Groundhog Help Needed

   / Groundhog Help Needed #21  
I've dealt with and continue to deal with pocket gophers. I find that traps work the best. The County Parks & Rec Dept completely destroyed a large section of their underground irrigation system at the golf course by using one of those propane injection/explosion units.

They make ground hog traps just like the pocket gopher traps - only larger. Over an entire summer I will catch 30-35 pocket gophers and that does not include the ones my cat catches.

Propane and poisons have some serious drawbacks. A trap jammed a foot or so down the tunnel is a fairly safe bet.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed #23  
The way to deal and them is to get a long handle shovel, an old shirt etc and about 3/4 pint of gasoline. Ball up the rag and sit it in the mouth of the hole. Pour the gas on the rag and shove it as far down the hole as you can with the shovel handle. NO don't light it on fire, just cover the mouth of the hole with dirt. Next enjoy the wonderful smell that will be coming up out of the hole in a few days. We did this on the farm for years and it never failed.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed
  • Thread Starter
#25  
Thanks for all the suggestions. I really don't want to kill it, but I don't think that I have much choice this time.

I was considering one of the high-powered .22 caliber pellet rifles, but someone made a good point about not wanting to sit there waiting for it.

Any of the persistent poisons (including Ex-Lax) are not going to work because our dog gets free run of the property.

Those poison smoke bombs and a wheelbarrow full of dirt seem like a good first step. If that doesn't work, I'll start revisiting some of the other suggestions.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed #26  
We keep a bucket of bubble gum in the tractor cab. Whenever we see a burrow we just toss a bunch around/in the hole. Evidently it causes digestive issues and they die, or it's possible they get sick and decide to move. Either way we think it works ok. They seem to like the fruit flavored.

If you know you want him gone the buried gas soaked TP roll works great. Make sure you bury the hole well or they'll crawl back out.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed #27  
We keep a bucket of bubble gum in the tractor cab. Whenever we see a burrow we just toss a bunch around/in the hole. Evidently it causes digestive issues and they die, or it's possible they get sick and decide to move. Either way we think it works ok. They seem to like the fruit flavored.

If you know you want him gone the buried gas soaked TP roll works great. Make sure you bury the hole well or they'll crawl back out.


A friend told me about the bubble gum trick. Wasn't sure if he was kidding or not with his sense of humor. Guess there is some truth to it. Thanks.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed
  • Thread Starter
#29  
I'd always heard that Juicy Fruit gum is the favorite of burrowing animals. Seems to work with moles as well.

I'm worried that will be a hit with the dog as well.
 
   / Groundhog Help Needed #30  
Compressed air pellet gun will usually kill a woodchuck with a head shot, provided you're not more than about 50 feet from it. It has the advantage of usually avoiding any bans on municipal/suburban firearms use, and is a lot quieter than a firearm. You could also try using a bow which is virtually silent, but if you have neighbors in line of sight, that might be a problem.
 

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