I'm pretty sure trap and release is illegal in NJ, but I'm not sure, you'd have to check with your town or animal control officer if you have one (we don't).

You could pay someone to trap it and take it away. In your phone book under pest control.

Good luck! We have one too. Between the deer, the groundhogs and the japanese beetles it sometimes makes me wonder why I bother!

>>> * pieheart I'm pretty sure trap and release is illegal in NJ

NJ Trapping Illegal?

i'm ahead of you there, already checked with local county police. yes, i can trap/release here. although honestly i would not bother unless i feel i have to..

he's already dug a cozy little home under my neighbor's shed - boy aren't they thrilled about that.

I've driven them out of holes (next to house foundation) with ammonia. I've heard of mothballs also but never tried it. Unfortunately, I have them under my shed also. They ate through the plywood flooring - guess they were too lazy to go "out the back door". The only thing that works well here is the increase in the fox population we've had in the last couple of years. I am going to tear the shed down and put up another one on a concrete base that's already there. They'll probably chew through the metal then.

wow, diytrying, NASTY critters! didn't know they can chew through plywood flooring. the groundhog (or rather i realize now apparently a family of _3_ groundhogs) is living in my neighbor's yard under their shed. not good. they are already multiplying.

well birdgardener i can't help but chuckle at your solution. unfortunately or happily for me, no squished rodents within a 100 foot radius of our house! i'll keep that ammonia suggestion in my mind. if we don't end up trapping and relocating them all, or don't succeed in blocking the entry under the shed, then we might have to use one of your unpleasant pour-in-the-whole ideas to at least drive them away somewhere slightly farther away.

after all, there is a wilderness area just a 2 minute walk from our house, but NOOOOO they couldn't go live there in peace..

I thought I had finally rid my garden of mine, but low and behold, another showed up. I went out on the deck last Friday, just around 6pm, and the little bugger was eating my potted marigold! DH got the HAH trap from FIL immediately, but when my cat tried to get out, DH snatched her and brought her in. Normally, she'll go out for just a bit, eat some grass, then return to the door, and never strays from my yard (why can't my neighbors 3 cats do this!!!). Anyway, I figured what the heck, I'll let her out. Sure enough, she went right under the deck, where Woody went. She stayed under there for 4 hours! Never in her 10 years has she stayed out that long! Anyway, it seemed to do the trick, even if temporarily, because I haven't seen it in a week (knocking wood!!!).
I could care less if it's illegal or not to transport them; they're outta here!

tracey what is FIL?

i'm trying to find a local source for a havahart trap. any ideas where in NJ i can buy one? or even borrow one?

i just saw one ambling thru my yard yesterday, and another one having a good ol' time in my neighbor's annual bed today. time for them to go..

>>>kitova

Both Home Depot and LoweÂs sells them, when they have them in stock, in a couple of sizes, you need the larger one which is usually the collapsible model.

We had a family of them last year...and were able to get rid of them quickly, and at no cost: They hate the smell of human urine. I know, it can be gross, but if you pour about a cupful into the entrances of their home every couple of days for a few days, (there's always more than one--the main entrance has the big mound around it) they'll shortly disappear. They're actually very fastidious, and will leave when they realize they can't get the smell out.

I did a lot of research last year when we had the problem, and this was the only solution that worked--and they haven't come back.

Good luck to you.

well i finally got a havahart cage. and boy oh boy, we actually caught one within 2 hours of setting it.

but poor thing looked so scared, and he pooped himself and really smelled, i actually felt really sorry for him when DH and I found him..

bagged him up cage and all and released him couple miles from here on state lands on the other side of the river. and boy was he glad to run out. hope he found some shelter from the rain today..

one down, 2 more to go..

>>>and he pooped himself and really smelled,

They always smell, even unpooped, you'll soon notice a small population of flies they seem to carry with them.

Congratulations.

I always felt a little lucky about not having any of these guys in my yard. But today, I saw a big fat one go under my shed for the first time in 10 years (which is propped on a concrete pad). So you say they eat through the plywood? This is not good.

My neighbor traps his & drives them across the Del. R to release--either they swim or their relatives come to fill the gap he creates.

The dislike of mint flavor gum might tell you something--try planting mint -- in pots---it is almost as invasive as groundhogs.

We have had good luck with properly aged human urine as a deer repellant. I would do just as haneen suggests--and as other animals do if you think about it--and pour some into the entrance of the burrow, every few days. My husband provides the supply & we age it in milk jugs. Ewww, but quite effective. We opt for male urine as it probably has that testosterone bouquet which mine would lack.

Never had a problem with flowers, but boy do they love ripe tomatoes.In the past it was always the one I was planning on picking tomorrow at the perfect point of ripeness. Cats do nothing, mint does nothing ( lives under the shed that is surrounded by mint), so I do something, this year I throw him an almost ripe plum tomato outside the garden fence. He's happy and leaves me alone. He helps me in the fall by eating the apples that fall from the tree. So, what can I say. Nature is what nature is. The racoons are fun too.

I recently followed the ammonia suggestion...and it worked fast! During daylight hours, I poured about a cup of ammonia into all openings less one. Within a few MINUTES, the ground hog poked it's head out the non-ammonia scented opening, looked about a bit and went back down into it's cave. A repeat treatment the next day, all openings this time, revealed that it had abandoned the home beneath my 8x10 shed. But, to be sure, I continued the treatments daily for 5 days in all holes, then filled in dirt to all but one hole. Seeing no re-excavation and feeling victorious, I then filled in the final opening and thought all was done.

Within in a week, it was back and had re-excavated! Not dissuaded, I started all over employing the same tactic, which worked again to drive it off. Since then, I have dirt-filled the holes again and added one more step aimed at prevention: I pour ammonia around the base of my shed, about one cup per side, every day or so.

Almost a month has passed with no more signs of the unwelcome squatter. As winter is not far off, that groundhog will find another place to be. When Spring arrives, I'll be watching for a re-visitation, ammonia in stock and ready to pour.

As an added bonus, it seems the chipmunks, who ran commune around my shed, don't like the ammonia much either!

I have groundhogs living under an absent neighbor's shed, and the little buggers ate up my four new azalea bushes! in a couple days! I bought a small bottle of fox urine and sprinkled it liberally in the area. They are still around but leaving my other plants alone, mostly.

I HAD one that made a nice cozy home next to and under my detached garage. I emptied my cat litter box over the hole repeatedly..., it did move out and never returned.

If you can find any entry to his/her underground cavern, dump a cup of ammonia in one opening daily for about two weeks (he'll move out the first day); after two weeks, fill in the all the holes with soil. Mr or Mrs Groundhog will have looked for a new place to dig far away from your ammonia treatment. And, the farther away, the better the chances your garden will cease to be his/her dinner. The ammonia greatly offends their keen olfactory without causing harm to the critter.

trap the pesky critter, and transport them no less than 25 miles away to rlease them.

any closer, and they'll come home- and really,i'd go 35 just to make absolutely sure-

I've made my peace with groundhogs. Yes, they eat some things. There is always something else to grow.

prs46530 is also wise-

The ultimate route of any hope to dissuade groundhogs. These two were accidentally left outside - one near a devastated petunia garden (. They ate only blue - left the whites ) and one was taken off back porch railing where I think they are planning a get together and have a celebration using our beautiful window box’s