Mike Davis wrote:

...My previous experience has been to live trap the little monsters and toddle
a few miles down the road to unfarmed areas and release em. If there's
another way to get rid of them (the wife is definitely not in favor of my
initial suggestion of woodchuck chili), I'd appreciate your guidance...



(1) an outside dog that roams your property will do a lot to keep the
woodchucks away. Of course, that means the problem is transferred to
your neighbors.

(2) in most states it is illegal to transport wild animals, so toddling
down the road with them fits into that category. Further, it is
inconsiderate of the people who live "down the road". Unless you're
really out in the boonies (in which case nobody will see what you're
doing), there will be people living within woodchuck range of your
release point. The only legal actions you can take after live trapping
the woodchuck are (a) releasing them again (b) dispatching them by some
means or (c) turning them over to your local animal control officer (who
will probably dispatch them for a fee). If you have a farmer in your
area who is used to dealing with woodchucks, he may be willing to
dispatch the woodchuck for a smaller fee than the animal control officer
(since it's in his interest to keep the woodchuck population down).
However ASK him before bringing him a woodchuck.

Do not feel bad about dispatching a woodchuck. They are not a rare,
threatened or endangered species. They do provide food for coyotes.
(Also wildcats in some areas).

(3) woodchucks do not like to be separated from the safety of their
burrow. If you place a fence between them and their burrow it will help.
They can climb, or burrow under the fence, but it's an obstacle. If you
plant something outside the fence that will satisfy them, they are
likely to stay out of your garden. They are partial to broadleafed
plants such as clover, which (in my opinion) looks good in lawns anyway.
I have even had luck with a fence that doesn't enclose the garden, just
goes between the woods and the garden to make it difficult to return to
their burrow. However, you have to show your presence in the garden
fairly regularly (2-3 times a day). If the garden is empty most of the
time, the woodchuck may be tempted to take chances.

You will have to be vigilant about the possibility of the woodchuck
burrowing into the garden, giving him a quick escape route. If this
happens, you will have to find the other entrance to the burrow as well
as the one in your garden. The sulfur smoke bombs will keep them out of
the burrow for a couple of weeks, but don't get the little ones in the
hardware sto those are designed for small rodents such as voles and
are inadequate for a woodchuck. Agway (and probably others) sells a
woodchuck-sized smoke bomb. It may (probably will) require several
applications to be fully effective.

In my experience, a burrow that is just filled in will be re-opened in a
short time, even if you smooth out the ground around it. They must leave
a scent at the hole so they can tell where it was. However, if you
really dig up the soil around the hole to a depth of 8" or more while
filling it in, they won't find it and re-open it.