Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
rayinpenn

Ground hog taking up residence under my shed.

rayinpenn
11 years ago

The wife sent me a text MSG while I was at ok yesterday "saw a ground hog go under your shed". I thought sweet Moses what is next locusts? drought?

I figure the clock is ticking on it finding my garden and eating everything.

All kidding aside is there anything I can do to encourage him to move to my neighbors garden? Spray a little clorox under the shed? -works with raccoons.

Comments (22)

  • Nunyabiz1
    11 years ago

    Can try Clorox if that worked for Raccoon's, or get a Haveahart trap and try trapping him and set him free in a remote area. They can be tricky to trap I hear, so will need to wash the trap and use rubber gloves to keep the human scent off, make sure the trap is on stable flat surface or they wont go in.
    Or if all else fails and he is actually destroying your garden you can always give him lead poisoning via a good Pellet Rifle (airgun) which is the preferred "lethal" method Vs gassing or lethal type traps.

  • rosiew
    11 years ago

    Check with your animal control agency. They may have Hav-a-heart traps you can 'rent' from them. And perhaps they'll pick up the groundhog once trapped. Good luck!

  • drscottr
    11 years ago

    Note that animal control will generally kill the animal not release it.

  • howelbama
    11 years ago

    There is one under my neighbors shed, and he has yet to mess with my garden. scares the crap out of me from time to time though...

  • harveyhorses
    11 years ago

    Also some places frown on transporting wildlife and releasing it. The county might be able to suggest a trapper.
    Lead poisoning.

  • susan2010
    11 years ago

    There are services that trap and remove problem wildlife. Drscott is right, though, many places don't permit relocation - just humane euthanasia.

  • denninmi
    11 years ago

    Actually, you can encourage them to find a new home by pouring something highly aromatic and persistent down the hole -- get a piece of hose, a funnel, and something along the lines of a bottle of cologne or perhaps some cleaning product like PineSol, and pour it down there. That should encourage him to move on. Years ago, we used to use gasoline or kerosene, but that clearly would be a big contamination threat to the groundwater.

    If you want to live trap, I'd suggest getting some "Groundhog Heaven" scent bait, I was never able to get them to go into my traps until I found this product. It works. And it's cheap, I've been working off the same 4 ounce bottle for 4 seasons now, and it's only half gone. $6.50 plus shipping (around $6 also IIRC).

    Here is a link that might be useful: Groundhog Heaven scent bait

  • sunnibel7 Md 7
    11 years ago

    Woodchucks can be incredibly persistent once they discover food or shelter. If you're somewhere residential, I doubt you can shoot it. I have had mixed success trapping in havahart traps, caught two young ones, never had the older ones go into the trap. For me, the dog finally worked. Otherwise, animal control or maybe one of those smoke bombs you drop down the hole, but I think for those to work you need to find and block all alternate exits? Anyhow, good luck!

  • noinwi
    11 years ago

    I heard that keeping a radio on in the area will drive away skunks, don't know if it would work with groundhogs, though. Might be worth a try.

  • sunnibel7 Md 7
    11 years ago

    Hey Dennis, I see we were posting at the same time, funny. Thanks for the link to the scent stuff, there is the occassional young one that gets under my porch and I don't like to send the dog after it because of the flower beds. An irresistable lure for the trap would help things along faster.

  • PRO
    Kitchens by Design
    11 years ago

    I've successfully used the bombs. Make sure you find the large ones. You have to block off all exits. I've placed large rocks at exits, put the bomb in the hole and immediately blocked that exit off with a rock. Wherever the smoke eeks, I plug with wet rags. Good luck. In my opinion, the most destructive and difficult pest!

  • sunnibel7 Md 7
    11 years ago

    Well, score one for the dog! There was one in the middle of the yard and she dispatched it fairly quickly. I guess the young are starting to disperse now.

  • michelelc
    11 years ago

    I had 2 last year and had no trouble trapping them. They tend to stick to walking along a "line" meaning along a fence or protected cover, so I put the trap along the fence and caught both within a couple days. I baited the trap with sliced apples. They are out in the early morning and evening. Good luck, once they find your garden, they'll mow it down! I hope you can get rid of them asap!

  • howelbama
    11 years ago

    Youve got to admit they are pretty cute though... :)

  • zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
    11 years ago

    Concur with Michelelc's post. Once I have identified a ground hog - before or after it has caused damage - it is usually easy to trap. My favorite bait is dried apricots; they have an irresistible scent, and don't turn to mush if it rains.

    It helps if you trap the adults as soon as they move in, before they have established deep burrows or had their first brood. I place the trap along a run, near their burrow, or near to the place where they have dug under my garden fence.

    {{gwi:12013}}

    I love wild critters, but having had ground hogs ravage my garden several times, I don't catch & release. I released the first one I caught in a rural area, but upon reflection, decided it wasn't right to make my problem someone elses. Now I dispatch them humanely.

  • sunnibel7 Md 7
    11 years ago

    I call it the ambiguity of the garden. For example, a real conversation with my husband one day:
    Me: "Damn deer, stay away from my @$&*# garden!"
    (10 minutes later, leaving our very long driveway)
    Me: "Oh, look! Deer! And a baby, aren't they beautiful!"
    (small pause)
    Husband: "Aren't those the same deer you just chased out of the yard?"
    Me: "Well, probably, but they are pretty down here."

  • michelelc
    11 years ago

    I forgot to mention, if you do decide to use a trap, don't leave it open overnight. Groundhogs are out early in the morning and late in the afternoon/evening, so I would set my alarm for 6am, go out and open the trap, then close it before dark. I learned the hard way that you will catch things you don't want to catch if you leave the trap open overnight. I got a skunk the first night I put the trap out. Luckily, I had a brave friend who wasn't afraid to open the door to let the skunk out. The trap was quite small (I thought at the time it was something small eating my garden), so the skunk was crammed into the trap and couldn't lift it's tail. I then got good advice here to just leave the trap open during the day. I also got a bigger trap when I saw the groundhog in my garden! He wasn't fitting in the little trap.

  • rayinpenn
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    1) Bought Trap baited with 2 apple halfs coated with peaut butter
    2) Within 1/2 hour squirrels stole 1 piece
    3) This morning caught squirrel
    4) Nearly had heart attack releasing squirrel
    5) Shouldnt that trap have some kind of quick release?

    Lesson learned squirels are scary when corned.
    Got me to thinking- ground hogs are bigger than squirrels...hmmm?

    Me mountain man!

    Pictures

  • sunnibel7 Md 7
    11 years ago

    Yup, GH are a bit bigger than squirrels. But that's a fine looking squirrel. :) Oh, and if you plan on trap and relocation, put something disposable under the trap for the car trip, because nothing smells quite like GH poop. Good luck!

  • ltilton
    11 years ago

    I was concerned when I saw a groundhog setting up house in a culvert on my neighbor's place, but I haven't seen it lately. Then, the other day, I saw a mama raccoon there. Which isn't altogether good, either.

  • freki
    11 years ago

    The most effective way of dealing with groundhogs are German Shepherds :-)

    My mother had success with pepper PELLETS (CritterRidder)

    NB: pepper pellets do not work on squirrels. Alas