Favorite foods include alfalfa, clover , peas , beans , lettuce , broccoli , plantain, and soybeans. Groundhogs will often devour your seedlings before they even have time to grow. Rabbits and deer eat some of the same plants, so make sure to check for burrows before concluding that you have groundhogs. Groundhogs eat mostly during the early morning and afternoon, so try to see when your garden is receiving the most damage. These creatures will also gnaw and claw at fruit trees, so check your trees for any such marks.
These critters may have been attracted by your garden full of tasty plants. Encourage them to go elsewhere. The best woodchuck deterrent is a fence. Excluding woodchucks from the garden will also keep out deer , rabbits , raccoons , and stray pets. Above ground, the fence should be about four feet high, with the top 12 inches unattached to fence posts i.
The two feet of fencing buried underground should form an L-shape, with 12 inches going straight down and the bottom 12 inches bent at a right angle away from the garden. An apron of weighed-down black plastic around the garden discourages some diggers, as does an electric fence strung four to six inches off the ground about four to six inches outside the woven-wire fence. Pay special attention to areas facing fields where woodchucks live or places where they have been digging; sometimes extra fortification in just these spots is called for.
Be sure the gate is protected, too. They have destroyed the foundation around the barns at this abandoned farm we recently moved to. They also have burrowed near the foundation of the house. So we are partially winning this! Easy enough to catch in a live trap, but our state does not allow releasing onto others property. Most farmers don't want them.
Makes for a good meal. Firstly, a family of groundhogs or woodchucks has lived adjacent to the garden for years and I've never encountered problems. Matter of fact, they have been beneficial in that their long burrows absorb rainwater and therefore keep the ground moist during the dry summer months. Be sure to read your state and local laws before trying to humanely relocate a groundhog. Good luck finding someone who wants a groundhog on their property.
They can ruin the foundation of your shed, home, retaining walls etc. People and pets are injured when stumbling upon their excavation work also.
Unfortunately the only option may be to trap and humanely kill and dispose of the carcass. I have a mom and 6 babies groundhogs and a vegetable and flower garden.
We live in harmony. They learn quickly. They are solitary animals so the babies will leave by the age of 3 months approximately. The babies have tried three times to make a nest in the garden. I have the perfect spot that they love, with big rocks and open spaces. One has to be vigilant at the beginning and check regularly to see if they are in the garden. Any loud noise will send them running away. As for the building of their new nest, I make sure that they are not in the hole and then I put a piece of cardboard with Vick's Vapor Rub on it in the hole and refill the exit that is in my garden with the earth.
I also put lavender Epson salts around the type of flowers that they like and I keep an eye on any new attempts. They have learned that my garden is a "scary place" and they avoid it. I have the pleasure of seeing them play together, they are cute, sentient beings.
All you need is compassion and determination at the beginning and they will oblige. If you live in the Rockies, as I do, and are reading this for any hints to get rid of ground squirrels, as I am, be aware: Every few years someone in Colorado dies of Bubonic Plague or of another rodent born disease, Hanta Virus. The Plague is spread by fleas. If you have a dead ground squirrel, chipmunk, mouse or prairie dog on your property, don't touch it.
Don't let your dog or cat touch it. The fleas jump off as soon as the body temp of their host drops just a degree or two. Sorry to be a downer, but it is really dangerous although uncommon.
Hanta is from the urine and feces of infected mice. That dust often becomes airborn when it dries out. Both diseases can be deadly.
We have meds for plague, but you have to recognize it withing a couple of days. Most states are constantly on the lookout for any dead rodents that they can check for infection. So it's uncommon, but really something to be aware of.
I killed six of them with Duke Conibear traps. They were destroying my garden. At first, I went out into the near-by woods patch to look for their holes. I found nine holes. I tried filling them in after using "smoke bombs", road flares, etc.
It was ineffective. Then, I put up two of these inexpensive-but dangerous conibears, one-per-side at the bottom of my garden fence. I didn't even have to bait it because woodchucks are lazy and you can guide them into the trap by putting "-high boards along the bottom of your fence even grass clippings will work. DIY fencing around crops groundhogs like to eat and high frequency sound repellents can help keep these pests away.
But, the best bet is to contact the professionals at Orkin Canada. Our experts have the best knowledge to answer what groundhogs are eating around your home. With years of experience and the right equipment, they can help prevent groundhog infestation. Grey squirrels have two breeding periods per year, one in mid-summer and another in early spring. Rabbits produce two different types of solid waste, but only one is commonly seen outside of a nest.
The reason groundhogs eat so much is that, between spring and fall, these vegetation-munching rodents double their body weight to prepare for hibernation. During hibernation, their metabolic rate drops, and they neither eat nor drink for about five months — drawing all their nourishment from the body fat they accumulated during the summer. In general, groundhogs prefer open land and the surrounding wooded or brushy areas adjacent to it. Burrows are commonly located in fields and pastures, along fence rows, stone walls, roadsides, and near building foundations or the bases of trees.
Groundhogs can do serious damage to your garden and landscaping. However, rabbits and deer eat some of the same plants, so make sure to check for burrows before assuming that you have groundhogs. Groundhog burrows are distinguished by a large mound of excavated earth at the main entrance.
Groundhogs like to navigate through tall vegetation so removing vegetation around burrows can create insecurity and can encourage them to abandon a burrow system. Beyond that, keeping undergrowth and grass cover low may deny groundhogs the security they seek before burrowing around buildings and residences.
In autumn, groundhogs will also load up foods in their dens and burrows as a preparation for winter. During winter groundhogs will hibernate — waking up occasionally to feed on the food reserves in their winter dens and burrows. The feeding style of groundhogs is heavily in favor of that of a herbivore. Their feeding period is around two hours at a time during summer, spring and autumn, they spend less time eating during winter as a way of saving up energy.
During the seasons of spring, summer, and autumn, groundhogs consume a large portion of their diet during the morning and evening. Whereas in winter they only eat small amounts of food. Help support our efforts for wildlife causes and keep this site working for nature.
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