Stacey Malden said:

This fall, before the frost, I cleared an area for a vegetable garden. In
the past, I've had trouble with Woodchucks in my flower garden. They eat
everything. I'm prepared to put in a chicken-wire fence around the
parameter of the vegetable garden to keep them out, but have received may
opinions on how deep I need to sink it. I've been told anywhere between 5
and 18 inches. 5 inches would not be so difficult to do. 18 inches would
require some major excavation (rocks, roots, etc.). I'd like to know what
is necessary for the fence to be effective.

If you put a row of patio blocks along the bottom of the outside of the
fence, you only need to bury it an inch or so. The patio blocks make a
nice border/mowing strip as well. Alternatively, you can run the fencing
wire out along the ground a foot or so and bury it under mulch. Either
approach will keep them from going under the wire.

You might consider building the fence with something more permanent
than chicken wire, and then reinforcing the bottom with chicken wire running
up 18" (to exclude rabbits) and outward (to discourage digging under).

But you are also going to need some sort of protection at the top of the
fence. Woodchucks are the largest members of the squirrel family and
are excellent climbers. I've seen them sunning themselves up in trees.
They also sometimes climb mulberry trees to feed on the leaves, though
they are much more fond of the leaves on sapling mulberries. And they
regularly climb fences and perch on the top to feed on mulberry leaves or
the tops of sunflower plants. A line or two of electric fence line run above
the top of the fence will keep them from climbing over. Alternatively,
letting a couple of feet of chicken wire hang loose at the top, bowing
outward will discourage them from going over. (As they climb, their
weight will bow them back over.) I've used the floppy top at my old place
(where we had few woodchucks) and the electric wire here (woodchuck
central).

My fence keeps our woodchucks, possums, racoons, fox squirrels and
(so far) deer. It also keep out cats and foxes, which means I sometimes
develop a vole problem in the garden. (This fall was bad; they ate a large
portion of the potatoes I had buried under straw in the garden.)

I might also add that a couple of my neighbors also trap or otherwise
'remove' woodchucks. And I smoke bomb any burrows I find in my yard
or in my one next door neighbor's yard.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)