Groundhog holes

[suttles]

Well today being our third week with our Kabota, I found a large groundhog hole.

We have already bushhoged this area and it gives me a fright to think that this hole was there.

The ground is soft and where we mowed it was mostly tall weeds and now some of this is laying on the ground and covers the hazards.
Even walking over it with all the tall stuff mowed over it you can't see the what is under it.

It is a little hard to see the ground and I would like advice on how to safely get this area of the pasture safer to mow?

This groundhog hole looks like it goes far under the ground and I don't know if there are other soft spots that might cave in with a tractor.

Has anyone ever heard of a hole like this causing a problem?

I would like to find something to use for a while that mows heavy weeds. I wonder if one of those walk behind like a Gravely would be the best thing to use for a while.

Please give adive.
Thanks,
travis

 

[Soundguy]

I've mowed areas with the odd gopher hole or two... Just try to watch for them.. and if ya hit one.. just try to make it as easy on the tractor as possible.. like stomping the clutch and easing out.. etc.. and then keep going.

Anything that makes holes is an enemy to horse owners. Any time I see -anything- that has dug a home in my pasture, I collect a couple days worth of droppings from the cat litter box, plus a nic plop from the cow pasture, and a shovel full of horse stuff.. and then shove it down the hole...

Usually in a few days.. the hole has caved in from -non use-. After it's evident it's a dead hole.. I cover it up..

Soundguy

 

[suttles]

Well,
I will keep that in mind.
What concerned me the most was how safe the ground would be with such a long tunnel.

I didn't know if it would colapse under the tractor and if there could be other ones that I could not see.

My horses are not there yet. I could scoop some dog and cat droppings in the hole.

Groundhogs are awful for horse owners.

travis

 

[rickmacheske]

Hmmm....job for a 15 year old with a 22 cal. One of the great joys growing up....

 

[Egon]

Don't think your tractor will dissapear in a suden tunnel collapse unless you are in an area of Karst geology!

Whats wrong with a 9 year old and the .22? Or maybe even an old guy and a .22 caliber with a little more zip?

 

[ptfarmermd]

Someone once asked me what ground hogs are good for? I said "target practice".
I have mowed over many ground hog holes. The holes cause the problems, not the tunnels. I assume the tunnels are so deep the dirt over them support almost any size equipment. I have never in almost 40 years on this earth had my tractor fall into a ground hog tunnel, but the equipment has fallen into many ground hog holes.

 

[roxynoodle]

Ground hog holes are definitely bad news for horses. The first time I got one in my pasture it was a horse that showed it to me! She was acting pretty excitable and seemed to be trying to catch my attention. Curious, I went into the pasture and she ran up to it and stopped. Yes, she's a pretty smart horse. Best cure of course is to get rid of the groundhogs. If they are tunneling under your barn, rest assured they can ruin a building pretty quick.

 

[GARBLUES]

I was driving my Dodge truck through my field one day, hit a chuck hole and it broke my leaf spring I had to leave my truck for a week to get it repaired and rent a car to get home. The best thing to do is grab a rifle, sit in a beach chair away from the hole, wait from them to come out and pop them. If it's a female and gives birth you'll have some more chucks that will leave after a few months and have more holes.

 

[shvl73]

I used to work with a farmer that used the poison/smoke bombs. Light them, drop 'em in the hole and cover it up. I've used them around our chicken coop to reduce the rat population with some success

 

[MrJimi]

Living in Florida, we have a similar problem with gopher turtles, they will dig a large hole under a fence and make it bigger. I filled one this past weekend the size of a very large cooler like 2 feet by 3 feet and one and a half foot deep? .
they are a protected species in Florida and a pain in the rear.
Jim

 

[PBinWA]

Living in Florida, we have a similar problem with gopher turtles, they will dig a large hole under a fence and make it bigger. I filled one this past weekend the size of a very large cooler like 2 feet by 3 feet and one and a half foot deep? .
they are a protected species in Florida and a pain in the rear.
Jim

My dog loves Gopher Tortoises. To him they are just neat hard footballs that he would bring to me expecting me to throw them for him. When I lived down there I was constantly trying to return Gopher Tortoises to their respective holes. Not sure if I ever got them back to where they were found though.

 

[suttles]

Does the Karst geology make the groundhog holes worse?

We had three sink holes filled last winter when we bought the 10 acres?

These groundhog holes were not there then.
Yesterday I was over there and found a couple more in the same area.
We are going to work on them the week end.
It has been hard to see them with the weeds mowed of them.
I guess we will do the smoke bombs to try and find them all then fill with what ever.
Now I am thinking more dozer work.
There are small tree roots and a few or the limestone outcroppings in this area.

There is some rich soft dirt where these tunnels are.
Now I have to wonder about the rest of the property.
I saw plenty of skunk holes last winter.
These could be very tiny up and some were 5-6 inches in diameter.

We don't live on the land yet so this makes it harder to sit with something to shoot with.

I did see one last week before I saw the hole.
From a distance it looked plenty big.
Our old dog use to bring in smaller ones and eat them.
He never went after a grown one.
He is a 15 year old dog and yesterday he was smelling all around the hole and walking in circles looking into it.

travis

 

[roxynoodle]

I used to have a male Dalmatian who killed ground hogs left and right including very large ones. I was the one standing there freaking out when he grabbed one but he would just snap it's neck and throw it and be fine. He was quite the critter gitter. I'm after some groundhogs myself right now and could use my old companion. He lived to be 13 and will probably always be my favorite dog. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites but he was really something. I miss him.

 

[czechsonofagun]

My dog loves Gopher Tortoises. To him they are just neat hard footballs that he would bring to me expecting me to throw them for him. When I lived down there I was constantly trying to return Gopher Tortoises to their respective holes. Not sure if I ever got them back to where they were found though.

My airedale hunts everything whats moving. Sometimes I get home and he comes very happy to see me - and brings me this bloody slimy sandwich - what's left from an eastern box turtle. Told him many times to leave them alone - but when I am not around he treats them like a chew toy.

 

[slowrev]

I used to work with a farmer that used the poison/smoke bombs. Light them, drop 'em in the hole and cover it up. I've used them around our chicken coop to reduce the rat population with some success

A safer method is to hook a hose from your exhaust pipe put it down the hole and put dirt around it, not covering up the end of course. Now look for another entrance, there will usually be 2. fill it in , smoke a cig and wait a bit , maybe 15 min, then pull out the hose, fill in the hole , and on to the next one.

 

[JimR]

A safer method is to hook a hose from your exhaust pipe put it down the hole and put dirt around it, not covering up the end of course. Now look for another entrance, there will usually be 2. fill it in , smoke a cig and wait a bit , maybe 15 min, then pull out the hose, fill in the hole , and on to the next one.

Slowrev knows how to kill a chuck. I do the same using my tractor and an old Electrolux vacuum hose. It works every time.

 

[shvl73]

A safer method is to hook a hose from your exhaust pipe put it down the hole and put dirt around it, not covering up the end of course. Now look for another entrance, there will usually be 2. fill it in , smoke a cig and wait a bit , maybe 15 min, then pull out the hose, fill in the hole , and on to the next one.

I actually saw a kit in a store this week. it came with hose for just such a purpose. Any freebee hose that won't melt should work fine.

 

[Egon]

Does the Karst geology make the groundhog holes worse?

Can't answere that question but doubt if a tractor can dissapear in a groundhog tunnel unless it is over some a potential sinkhole.

http://http://www.exploreflorida.org/karst/karst_student_background.cfm

 

[slowrev]

Can't answere that question but doubt if a tractor can dissapear in a groundhog tunnel unless it is over some a potential sinkhole.

http://http://www.exploreflorida.org/karst/karst_student_background.cfm

No they just don't eat up the tractor they just bust it up or cause it to roll down a hill. I personally know of 3 instances where a front end was broken off a tractor by groundhog holes. 2 of thoses instances resulted in broken bones and such injuries to the operator. The holes are very bad if mowing around a slope and the downhill rear wheel drops into one.

btw I just use old cracked rubber reinforced pump suction line for the exhaust hose.

I also usually use the truck for this duty as the exhaust pipe is so much easier to deal with on it vs the tractor. My friends do it with Gators and ATV's and such though. smaller engines just need more run time to generate sufficient co.

 

[GeneD14]

A safer method is to hook a hose from your exhaust pipe put it down the hole and put dirt around it, not covering up the end of course. Now look for another entrance, there will usually be 2. fill it in , smoke a cig and wait a bit , maybe 15 min, then pull out the hose, fill in the hole , and on to the next one.

I think that is a great idea for 2 reasons:

1) it kills the varmit
2) there is a chance that Pamela Anderson (animal lover and PETA spokesperson) will come over to protest.

I have hear many farmers say they broke the front end or spindle due to the tire dropping into the hole.