If you are seeing marks of claws as well as particularly large burrows in your backyard, you might want to consider the fact that you have to deal with groundhogs. There are quite a few different reasons for which you might want to get rid of them, but we are going to take a closer look at the areas of damage so that you can understand properly.
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Areas of damage
The issues which could be caused by groundhogs are numerous. This is why we’ve taken the liberty of providing you with some of the most common ones for you to consider.
- They can severely damage crops such as beans, melons and alfalfa.
- They can eat up the grass of your lawn as well as your beautiful clover.
- They are known to chew through electrical wires as well as water supply piping and tubing.
- They are known to dig holes as well as to create burrows which can jeopardize the integrity of the soil, loosening up the foundations of different structures and genuinely devastating your plants.
Obviously, this is a menace that you have to take into account. With this in mind, we want to show you the easiest ways of getting rid of those rodents. Let’s go ahead and take a look at 13 home remedies as well as the most convenient ways of handling a groundhog invasion.
1. Sudsy ammonia
Find a nice and warm sunny day and take about 3 cups of sudsy ammonia. Pour the solution in the burrow which is created by the groundhog and watch them come out immediately. If they don’t, however, you might want to repeat this another day. If you don’t have it available, you can mix a glass of water alongside 2 cups of regular ammonia and spoons of detergent. Always wear gloves while doing this.
2. Havahart trap
Groundhogs are particularly easy to attract to areas where there are lettuce leaves as well as fruits such as apples, for instance. This is why it’s particularly easy to trap rodents of this particular kind. The Havahart trap is an easy solution that you can take advantage of.
3. Get a dog
This is by far amongst the easiest ways that you can employ in order to get rid of groundhogs and woodchuck. Of course, you need to tame the dog and if you don’t know who to do so you can easily leave it to someone who does. This is going to make the entire process even easier.
4. Eliminate all the attractants
As far as prevention goes, eliminating the attractants is definitely going to help you out. Groundhogs like to make their burrows where there is an ample natural shelter and it’s best if you remove all piles of dirt and rocks for that matter. Also, if you have bushes as well as smaller plants, this might also attract them so make sure that they are properly maintained and cut.
5. Mud
Mud is another DIY home deterrent. All you need to do here is to fill their burrows with mud over and over again. Even though it’s a tiring and rather lengthy process, the groundhog is going to get exhausted of digging it up again and again and it’s going to leave the entire area.
6. Garlic
As most of the underground rodents, woodchucks also get irritated by strong smells. This is something which is going to cause them to leave the burrow quicker than you thought. With this in mind, you might want to spread garlic paste on cloves as well as in their burrows.
7. Proper fencing
This is something which is going to effectively protect your entire garden from further trespassing of groundhogs. Once you manage to get those rodents out of your yard or if they haven’t invaded yet, make sure to secure your garden with the proper fencing.
8. Planting a food source outside your yard
It makes sense, doesn’t it? When you plant their favorite food somewhere far from your yard, this is definitely going to attract them and keep your garden out of harm’s way.
9. Talcum powder
You can conveniently sprinkle talcum powder on the boundaries of your garden as well as in their burrows to get rid of them quickly.
10. Pepper – using red pepper flakes
Either use those tiny little red pepper flakes or use a pepper spray to get rid of groundhogs.
11. Fumigation
Fumigation remains one of the best anti-rodent remedy that you can take advantage of regardless of the type of animal you are up against. It is usually performed with the help of a cartridge of gas which is filled with carbon monoxide.
12. Cat litter
You can put cat litter into the hole of the woodchuck if you want to get rid of it. Make it muddy by mixing it up with some water.
13. Human hair
It is far more likely for groundhogs to actually resent the smell of people. This is why human hair remains one of the most effective ways to get rid of them. Sprinkle it around your garden and this is definitely going to chase them away.
The do’s and don’ts
There are a few things that you might want to do and a few that you need to avoid. Let’s have a look.
• What to do
- Use the favorite food of the groundhog as a convenient bait against them
- Check with your local laws in order to determine that using the aforementioned methods are actually legal
- Clean and maintain your lawn regularly
• What not to do
- Do not kill the animal when you capture it. Instead, leave it somewhere far away from your home.
As you can see, there are quite a few things that you might want to take into proper consideration when it comes to it. These are the most convenient remedies that you can take advantage of at home in order to get rid of this burdensome pest.