Getting rid of a groundhog?

[mammabooh]

There is a groundhog that is bound and determined that he (or she) is going to live under my goat pen inside the barn. I am bound and determined that he is NOT going to live there. I have given him plenty of opportunities to high-tail it out of there. I have put fresh dog poo and fresh chicken poo down the hole, I have poured a substantial amount of human pee down the hole, and I have filled it in several times a day for the last couple of weeks. Each time I fill it in, I put a couple of bricks down there before I fill it in with dirt. To date, I have put 20-some bricks down there. Sooo...any other tips for me, other than trapping and shooting him? I am perfectly capable of doing that, but don't want to if I can get him to leave.

Any ideas for me? Like I said, it's inside the barn, so I don't want to put anything horribly toxic down there.

[Bearfootfarm]

Attach a hose to your exhaust pipe and run it down the hole

[edcopp]

Stiff upper lip. Trap it. Shoot it, and place the body in a deep spot in your compost pile. Her ghost will come back as minerals for your veggies and this is a good thing.

[homebody]

works very well. He got in the trap in less than 10 minutes.

[clovis]

I'd use a conibear style trap.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-220-INSTANT-...item256203fcd7

I'm not sure what size you'll need, but I bet the 220 would work.

Those traps can be a little tricky to set if you aren't used to them, so be careful.

The most important thing I can add is this: I'm afraid that Mr. Groundhog will soon want to marry and start a family, and make his humble abode much bigger for all of this offspring. I'd suggest taking care of the one or two you have now, instead of waiting for a population explosion.

Good luck!

[Ky-Jeeper]

I use box traps. Sometimes there is always a elusive groundhog. I wanted to dispose of wood ashes anyway, so I started pouring them in and around all holes and under fence crossings. They have not been back. It worked for me with no money out of my pocket.

Good luck,
Ky-Jeeper.

[Pops2]

if you shoot or trap it don't waste it on the compost, COOK and EAT that sucker.

[DavidUnderwood]

They are pretty good to eat.
A .22 rifle will do it easily.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by Ky-Jeeper

I use box traps. Sometimes there is always a elusive groundhog. I wanted to dispose of wood ashes anyway, so I started pouring them in and around all holes and under fence crossings. They have not been back. It worked for me with no money out of my pocket.

Good luck,
Ky-Jeeper.

Hmmm...that sounds good. We have a huge pile of those right by the compost pile. I'll give that a try tomorrow!

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by edcopp

Stiff upper lip. Trap it. Shoot it, and place the body in a deep spot in your compost pile. Her ghost will come back as minerals for your veggies and this is a good thing.

Why waste Good Eats?

big rockpile

[coonripper]

Chop up lettuce, radishes, tomatos, basically make a salad, put it in the back of a cage trap, they cant resist.

[606JAE]

Kill it and eat it. Groundhog is very good.

[billooo2]

If you just chase him away from that hole, he probably will not go far .......and multiply......and you will hae many "problem ground hogs."

Just my thought.......if wild animals are in the woods, and leave me and my things alone, then I leave them alone. If they beome a problem, then they are trapped and introduced to my .32. IMO, an animal that is accustomed to humans, will teach their offspring to be acclimated to humans, and the problems are greater.

[mylala]

Once you get rid of him make sure you fill in holes, and block off any entrances or in due time another critter will take up residence in an already built condo...skunks do this a lot.

[kreig]

I agree with Ky-jeeper. I had an on going problem with groundhogs. I would trap " them but another one would ( or a family) would be back soon. Once in a flash of good luck I filled the holes with earth and ashes from my burn pile and they have not come back. It has been several years now.

[Ohiogal]

They usually have 2 or more exits to their burrows. You need to find all of them. Block in all but one, then light a common road flare and throw it down the hole and block that one with a board. It will asphyxiate the varmit and you will be done with the burial problem, too. I did this in the city one time, when a beaver sized groundhog emerged in my backyard and nearly took down my wood fence by burrowing under it.

[Use Less]

Woodchucks make little rooms for their waste, which after a while they close over, so dumping stinky stuff doesn't do anything except get rid of it for you. The chuck doesn't just have a hole under your barn. There can be many yards of tunnels, side rooms & at least one other major exit. You can drop a smoke bomb down, cover tightly and try to locate that. There may well be several living there now, and females will kit soon, too. If you remove the one you see & it happens to be a single, another will come along soon enough & take up residence if you don't thoroughly fill everything you can locate. Sue

[Vickie44]

When I was building the fence around my veg garden I was told at the lumber store that I would need " big fence, bigger gun". My nephews shot 46 groundhogs on the farm last summer!

[Danaus29]

Send BRP a round trip air fare ticket. He'll take care of it for you. Or trap it and send it to BRP. Advertise on craigslist. I saw a lot of free groundhogs advertised in the farm and garden section last year.

[BillHoo]

If you trap it with a hav-a-hart trap (about $60 at the hardware store for a big one) bait with something sweet - fruit is good, peanut butter makes it irresistible - othewise you will get neighbor cats.

Please don't release it elsewhere. You might be allowing disease to go into other animal communities. Just dispose of it humanely with a .22 to the head, or drown in the creek.

And yes. I hear they are excellent eating!

My problem is raccoons, and when they are slow cooked with a pack of lipton onion soup, and some carrots, they taste like a tender beef pot roast.