruel than shooting to dump the groundhog in a strange place where he doesn't know where to find food and water.
Annie
13 years ago
Good heavens!

Dog urine or poo, cat and even human urine will drive them off I should think. I use mothballs to get rid of skunks that burrow under my chicken house. They leave and how. I would try anything, but couldn't bring myself to harm one.

Christine knows what you're in for...ask her about her Romaine lettuce.
mystic_dragon72
13 years ago
We HAD quite a few groundhogs living around us here... as long as they stayed out near the edges of our property I let them live... unfortunately they preferred the dug soil to the harder unworked soil so most of them are no longer here. I know some of you will think me cruel but the local vultures and hawks had a few good meals out of it.

ttfn
Cheryl.
Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
13 years ago
Get rid of it as quickly as possible. Where there is one there will probably be more at some point. And even just one can do so much damage. We tried and tried to catch them but never had any luck. Now I call a company to trap and remove them as soon as I see them in the yard.
memo3
13 years ago
That's gross! I'd shoot it in a heart beat.

MeMo
newbiehavinfun
13 years ago
Our groundhog really doesn't seem to care that our two large dogs know where it lives. I've even seen it walk out from its wood pile lair and sun itself in the morning. I don't have much planted in the backyard yet, but when I do I'm going to cream that sucker, or at least dismantle its home. Sorry, bud, but if you're going to ruin my garden you're out.
keesha2006
13 years ago
they can be mean if cornered..beware..
newbiehavinfun
13 years ago
Hmm. I don't want him to hurt my dogs. Maybe I should trap him and relocate him to a wildlife area.

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