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Whether you think of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray or the actual day where the groundhog predicts how much more winter is left, everyone knows about groundhogs. These critters, also referred to as woodchucks, are considered to be cute by some people, but they can cause severe damage to your property. These master tunnelers are becoming very common in suburbia, and are quite adept at living around people. Continue reading to find out what damage they cause and how you can safely and humanely remove groundhogs.
Groundhogs love to burrow. They build massive networks of interconnected tunnels that span large areas underground. They love to dig right next to buildings, under decks, porches, sheds, and almost any other kind of structure. It might not seem like a problem, but these tunnels severely undermine the structural capability of your home’s foundation. That is why it is so important to remove groundhogs quickly, as foundations are expensive to repair.
These critters do not harm humans with any type of health risk, as they are scared of humans and other animals. That being said, if you have plants or any kind of garden or crops, groundhogs will ravage them. The holes they dig can also be dangerous if a human or pet is not watching where they are walking. Due to these reasons, it is important that you remove groundhogs from your property as quickly as you can.
There are no really good ways to prevent groundhogs from coming onto your property. One of the only solutions is to take away the food sources that are easy for them to get to. This means keeping pet food locked up tightly and also picking up any fruit that falls from your fruit trees. You can also try to use some repellents, but these are generally a waste of money.
Groundhogs can be easily caught with cage traps. In fact, this is one of the only ways that wildlife control professionals will catch them. Cage traps are readily available at many home improvement stores, as they are not deadly and are safe to use around pets and children. You can bait these cage traps with fresh vegetables and once this is done, make sure the trap is well camouflaged, as groundhogs are cautious creatures. Before you start catching them though, it is important to pay attention to laws in your area regarding both the trapping and the release or putting down of groundhogs.
It is a great idea to have a wildlife control company come to take care of the removal of groundhogs. Not only will you not have to worry about it once you have called them, but they will also perform inspections on the damage caused by the groundhogs. This is highly important, as the burrows could have severely damaged your foundation’s integrity. If you are in Maine and looking for someone to do this, consider calling A&D Construction Plus, so that we can put our experience to work for you.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are excellent diggers. This is also a reason why they cause so much trouble for homeowners. Groundhogs are known to wreck gardens, damage fruits, and vegetables, and ruin the soil. Visit groundhogtrapping.com to learn more about groundhogs.
Groundhogs live underground and build deep, extensive deep tunnels over short periods. When living under homes, especially the porch, they can damage the foundation of your home. Their solid and prominent front teeth allow them to chew their way through pipes and drains, which leads to more destruction. So, naturally, homeowners are wary of these unruly creatures.
Since they are diurnal, they remain active during the day. So if you hear noise coming through the pipes or feel movement under the porch, you should get your property inspected for groundhogs. While using simple traps may work sometimes, it can be challenging to catch them as they are aggressive and persistent creatures.
As cute as it may look, this brown, furry creature is known to cause quite a ruckus in homes and destroy houses by building extensive underground channels. Sometimes the damage goes even further- groundhogs chew away pipes, drainage, or irrigation systems, too. Unless controlled immediately, the damage could be enormous and costly.
Let the experts take care of the infestation for you. Usually, the pest control teams are aware of local legislation and will follow protocol when relocating them. They are also experts in executing control plans, so there is less chance of anything going awry.
Use fruits or vegetables as bait and wait for the groundhog to be caught. Once done, either relocate it to another safe location, at least 10 miles away from your home, or hand it over to pest control.
Now that you have got the groundhog infestation problem under control, it is time for you to think about long-term solutions.
The first step is to thoroughly inspect your porch and surrounding area to ensure there is no way the woodchucks can come back. We suggest hiring professional pest control as they can help you install barriers or fences and suggest better pest control methods.
You can also use lavender plants around your house as they serve two purposes- firstly, they look beautiful. Secondly, they ensure groundhogs won’t want to get anywhere near your property ever again.
When you hear the word groundhog, the first thing you most likely think about is Bill Murray’s 1993 classic film. In reality, however, groundhogs are a lot less cute than that movie lets on. They’re also unlikely to accurately predict the coming of spring, especially since that tradition didn’t even concern groundhogs in the beginning.
What they are likely to do, however, is wreak intense havoc in your backyard, particularly if you’re also sporting some nice crops in your garden patch. Groundhogs, which are also known as woodchucks or whistle-pigs, are in fact responsible for damage to the crops, since they are voracious eaters, so if you’re dealing with an uncontrolled groundhog invasion, expect to find your garden patch decimated.
Luckily for you, in this article, we’re focusing on things you can do to keep groundhogs away from those precious crops, and away from your property in general.
This first one sounds a bit like a no-brainier, but a lot of property owners neglect the obvious benefits of fencing their property. Putting up a fence will protect you not only from groundhogs, but also from other larger wild intruders, like deer, raccoons, and other nuisance wildlife.
When selecting your fence, keep in mind that groundhogs are, like their squirrel cousins, skillful climbers, so make sure you opt for a fence that’s at least six feet tall to deter them from climbing over.
Also keep in mind that groundhogs can burrow into the ground, as can other nuisance animals, so also dig your fence deep into the earth, and at a slight curved angle, to keep groundhogs out.
It’s not uncommon to store piles of logs, and other sorts of natural debris on your property. Unfortunately, wild animals know this, and look for piles since they offer perfect nesting grounds for many creatures, including groundhogs.
How you maintain your yard will play a huge role in how or what critters you attract, so do invest in regular maintenance, as an important wildlife deterrent.
Predator urine may sound a little gross, yet this unsavory commercial deterrent is actually very useful in the battle against groundhogs. Here’s how it works – many specialty stores commercialize predator urine (think coyote, bobcat, fox, and so on), which you can then sprinkle around your yard.
Detecting the potent stench, groundhogs will assume that your property is frequented by a known groundhog predator, and are more likely to steer clear, since they’re usually not looking for a confrontation.
Alternatively, you could get a large dog as a pet, who will also provide you with predator urine naturally. While we wouldn’t recommend using your dog to actually hunt down any wild animals (since a scuffle could end up harming your dog), canines are an effective wildlife deterrent through their mere presence.
Groundhogs infamously live inside underground tunnels also known as burrows. One thing you can do is to dig into the earth where they’ve made a burrow, and plant wire mesh straight through the tunnel, to block off their path. Do this enough times, and the groundhogs are unlikely to bother you again.
You could also try to gross them out by placing strong-smelling deterrents in their burrows, like hot pepper, garlic, or even predator urine.
By far the most effective way to protect your yard against groundhogs is to call in a professional wildlife removal company, since they’re the only ones able to spot what you’re doing wrong, and also give you long-lasting prevention tips.
