Groundhogs!!!!!!

What is an effective way to get rid of groundhogs? In my state you can't kill them, only trap and release. This can be very expensive if you hire someone. I want to REPEL them off my property so we can garden again without everything being destroyed. Please help....only tried and true remedies, please.

Get a good dog. Or two. Mine has killed two GHs in my yard that I know of. I don't have problems with them.

Unfortunately, I am not a dog person. I have two indoor cats. The neighbors behind and beside me both have dogs and I know one says he has no groundhogs. In my state, they have had special bear and deer hunts to control the population, and even a campaign to round up Canadian geese to feed to the homeless. I don't see why groundhogs can't be fumigated once a year as well. I have taken to use container pots this year for some veggies. I have spread moth balls under the shed and used Shotgun (sp?) repellent in the yard. Any other ideas?

Havahart traps? I have caught groundhogs, foxes, dogs, you name it. I take them miles away. Just hope you don't catch a skunk. :-p

srbandmom, I've had a big problem with them too (groundhog, woodchuck, whatever they are called) and finally had to resort to calling a trapper to get rid of them. He's a retired animal control officer and only charged me $75.00 ...caught two of them and nothing in the trap for the past week. Although we did catch some squirrels, and even a MINK ! That was sorta fun for the kids to see as I never knew we had minks living in my area of northern NJ.... oh, and he told me there was no charge if he didn't trap anything. Try asking some of the local garden centers or even if there is a hunting/fishing shop nearby for referrals. I bet those hunters would love to come and trap something.

Stuff old rags soaked in Ammonia in all the entrances and exits you can find.
Worked for me once.....
Moth balls may work too-but they are toxic to other animals and pets.

Here is a good link to all kinds of non-chemical Critter problem controls. I save things like this in my Documents...

http://www.ghorganics.com/page6.html#Rabbits

Gita

We have had a lot of discussions about Critters and solutions on the Mid Atlantic Forum.

This link will take you to Part #3. But--you can backtrack to Part #1 and #2 by the links at the top.
Like--"We came from here...."...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/977562/#new

Time to start Part #4 soon. Gita

srbandmom,
We had a ground hog, we are told to kill them in R.I./rabies. It is illegal to transport them here. I used a product called REPEL, You use it around your garden, not in it.
If you use it early in the season they seem to stay away/ the smell is awful at first-garlicky. Also mole max is good too. The revenge smoke bombs if you know were the burrows are might work but you must know were the burrows are, cover the exit's w/ lg. rocks so the smoke fills the burrow's, see the directions for use.
Last wk., talking w/ a customer about her /my ground hog problem she said she used the solar sonic repellents/ her problem is gone. No killing, poison,or trapping. Her husband used to trap them, this method of sonic repellent is working for her!
Hope this help's. Good luck!
The repellent's worked for my tomato garden. My ground hog, who is now in ground hog heaven, did not touch any tomato's!
He did kill a baby robin, and him and I did have a broom fight. Broad daylight. He jumped right out of a robin's nest, killed 1 fledgling. After my scared surprise I chased and hit him w/ a broom,he got away. Led did the trick for us,came home from work early and there he was, enjoying my yard like it was his! He bit the bullet.

I have not seen any signs of more. We do have a lot of predators here, I live in a very wooded area, see coyote's , fox, and even fisher cats. So I was surprised to have a ground hog at all. I have been here for 25yrs., 1st. ground hog. I hope it's the last

What are 'fisher cats'?

Hello killdawabbit,
Fisher kat's as we call them here in R.I. are a large carnivore of the weasel family. They are very dangerous with very large claws. Ground hogs would be one of their prey.
I do worry about my dog because they are capable of killing or hurting him. Also rabies.
In the dictionary they are called just FISHERS.
We do get neighbor hood warnings went sighted,KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AND PETS IN!
In 25 yrs I have seen only 2 Fisher kats and no ground hogs until this yr.

katflowers

Cool. I googled some pics of them. Mean looking. Never seen those before.

bandman: I had groundhogs for three years. The first year, they did bother my garden. The second year, they desicated it. The third year, I set a big trap and caught two, two nights in a row. We took them to the state park and haven't seen any since. I am relieved. They can (& did) crawl under our foundation one time. I have read you have to take them five miles away from your home. Traps are not that expensive. They are much cheaper than paying someone to haul them off--but whatever works for you. I trapped them using carrots.

I used to catch groundhogs in a Havahart. Really easy. They were eating my muskmelons out by my barn. So I just baited the trap with more muskmelon. :-p
The only ones I've seen since that year are the two my dog killed.