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Groundhog prevention from MSPCA's
 Groundhog
day may have passed unnoticed for some, but for homeowners and gardeners
groundhog season is only just beginning. Groundhogs (also known as woodchucks)
are active in the spring and summer and may be feasting off your garden
or lawn. Here are our do-it-yourself tips for keeping your yard safe from
groundhogs.
About Woodchucks
Woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, are a member
of the squirrel family and reside throughout the east and mid-west sections
of the United States and most of Canada. They are excellent diggers and
live in complex underground systems of burrows. There is usually a main
entrance distinguished by a mound of soil around it, and several secondary
entryways that are often used as escape doors. Burrows are often near rocks,
tree roots, or other supportive structures that help to prevent predators
from gaining access to them. Many woodchucks share their burrows with other
animals, and use the burrows for hibernation for about six months every
winter. Groundhogs are vegetarians and can often be seen grazing near the
edges of fields and roadways.
Possible conflicts and solutions
Woodchucks often cause trouble
for gardeners, and leave a clean cut on plants they browse, unlike the
jagged edges of plants browsed by deer. Using novel stimuli to harass
and frighten away unwanted groundhogs will often do the trick. Tactics
like putting a beach ball within the area they are disturbing and letting
it blow in the wind and using scarecrows, balloons, and pinwheels can
deter them. Visiting your garden often and mowing long grasses can also
help.
Specific plants can be protected
by sprinkling them with Epsom salts (needs re-application after every
rain) or covering them with fabric or gallon milk jugs with the bottoms
removed. You can also try placing rags soaked in ammonia on posts placed
at intervals around the perimeter of the garden. The odor is enough to
deter most unwanted visitors. The rags must be re-soaked when the smell
of ammonia fades. The most effective means of ridding small gardens of
hungry woodchucks is to use wire fencing around the perimeter at least
three to four feet high and buried one foot underground.
Woodchucks are proficient
at digging, and have no trouble going under a fence that is not deep into
the ground. Making sure the fence is somewhat loose and not pulled taught
will make it more difficult for an interested groundhog to climb up it.
If you have persistent visitors to your garden, a single strand of electric
fencing in front of the fence four to five inches high will give your
garden an extra step of protection. Woodchuck burrows can sometimes cause
problems for homeowners if they are under buildings or too close to gardens.
In these cases it is best to try and harass the woodchucks out, and then
permanently exclude them from getting back into the burrow.
Removing ground cover around
the burrows, partially digging out the entryways, and placing ammonia-soaked
rags just inside the entrances can help to encourage them and other animals
to leave. It is important to never use toxic substances like gasoline
to try and get woodchucks or other burrow inhabitants to leave, as they
are inhumane and toxic to both people and animals. A one-way door can
be used to evict woodchucks from burrows, however, should never be used
when young are present (usually May through August) or when other animals
are using the burrow system.
You can check to see if
the burrow is being used by loosely placing hay or grass into the entrance.
If it goes undisturbed for several days, then the burrow is most likely
unoccupied, and then you can permanently close it. To close the burrow,
excavate the area around the entrance, and bury heavy-gauge welded wire
(three inch squares) at least one foot deep around the entrance. Because
woodchucks are such great diggers, the wire should extend well past the
burrow entrance on all sides (about three square foot sections of wire).
After closing burrow entrances, it is a good idea to observe the area
and make sure no new groundhogs are trying to gain access.
Publick Health Concerns
Woodchucks are not a significant source of infectious
diseases transmittable to humans. They can contract rabies, and may become
very aggressive in the final stages of the disease. For more tips on living
with wildlife visit LivingWithWildlife.org.
The Living with Wildlife campaign promotes lasting, humane solutions to
human-wildlife conflict, and provides practical resources for homeowners,
property managers, even municipalities - anyone living too-close-for comfort
with their wild neighbors.
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