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Groundhog in the Hood!
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Posted by wolfe15136 z6 PA (My Page) on Thu, May 3, 07 at 10:46
| I live in a small house in a very urban area. My lot, including the parking pad, garage and house is a total 35 ft x 100 ft!
I have a small garden, in the back with raised vegie beds, fruit trees espaliered to the garage and a small pond with goldfish.
Anyway, a fat groundhog has shouldered the grating aside and tunnelled under my front porch! I don't know where it could have come from, here in the asphalt jungle, but it ate my cabbages, drinks from the pond, and the neighbor said she saw it sitting on my front porch!
How in the world do I get rid of it? I have the only groundhog habitat for at least a half mile in any direction. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| What a hoot! If it makes itself any more at home, pretty soon you'll find it kicking back in your favorite chair with a beer. I don't know if this would help, but you might try calling the county cooperative extension--they may have a wildlife re-location service or know of one. If one of your neighbors has a large dog, you might invite it over to mark your property for a few days. Not appealing, particularly, but it might be sufficient to scare the groundhog away. If all else fails, you can always give in gracefully and charge your fellow urbanites admission to See Wildlife in Action... Your garden sounds lovely, by the way! |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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- Posted by alys Zone 5/6 - MO (My Page) on
Fri, May 4, 07 at 14:12
| The local animal control or conservation dept. may have live traps they'll lend you. You could trap it and drive it out in the country. |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| I do have a medium sized dog, and she pursuaded it to climb the fence into the neighbor's yard. It was a slow motion chase: The dog ambled chuck-ward. The chuck ambled fenceward. The dog lunged. The chuck climbed. 20 minutes later the damned rodent was back on my front porch, looking like one of the neighbors with his evening beer, just chillin. I'll try the county animal control. Our municipality doesn't have one. |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| I have to find out what's happened in the Urban Groundhog saga! I've heard some people keep groundhogs as pets. Perhaps he used to belong to someone and either ran away (or ambled away) or was abandoned. It really sounds like you've done a lot with your small space! |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| Well, I tried Havahart traps. He wasn't interested. I have a professional critter gitter coming tomorrow morning. Last night there was a new hole in the potager, right under the tomato plants. Bastage. |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| I hope you got rid of your GH. Over on the veggie forum there is a thread called "fun and games with woodchucks". On it, some one posted this link, I think you will enjoy it. Bill |
Here is a link that might be useful: Jack & the ground hog
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| I need to borrow that dog! I wonder if he makes house calls? |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| I remember encountering a ground hog in the court yard of the apartment building I used to live in. We had all kinds of wild life frequenting the court yard - various birds and squirrels but this was the first ground hog. I was trying to chase him out of the courtyard and he was having none of it. I must have been a sight! I finally forced him out and he ran across the street and almost got hit by a car. Never saw the poor thing again. It sounds like he has some good eatin' in your yard. I have heard of people using things like pinwheels stuck in the ground around their garden to scare them off. They don't seem to like sudden movements. And Epson salt sprinkled on their favorite eats can deter them. Or try soaking rags in ammonia and putting them around the garden - that will probably deter Mr. Ground Hog and everyone else from coming around the garden. Maybe if you try these things and then set a trap, you'll be able to entice him into it. Good luck! |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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| You could cater to it, make it feel at home and enjoy watching the critter every day. :) |
RE: Groundhog in the Hood!
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I also have this 'issue'. I live in a mobile home park and to my surprise, I inherited a ground hog in 2006.
I decided to do some research on this critter and found that when a litter is born, the mother (after a few months) will dig a seperate den for each baby and 'place' them. The mother then frequently visits the baby to make sure they are making it on their own.
If it is a male, he'll move in with a female soon and then get kicked out after the babes are born.
I decided to keep mine around as it was a young one and fed it veggie and fruit scraps as well as breads and it left the other plants alone. The next year it ate my hosta's only and went on his way somewhere else. (prolly a male)
I now have a bunny taking over his den......what a world what a world!!!!!!!
I'm sure the kitty may have helped keep him in his den too as the poodles (small ones mind you) protect the home from the oppossums - picking them up and throwing them up against the trailer.....lol
Do some research - trap it and let it go in the woods away from your home....but keep in mind, it may happen again so fencing in your valuables might be an option. |
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