Rising Hegemon
Hegemaniacs,
You have such a head for knowing. You know everything! So tell me how to get rid of the groundhogs that have taken up residence under The GC's deck. They're eating all the plants and scaring the hell out of me.
And no, we can't kill them. That's illegal in the state in question.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
res
17 comments:
In a lot of places, there are people who will live trap and take away problem animals (sort of private animal control officers), but I think they charge for the service and have no idea how much. Groundhogs were a problem on my grandfather's farm, but he just killed them.
You might try sprinkling mothballs around. The smell -- obnoxious to us -- is truly horrendous to most animals. Mothballs have been known to convince squirrels, raccoons, skunks, possums, and other assorted critters to move out, and have been claimed to work the same with burrowing critters.
If nothing else, there wouldn't be any moths around!
If they are really groundhogs, put a black fabric "fence" around you deck, maybe two feet high. If groundhogs can't see, they will move on. Or, find the holes under your deck (if possible) and pour some fence post cement in them and close them off. That and the fence should get them to move on.
Get a Hav-A-Hart trap, catch them, take them to a state where you can kill them, clean trap and reuse until your problem is over.
Have you tried those gadgets that emit an ultrasonic noise that annoys rodents? Think they cost about fifty bucks... I once used one to get rid of a bunch of pesky squirrels in tha attic of a house I once owned, and it worked pretty well.
My brother had deer in his garden, at least until a little googling showed that what they really hated was country music!
I knew you guys would have ideas! And I'd rather talk about a way to solve this problem than I would the damned deficit/default/debt ceiling deal a minute longer.
Dr. Dick ... There is a local guy who traps and transports, but he came once before and the fuckers would not go for the trap. The GC has talked about ripping up the entire deck and starting all over again. We are pretty sure there is a FAMILY under there now. We saw a smallish one yesterday. I wish we lived in a place where we could shoot them, b/c my sibling would like nothing better than to come over and pop off a few of these little bastards. Unfortunately, no dice.
Mr. 618: Would the mothballs harm other animals? Pets, for instance? There are a couple of outdoor cats who make their way through The GC's yard? Although cats don't seem to eat anything of that nature.
Anonymous, We can't get under the deck b/c it's not that high off the ground to begin with. I'd be scared to go under there!
Gosh, they are so ugly and they are eating everything. The managed to eat the flowers off these day lilies that were four feet off the ground. I guess they stepped on the plant to bend it over and then had a feast.
Try some ammonia. Pour it right through the deck. It will probably get them to move. Do it at night and the smell will probably gone by morning.
I have problems with deer eating everything and have had some luck with Liquid Fence. It is expensive ($35/quart) but you dilute it and spray everything. I don't know if it works on groundhogs, but it smells like garlic and rotten eggs and in a few hours humans can't smell it, but the deer can for a couple of weeks.
You Hegemaniacs are the best!
THANK YOU!
The GC just took a look at these comments and he's going to try some of these suggestions. And he laughed like hell at the "Transport them to a state where you can kill them" comments. My sibling would like that one, too.
fewer ground hogs than humans.......
If the economy goes to hell, the groundchucks may be a blessing in disguise. Most recipes take a lot of work but if you do it right they are good eating.
Don't do what someone did here the other day, burned off brush around deck and then covered the area round the deck with wood chips. Hot ashes ignited the chips which set fire to the deck, which set fire to the 400K house in the country, which burned to the ground, leaving One mortified homeowner.
vox
The mothballs shouldn't hurt any of the animals. My understanding is that because animals' noses are so much more sensitive than ours, what is merely annoying to us is truly repellant to them. The mothballs may discourage other animals for a while, but once the groundhogs are gone, you can scoop up the mothballs and dispose of them (although their smell will certainly linger for a few days or even weeks, depending on the animal's sense of smell)
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