Woodchucks

[marusempai]

I need to get rid of them, because they want to live under my barn and eat my beans. :P Tips? Tricks? I have one of those "humane trap" things, and was thinking I could trap them and then shoot them, but I'm not sure what I would do with the carcasses (our dump does not accept dead animals). Relocation of groundhogs is apparently illegal in Virginia, which makes me laugh. Stupid wood chucks. There's a whole bunch of them, and I've counted three separate entrances/exits in and around the barn. They've been doing a lot of excavating since we made hay...

[Brighton]

Groundhogs are tough to get in a live trap, there is plenty of green around for them to eat without the trap and they are not so stinky or sweet sent driven like Racoons, Possums and Skunks.

But if you do happen to trap it, shoot it in the trap, dump in your brush/burn pile and burn it.

[lamina1982]

Eat em. Pretty good eatin, red meat kinda like venison/goose.

[karenp]

Have any men around the place pee in the hole. (I guess women would work too, just a little more difficult to aim)

[Use Less]

I haven't had trouble getting chucks into live traps. Bait with any veg or fruit waste that smells nice: apple cores, banana skin, corn cobs. Since you know where they've been digging, look for their trails through the grass or weeds and set the trap in the trail facing the hole. If you know about three, you could have 10. Keep setting the trap in the same place. They tend to follow each other's scents is all I can think. I had 13 come out of a hole next my garden one memorable year quite a while ago now. If you eventually feel like you've gotten them all, stay vigilant for sign. Others will move in from down the road pretty quickly. I've eaten 'chuck, a lot like eating the grisley part of old chuck steak (no pun intended), but I wouldn't recommend it. Guess you'll have to bury? If you know where multiple holes are, you can try stuffing them back down, but you need to board up the top pretty well, or they'll get pushed back out.

[Twobottom]

I always though wood chuck would be tasty if prepared right. Never tried it though.

[MichaelZ]

My dad's solution was always a 22 rifle with scope.

[nate77]

Cantaloupe works good for livetrap bait. Just set the trap close to the hole, and leave a juice trail into the trap.

I haven't had any trouble getting the young ones into my traps, but the old ones must be to smart.

.22 works too, but I don't have many safe shooting lanes, because of surrounding houses.

[Gravytrain]

I'm not a fan of chuck meat. The young ones are ok, but the bigger ones are grisly, fatty and musky tasting. The younger ones are dumb and tender enough to fall prey to a .22. The older ones are typically wary enough to rarely give you a close shot. If you shoot and miss an older chuck, you may not get another good shot at them for awhile. I use a .17 HMR for anything close and a .223 or similar for anything over 150 yds.

My brother and I devised a way to eliminate chucks when charged with exterminating ones that were devastating grandma's garden about 30 years ago... I don't recommend it (although it worked well) and I won't go into detail, but it involved gasoline, a long fuse (after the first trial...the first one was alarmingly much too short), and multiple exploding woodchuck carcasses flying in all directions.

[o&itw]

If you choose to eat it, harvest it before the late summer (early spring is best) because the wild taste builds up in the fat as they put on wieght for hibernation. Parboil it first, especially if it is an old one and then you can bake it , or better yet BarB'Que it. If you catch a bunch, stick with the young ones and bury the old ones.

Or, if you can stand the smell, stuff the carcass down the hole and it will induce the others to find greener pastures.

Actually, they don't usually cause much harm to a garden or such unless you have a bunch of them. The worst problem is their burrows. They can ruin a foundation, and cripple stock animals.

YouTube

[marusempai]

Originally Posted by o&itw

If you choose to eat it, harvest it before the late summer (early spring is best) because the wild taste builds up in the fat as they put on wieght for hibernation. Parboil it first, especially if it is an old one and then you can bake it , or better yet BarB'Que it. If you catch a bunch, stick with the young ones and bury the old ones.

Or, if you can stand the smell, stuff the carcass down the hole and it will induce the others to find greener pastures.

Actually, they don't usually cause much harm to a garden or such unless you have a bunch of them. The worst problem is their burrows. They can ruin a foundation, and cripple stock animals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q6Ti9xCX_M&feature=kp

Yeah, won't be eating it. I read that book Walden, by was it Thoreau? He ate a woodchuck and even he thought it was a bad idea. Hm, the carcass down a hole could work - I could stick it down one of the ones I want to fill in, then cover it all up, maybe the smell wouldn't be so bad? I worry that would attract larger predatory critters though. I'm sure there are other burrows, there's a whole posse of them, at least four, big ones and little ones. And the burrows are right under the barn, I feel like one day I'm going to go out there and the whole thing will be fallen into a pit because the groundhogs dug under all the walls. :P

Also thanks everybody for the "pee in the holes" and "burn the carcasses" suggestions, we'll definitely do the first and probably the second. I'm going to go buy some bananas so we can bait traps with the peels. Stupid woodchucks.

[OH Boy]

I have an old concrete slab at the back of my property which is in an open spot. I just lay the groundhog carcass on that concrete and the buzzards take care of them in about 2-3 days.

[farmerted]

somebody is selling them for $79, sounds like a lot of you all are throwing money away. http://www.nature-watch.com/woodchuc...FYpffgod5pYAXA

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

all i have gotten were with 22 rifle , you basically have to carry it with you as you only see them when doing something else
they are tough and 22lr is efective but they often make it back to the hole before dying ,the up side is they bury themselves the down side is your not 100% sure you got them dead

burying is a safe way to dispose of most all carcases the soil critters and worms and microbes and such break them down fine , often I would bury them at the back corner of the garden and never even find any sign of them when tilling the next year

live trap is a good idea id you have them getting in buildings

I have a thought on using body grip style traps over each entrance but every where that complains of them always had to many cats or dogs around to let me try it but i figure they have to come out some time , when they do they would be sticking their head right into the 160 body gripper and snap.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Originally Posted by farmerted

somebody is selling them for $79, sounds like a lot of you all are throwing money away. http://www.nature-watch.com/woodchuc...FYpffgod5pYAXA

yup add with 45-50 dollars in tanning costs , some profit , the trapper would get all of 5-7 dollars if you catch, skin ,flesh, board, dry ,and get them to a fur buyer you might make 2.50 dollars an hour if you were good at it, if you can even fnd a fur buyer for them , the sight you found is a niche market educational stuff not a huge market

since in my state only land owners and ADC guys can remove them doubtful a fur buyer would even want them

[Danaus29]

I shot an old one, lung shot. It was considerate enough to run back in it's burrow before expiring.

I've trapped them with apple pieces in a live trap. One shot with a .22 and done. Vultures clean them up pretty quick here.

I've got at least one eating my garden now. So far it has been dining on amaranth and milkweed but it needs to die before it decides it wants other greens. I wonder if I still have a jar of applesauce in the fridge. That would make a nice bait.

[MoonShadows]

Other than shooting them....a few tips I learned from a few locals....

Pour motor oil down their hole. They get it on their fur, try to lick it off...and will move to another area.

Spread bubble gum around their hole. They love the "sweet". They eat it and can't digest it. It kills them.

Neither is pretty, but both do the job.

[JoePa]

You can buy smoke bombs at Tractor Supply - it looks like a small stick of dynamite - you light the fuse and put it down the hole - then cover the hole - the smoke kills whatever is in the hole - the good thing about this way of killing them is you don't have to bury them - just fill the hole with dirt -

[1shotwade]

OK, I got to jump in here! Y'all are talking about selling them. Well, that may be ok but you need to check within your state. Years back a guy I know got busted for selling a bow he had wrapped with groundhog hide to keep his hand warm. In Indiana you can not sell any part of any groundhog.Check it out so you know for your self.
Also,live traps baited with apples will catch about anything. If it doesn't work go over to salt. Everything needs salt. Sometimes that's the only thing to catch rabbits with that are eating up your garden.
As stated conibear traps work great but you my loose a neighbors stray animal. The law here is also strictly enforced. 110,160 or 220s are fine but if you set a 330 it must 100% submerged in water.Again,check you states laws.


Wade


Oh yah! And eat the young ones. They are great. Boil the old ones for your dog.

[big rockpile]

Starting to finally see more around here, like Wild Hogs most don't want them. I consider them more meat for the Freezer.

Fry the young ones. I take the old ones cut their Glands out in the arm pit, Parboil, cover with Sage, Salt and Pepper and Bake.

big rockpile