Posted on 10/26/2008 11:08:26 AM PDT by CH3CN
We have a family of ground hogs who have lived under the concrete front steps of our house, under a giant climbing rose for generations. We bought the house from Mom, and they have lived there for as long as she can remember. She is 96.
We've had the front steps "mud jacked" six years ago because it was falling into the den. However, the ground hogs came back 2 years ago and started raising new families. We tried last year to get rid of them, but they came back this year. We had mom, pop, and 3 babies. The babies have finally left home and now that it's getting colder, Phil is trying to winter.
So, my son is dropping giant stink bombs down there and will cover the hole with a large rock. However, I suspect Phil and his mate will be back in the spring. Any ideas how to get them to find a new home? We've tried cayenne pepper, human urine, fire crackers, traps, and of course, the mud jacking. They keep coming back. Hopefully, the big bombs will work. We hate to use the poison smoke because it comes into the house, so the bombs we're using were acquired at a fireworks stand in July. Oh, and it's in the middle of town so we can't just shoot the boogers.
Sorry about a vanity. Thought it might get our minds off the election for a few minutes. Besides, I'd love to hear from any experts in groung hog removal.
A friend of mine that runs a hotel had the same problem and used this stuff:
http://www.critter-repellent.com/groundhog/groundhog-removal.php
Said it worked great. They were burrowing under the dirt surrounding 4 steps into the backside of the building.
Hey, thanks and bookmarked. It’s worth a try.
Only problem I noted was it contains the essence of the ground hogs deadliest predator, the fox. LOL. I remember one year visiting Mom and the ground hog family was nesting on one side of the steps, and a family of foxes was on the other. Hope this guy has kept his fear of foxes over the years. He definitely isn’t scared of humans, cats or dogs.
Wow - it surprises me after that story that you live right in town! Must be a small town? Good luck with them as I know they can really cause some damage.
Actually, it’s a rather large town with population of about 150, 000. And, we live right in the middle of town on a bluff above an extrememly busy highway. We have a herd of deer that cross the yard every morning. If I stood outside the house on the northwest corner with a 2X4 and started swinging at 5:00 a.m., I am almost guaranteed to get one. We had a nice 4 point buck get his foot caught in our fence and broke his hip one year, and he went right into the freezer.
I call the highway below our house “Vulture Alley” because there are dozens of vultures that cruise it waiting for all the roadkill. They cleaned up the yard after the deer gutting in a matter of hours.
We have all manner of critters around here. I even saw a mink not far from here when I was walking along a creek. It’s usually not that big of a problem if you have a tall fence, but these blasted ground hogs are so persistent.
If you were a member of my extended family I’d tell you first to boil them, then bake them, then...bon appetit.
Mothballs.
I’ve found .22 long rifle, any brand, works well. The hollow point flavor preferred.
Generic cleaning amonia on a couple of cotton rags.. shove it down the hole. Always works.
When I lived at the edge of the city years ago, I took care of the racoon problem with a little .22, with a soda bottle over the barrel so the noise wasn’t so loud in the kitchen. The neighbors are way too close, now, and I suspect would call the cops if they even suspected I owned a rifle.
I tried a small animal trap but only caught squirrels. They aren’t bad eating if you get enough of them. Ground hog is just plain delicious!!
Easy to trap using a home-built wood box with a drop trap door at the end. I’ve found very effective for groundhogs and also cats. I originally found plans for such a box trap on the web (BackHome magazine, or Mother Earth News)
I even caught one a couple of years ago using a plastic milk crate tipped up, with lettuce and carrots for bait; then slipped a metal sheet underneath in order to haul the critter away. They can get heavy.. I’ve seen them reach 20# (yes, I’ve weighed them). Unfortunately I had to trash the milk crate, ‘cause thew critter chewed it up pretty good in the brief time he was in there.
Box is ~12x12x18”; metal grate on half of top to see contents, 1x1 wood strips to form a slide slot for the drop door (piece of 12x12 plywood).
An effective repellant: coyote urine (readily found online.. I found a local discount store that had 8oz bottles for $5 — it really works at keeping them away, and no longer trying to burrow on your property.
http://www.bloomingarden.com/cropculprits.html
I’ve tried this http://www.critter-repellent.com/groundhog/groundhog-removal.php but didn’t think it was worth the cost.
Trap and relocate is the way to go, then make the area unattractive with Coyote Urine.
Kere’s further reading http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1979-05-01/Goodbye-Groundhogs.aspx
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0600255732508.html
http://blog.amystewart.com/2008/07/mammals-of-mass.html
Box trap plans http://www.mdc.mo.gov/documents/nathis/woodwork/ww10.pdf It shows how to make a wooden box trap for rabbits but you could change the dimensions for something bigger if you wanted!
My late mother in law used to cook them that way. Only she’d add barbecue sauce.
bump thanks,
Walking through my parents backyard 2 weeks ago and my foot fell through the roof of a 3 foot deep groundhog den, so it’s now a war since I have to give up a weekend to fill in this expanding void in the yard.
LOL. My groundhogs don’t look that sinister, but they will often sit at the front window and knock on the glass if the cats are looking out. I’ve thought they were trying to poke fun at the fact the cats couldn’t come out.
There are some really great ideas here to try out. Before, I thought it was hopeless, that the groundhogs must have been here long before this house.
How about using a smoke bomb to chase the hogs, then fill the den with a cement slurry so they wouldn’t be able to easily dig a new burrow in the spring.
Follow that up with a trap and relocate policy if they keep coming back.
A neighbor of ours had a hog take up in one of his tobacco
barns,he made his burrow under one of the center posts,dropped
the barn about 8” in the middle with the weight of all that tobacco
He caught the hog with a live trap with carrots in it and released
it on the back of the farm
I`ve got a hog thats gotta be 10 yrs old under a shed in the back
yard,we`re good buddies
Maybe someone has a big python they could loan you for a while.
I truly sympathize with your plight. If you ever need info on how to get rid of flying squirrels in your walls, let me know.
Make friends with ‘em. Train ‘em to do tricks. Pet ‘hogs...quite a novelty.
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