Woodchuck Problem

[dougtrr2]

I am looking for a way to discourage woodchucks. I heat with wood. Due to the lay of the land, I have a 10' block wall just outside my furnace room door. I stack up to 12 cords of wood against that wall. My wood is on treated 4 x 4s. In different years I have had a woodchuck take up residence. The hole is alway against the wall somewhere near the middle. Last year the woodchuck was very predictable and my wife was able to shoot him when he came out to sun himself.

I am thinking if I put some chainlink fence on the ground it could keep them out. I would drape it up the wall about a foot, go under the 4 x 4s and extend out from the wall about 3'. The wood would keep the chain tight against the wall. It doesn't happen every year, but I don't like those holes next to my footings.

Any thoughts?

Doug in SW IA

 

[skipmarcy]

When I was a kid in CT I worked with this old German guy winterizing the lake houses in early fall. The woodchucks would always burrow down beside the basement walls. The old man would go around to bars and get empty liquor bottles and we would throw a couple bottles in the hole and smash it up with a shovel and then lightly shovel some dirt back into the hole. A woodchuck will dig it's same hole back out and when it did it would cut it's front paws on the glass and then die - blood will not coagulate in a woodchuck's front paws !!

Back then (in the 60's) the state of CT had a bounty on woodchucks and paid $2 for a left front paw from one - they knew if it was missing a front paw that it WAS dead. Our local hardware store accepted the paws and paid the bounty back then for the state. They also sold cyanide gas/smoke bombs to put in the burrows out in the fields to kill them.

 

[Sergei1]

Lay some 60" x 10' Hutchinson's horse panels down, you can get them at Theisens. The spacing between holes is 4"x4". And easy to cut with bolt cutters to size.

 

[k0ua]

We always just used a .22. It is very effective.

 

[MossRoad]

I am looking for a way to discourage woodchucks. I heat with wood. Due to the lay of the land, I have a 10' block wall just outside my furnace room door. I stack up to 12 cords of wood against that wall. My wood is on treated 4 x 4s. In different years I have had a woodchuck take up residence. The hole is alway against the wall somewhere near the middle. Last year the woodchuck was very predictable and my wife was able to shoot him when he came out to sun himself.

I am thinking if I put some chainlink fence on the ground it could keep them out. I would drape it up the wall about a foot, go under the 4 x 4s and extend out from the wall about 3'. The wood would keep the chain tight against the wall. It doesn't happen every year, but I don't like those holes next to my footings.

Any thoughts?

Doug in SW IA

Every time I have attempted to store firewood near my garage, within a few months, a woodchuck would do exactly what you describe. You can shoot them all you want, however, another one will just take up residence a few months later. Discouraging a good place to borrow would be easier in the long run, and you wouldn't have that dirt thrown up against your wall every year. I'd run the chain link out past the pile edges a couple feet in all directions if possible. Grass will grow through it eventually and you'll be able to walk or drive right over it.

 

[MossRoad]

In fact, I like your idea so much, I might try it myself at my wood pile this year.

 

[k0ua]

I am seeing a Geico woodchuck commercial here somewhere.

 

[the old grind]

I use the 'Silent Guardian groundhog alert system', AKA a Conibear 160 body grip trap. Only muskrats are easier to gather with 'em. As a stealth device, and by its operating method, daily inspection is indicated. "When the chain is tight you got 'em right."

Takes no prisoners, and when I dig a g'hog hole they don't return to theirs. Crawl-offs are unlikely but canis latrans may relocate your catch and take the trap with it, so I stake DRT traps just in case to save $$.

btw, when laying 'mesh' or poly lattice (a 4' x 8' makes 3 16" x 8' pieces or 24 running feet) to deter dgging under fences lay it horizontally vs vertically for any intrusion(s) or animals will just dig deeper trying to get under it. (Got dog kennel, chicken pen?)

 

[Diggin It]

Last year the woodchuck was very predictable and my wife was able to shoot him when he came out to sun himself.

We always just used a .22. It is very effective.

You can shoot them all you want, however, another one will just take up residence a few months later.

You'll run out of ammo before you run out of woodchucks.

The chain or wire may work as long as you never have to dig up that area again, or it doesn't work itself up and catch a tire ... or foot.

 

[Jstpssng]

Lay some 60" x 10' Hutchinson's horse panels down, you can get them at Theisens. The spacing between holes is 4"x4". And easy to cut with bolt cutters to size.

Admittedly shooting them won't keep more from coming, but it will help keep the population in check. My father waged a lifelong war against the little buggers. He passed away a few years ago and they are already overrunning the place. I was fortunate enough not to have them here for 15 years. Recently I've starting seeing a few... most likely from people "livetrapping and releasing them on some backroad." I live on that backroad. I've had two woodchucks in the last 2 years, but they didn't last long. In my case a .22 worked wonders on the second... the first I chased into his hole with the tractor and buried it. I never saw him again.

 

[the old grind]

If a guy sees more woodchucks in a lifetime than he has loaded rounds IMO he could start a pet food biz on the side.

Bait live traps with carrots for woodchucks. Place near their runs. Bunnies can be released or cut up for dinner or freezer. May depend on which/whether you want 'em munching on your garden between undermining your stuff.

btw, shooting any pest is a chance to check your zero and hold. (Hit or dirt splash?) When you NEED to shoot something you want to be confident and effective.

 

[MossRoad]

If a guy sees more woodchucks in a lifetime than he has loaded rounds IMO he could start a pet food biz on the side.

Bait live traps with carrots for woodchucks. Place near their runs. Bunnies can be released or cut up for dinner or freezer. May depend on which/whether you want 'em munching on your garden between undermining your stuff.

btw, shooting any pest is a chance to check your zero and hold. (Hit or dirt splash?) When you NEED to shoot something you want to be confident and effective.

That's the main benefit of live trapping. You can let the non-targeted species go. Poisons and lethal traps are indiscriminate.

 

[ruffdog]

The way I have my tree rows opened up, Red Tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls have really lowered the numbers of rabbit, skunk, chucks, etc.

 

[RalphVa]

I am looking for a way to discourage woodchucks. I heat with wood. Due to the lay of the land, I have a 10' block wall just outside my furnace room door. I stack up to 12 cords of wood against that wall. My wood is on treated 4 x 4s. In different years I have had a woodchuck take up residence. The hole is alway against the wall somewhere near the middle. Last year the woodchuck was very predictable and my wife was able to shoot him when he came out to sun himself.

I am thinking if I put some chainlink fence on the ground it could keep them out. I would drape it up the wall about a foot, go under the 4 x 4s and extend out from the wall about 3'. The wood would keep the chain tight against the wall. It doesn't happen every year, but I don't like those holes next to my footings.

Any thoughts?

Doug in SW IA

Tried several things in NJ. Ammonia was the one thing that drove them out of existing holes, but they kept making others. Tried it here in Va. Did for 2 or 3 days, but they came back. Surprisingly, here in Va they don't seem to be much of a problem, but in NJ I absolutely lost the battle with them even after shooting about 20/yr.

 

[wmfamily]

I've found the best bait for a live trap is cantaloupe. I had one eating my eggplant and I tried all the usual baits with no luck. I put some cantaloupe peels in the trap and literally watched him come out of his hole within minutes and went into the trap to eat the peels. Unfortunately for him he later passed away due to lead poisoning. I would have rather shot him from the start but living in town limits using a .22.

 

[dougtrr2]

Thanks for all the input. The most important thing I gathered from the inputs is: my idea isn't totally crazy. That is reassuring. Cheapskate that I am, I may try to see if fencing companies have any scraps they would sell cheap.

Doug in SW IA

 

[Diggin It]

How many rounds can a woodchuck duck?






(Hey, I'm in a mood.)

 

[RalphVa]

Had not heard about carrots in a hav-a-hart trap. I've used a half cantaloupe. This was to trap one that gets underneath the pool decking sometimes. Seldom causes a problem, but I just don't like them that close. It's right in my raspberry patch in and out of the hole and has easy access to the 6 raised beds.

 

[the old grind]

When you want rid of a 'hog set a coni 160 over an entrance/exit hole. Lay a few strands of tall grass across it to disguise the trigger wires, and or bend them around to look like twigs. If you don't have a setting tool try this. (I can't this way & have two)

 

[oosik]

When we moved down here we had three or four ground hog families down in the valley. My twelve year old son - single shot 22 with 4X scope. Three weeks later - OK, Dad - what can I shoot now. Fortunately, the coyotes were able to keep up with this project.