A groundhog dug a tunnel into my garden last year, I filled it in last
fall but he's just reopened it again. I've bought some Havahart Critter
Ridder which is basically a hot pepper powder. Has anyone used this
stuff? Does it work?. There were a couple of other choices for groundhog
repellents that had a very different formulations, does anyone have any
opinions on repellents in general?

In article ,
says...
A groundhog dug a tunnel into my garden last year, I filled it in last
fall but he's just reopened it again. I've bought some Havahart Critter
Ridder which is basically a hot pepper powder. Has anyone used this
stuff? Does it work?. There were a couple of other choices for groundhog
repellents that had a very different formulations, does anyone have any
opinions on repellents in general?


Hot pepper didn't work for us. The dammthings thought it was a
seasoning.

We trap and remove to open spaces (no gardens, roads or farms nearby),
harrass them away if they're smart enough to take the hint, or kill them
if not. The two former give them a chance at survival.

As for it digging into the garden, you need a fence like an L, with the
bottom of the L about 1 foot underground and aimed outward away from the
garden. The base of the L needs to be at least 1 foot wide. That should
stop them digging through. The thing you need to know is that they are
agile climbers and will climb trees, fences etc.. You have to deal with
"over" which means creating a floppy fence or an electric one.

Do remember that you need your gate to have a lintel to which you've
attached fencing so that the underground fence is continuous around the
whole garden.

And I suggest finding all the cabbage mower's holes, stuffing them with
saplings, long branches, scrap 2 by 4s and earth. Track them all down.
Don't worry about trapping them underground. They'll dig their way out
or they'll have an escape entrance. Then fill the route they've taken
out, too.

You see, if you can prevent them from developing a main burrow and/or
way station burrows near your property/garden, they'll probably eat at
somebody else's table.


--
In an urban environment you have to outwit the neighbours and the
critters.

In article ,
phorbin wrote:

The thing you need to know is that they are
agile climbers and will climb trees, fences etc.. You have to deal with
"over" which means creating a floppy fence or an electric one.

There is a way that wildlife rescue taught me to prevent pests and
predators from climbing a fence. About 1 ft. or so up the fence, attach
a 12" wide strip of roof flashing to the fence. They hit that and slip.

Works well to keep raccoons out of poultry yards and it not unattractive.

It can also keep squirrels out of fruit trees (wrap it around the trunk)
so long as the squirrel cannot jump into that tree from another location.


Is groundhog edible? ;-)
--
--

Peace! Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a Bitch."
-- Jack Nicholson

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:35:36 -0500, phorbin wrote:

In article ,
says...
A groundhog dug a tunnel into my garden last year, I filled it in last
fall but he's just reopened it again. I've bought some Havahart Critter
Ridder which is basically a hot pepper powder. Has anyone used this
stuff? Does it work?. There were a couple of other choices for
groundhog repellents that had a very different formulations, does
anyone have any opinions on repellents in general?


Hot pepper didn't work for us. The dammthings thought it was a
seasoning.

We trap and remove to open spaces (no gardens, roads or farms nearby),
harrass them away if they're smart enough to take the hint, or kill them
if not. The two former give them a chance at survival.

As for it digging into the garden, you need a fence like an L, with the
bottom of the L about 1 foot underground and aimed outward away from the
garden. The base of the L needs to be at least 1 foot wide. That should
stop them digging through. The thing you need to know is that they are
agile climbers and will climb trees, fences etc.. You have to deal with
"over" which means creating a floppy fence or an electric one.

Do remember that you need your gate to have a lintel to which you've
attached fencing so that the underground fence is continuous around the
whole garden.

And I suggest finding all the cabbage mower's holes, stuffing them with
saplings, long branches, scrap 2 by 4s and earth. Track them all down.
Don't worry about trapping them underground. They'll dig their way out
or they'll have an escape entrance. Then fill the route they've taken
out, too.

You see, if you can prevent them from developing a main burrow and/or
way station burrows near your property/garden, they'll probably eat at
somebody else's table.

Did you try any sort of predator scent? I'm thinking about emptying my
kitty litter boxes down his hole.

In article ,
phorbin wrote:

It can also keep squirrels out of fruit trees (wrap it around the trunk)
so long as the squirrel cannot jump into that tree from another location.

Now that's a good idea. It never occurred to me to apply that one
anywhere but on posts and trees.

I had 1 raccoon shinny up 3' of sheet steel wrapped 2x4 post to get to
the roof so I put a bit of vaseline up the corners of the steel and that
did the trick. There were nightly thuds and swearing for awhile as
raccoons tried and failed.

Too funny. g

What they told me was to give them some space to climb first. Keeps them
from jumping the barrier.


Does it really work on raccoons, and groundhogs at the height you
suggest? Raccoons around here at full growth are the size of a small
child and can easily stretch beyond that distance... and an adult
groundhog is not a small critter too.

Well, that was for a low fence. If you are using a 5' to 6' fence, put
it up at around the 3' level.

I had 5 ft. fences for the poultry so put it at the suggested 3' level.


Is groundhog edible? ;-)

I've never eaten it. I've heard that it is. I do believe in having an
enemy for dinner.

grins


I might try if it were in a woodland/meadow environment or some other
organic situation and I knew more about dressing and preparing it and
telling if the beast is healthy. In this city at this time, with people
flinging herbicides and pesticides about, I wouldn't eat any animal I
didn't raise.

I understand. The reason I've never tried possums and raccoons around
here tho' is that they are loaded with parasites. I just can't bring
myself to eat them.
--
--

Peace! Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a Bitch."
-- Jack Nicholson

In article , Charlie wrote:

Is groundhog edible? ;-)

Enjoy all! ;-)

Charlie

http://recipes.stsams.org/recipes/groundhog.html

Roast Ground Hog

Hmm....Ground Hog (= woodchuck = Earth-pig)

Groundhogs are 100% vegetarians and a good source of protein, as they

snipped

That actually sounds tasty! lol

I've got some wild rabbit in the freezer from my spring vacation. Went
on a hunting trip. Tree squirrel around here is very, very good. It's
one of the few local wild critters I've eaten.

Considering they were grain fed from eating scratch grains in my poultry
yard... ;-)
--
--

Peace! Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a Bitch."
-- Jack Nicholson

In article ,
says...
In article ,
phorbin wrote:

The thing you need to know is that they are
agile climbers and will climb trees, fences etc.. You have to deal with
"over" which means creating a floppy fence or an electric one.

There is a way that wildlife rescue taught me to prevent pests and
predators from climbing a fence. About 1 ft. or so up the fence, attach
a 12" wide strip of roof flashing to the fence. They hit that and slip.

Works well to keep raccoons out of poultry yards and it not unattractive.

It can also keep squirrels out of fruit trees (wrap it around the trunk)
so long as the squirrel cannot jump into that tree from another location.

Now that's a good idea. It never occurred to me to apply that one
anywhere but on posts and trees.

I had 1 raccoon shinny up 3' of sheet steel wrapped 2x4 post to get to
the roof so I put a bit of vaseline up the corners of the steel and that
did the trick. There were nightly thuds and swearing for awhile as
raccoons tried and failed.

Does it really work on raccoons, and groundhogs at the height you
suggest? Raccoons around here at full growth are the size of a small
child and can easily stretch beyond that distance... and an adult
groundhog is not a small critter too.

Is groundhog edible? ;-)

I've never eaten it. I've heard that it is. I do believe in having an
enemy for dinner.

I might try if it were in a woodland/meadow environment or some other
organic situation and I knew more about dressing and preparing it and
telling if the beast is healthy. In this city at this time, with people
flinging herbicides and pesticides about, I wouldn't eat any animal I
didn't raise.

In article ,
says...
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:35:36 -0500, phorbin wrote:

Did you try any sort of predator scent? I'm thinking about emptying my
kitty litter boxes down his hole.


Yep... Didn't work. YMMV --Try tiger, lion or panther.

Ammonia, mothballs, moth crystals, etc. haven't worked for us on any
critter. I've also tried diluted groundhog blood down the holes to no
effect.

Coincidentally, another one of the sodding things has wandered in and
I'll be dealing with it in the next day or so, once I've learned its
habits.

We're still pre-planting and nothing has grown much so I've a little
time.

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:54:04 -0500, phorbin wrote:

In article ,
says...
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:35:36 -0500, phorbin wrote:

Did you try any sort of predator scent? I'm thinking about emptying my
kitty litter boxes down his hole.


Yep... Didn't work. YMMV --Try tiger, lion or panther.

Ammonia, mothballs, moth crystals, etc. haven't worked for us on any
critter. I've also tried diluted groundhog blood down the holes to no
effect.

Coincidentally, another one of the sodding things has wandered in and
I'll be dealing with it in the next day or so, once I've learned its
habits.

We're still pre-planting and nothing has grown much so I've a little
time.

I guess I'll have to bring out the Havahart trap. What do you use for
bait? BTW what's the density of groundhogs?. If I trap the one in my
garden will another one just show up to take his place?. Back in the 80s
I was trapping raccoons and that was hopeless. I moved 50 of them before
I gave up. The thing that finally got the raccoons under control was a
rabies epidemic.

On Apr 28, 8:50 am, General Schvantzkopf
wrote:
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:54:04 -0500, phorbin wrote:
In article ,
says...
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:35:36 -0500, phorbin wrote:

Did you try any sort of predator scent? I'm thinking about emptying my
kitty litter boxes down his hole.

Yep... Didn't work. YMMV --Try tiger, lion or panther.

Ammonia, mothballs, moth crystals, etc. haven't worked for us on any
critter. I've also tried diluted groundhog blood down the holes to no
effect.

Coincidentally, another one of the sodding things has wandered in and
I'll be dealing with it in the next day or so, once I've learned its
habits.

We're still pre-planting and nothing has grown much so I've a little
time.

I guess I'll have to bring out the Havahart trap. What do you use for
bait? BTW what's the density of groundhogs?. If I trap the one in my
garden will another one just show up to take his place?. Back in the 80s
I was trapping raccoons and that was hopeless. I moved 50 of them before
I gave up. The thing that finally got the raccoons under control was a
rabies epidemic.

Same here. Trap and remove. Use peanut butter as bait but be
prepared to catch any varmint.
Last year, I got a skunk.

In article d54ce8b9-cf3a-4a7b-8da2-981475d66902
@b1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com, says...
On Apr 28, 8:50 am, General Schvantzkopf
wrote:
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:54:04 -0500, phorbin wrote:
In article ,
says...
On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:35:36 -0500, phorbin wrote:

Did you try any sort of predator scent? I'm thinking about emptying my
kitty litter boxes down his hole.

Yep... Didn't work. YMMV --Try tiger, lion or panther.

Ammonia, mothballs, moth crystals, etc. haven't worked for us on any
critter. I've also tried diluted groundhog blood down the holes to no
effect.

Coincidentally, another one of the sodding things has wandered in and
I'll be dealing with it in the next day or so, once I've learned its
habits.

We're still pre-planting and nothing has grown much so I've a little
time.

I guess I'll have to bring out the Havahart trap. What do you use for
bait? BTW what's the density of groundhogs?. If I trap the one in my
garden will another one just show up to take his place?. Back in the 80s
I was trapping raccoons and that was hopeless. I moved 50 of them before
I gave up. The thing that finally got the raccoons under control was a
rabies epidemic.

Same here. Trap and remove. Use peanut butter as bait but be
prepared to catch any varmint.
Last year, I got a skunk.

I caught about a dozen a year until I realized that closing the trap at
sunset was a good idea.

That said, I haven't been sprayed yet. The old stretched out blanket
trick works very well.

General Schvantzkopf said:

I guess I'll have to bring out the Havahart trap. What do you use for
bait?

I've had my best luck with apples, sometimes augmented with either
a pot of lettuce or a professional groundhog lure. Put some bits of
apple near the entrance of the trap and the Motherload in the back.

BTW what's the density of groundhogs?. If I trap the one in my
garden will another one just show up to take his place?. Back in the 80s
I was trapping raccoons and that was hopeless. I moved 50 of them
before I gave up. The thing that finally got the raccoons under control
was a rabies epidemic.

My observations:

They adults aren't usually frequent or long-range dispersers. (Probably
because they build elaborate permanent burrows.) It's the young ones
that will do the wandering and (based on my experience) only once a
year. So if you can manage to take out the local residents, you might
expect in the future some occasional new ones, in early summer.
One nice thing about that: Young ones are easier to trap, plus their new
burrows are usually simple and easy to smoke bomb (or whatever).

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

After enlightenment, the laundry.

In article ,
says...

The adults aren't usually frequent or long-range dispersers. (Probably
because they build elaborate permanent burrows.) It's the young ones
that will do the wandering and (based on my experience) only once a
year. So if you can manage to take out the local residents, you might
expect in the future some occasional new ones, in early summer.
One nice thing about that: Young ones are easier to trap, plus their new
burrows are usually simple and easy to smoke bomb (or whatever).

The adults dig way-station bolt-holes to extend their range. The holes
I've dealt with are usually 5 to 6 feet deep and just a hole.

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:56:07 -0500, phorbin wrote:

In article ,
says...

The adults aren't usually frequent or long-range dispersers. (Probably
because they build elaborate permanent burrows.) It's the young ones
that will do the wandering and (based on my experience) only once a
year. So if you can manage to take out the local residents, you might
expect in the future some occasional new ones, in early summer. One
nice thing about that: Young ones are easier to trap, plus their new
burrows are usually simple and easy to smoke bomb (or whatever).

The adults dig way-station bolt-holes to extend their range. The holes
I've dealt with are usually 5 to 6 feet deep and just a hole.

I'm thinking of going Saddam Hussein on them and using chlorine gas, has
anyone tried poison gas?

In article ,
General Schvantzkopf wrote:

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:56:07 -0500, phorbin wrote:

In article ,
says...

The adults aren't usually frequent or long-range dispersers. (Probably
because they build elaborate permanent burrows.) It's the young ones
that will do the wandering and (based on my experience) only once a
year. So if you can manage to take out the local residents, you might
expect in the future some occasional new ones, in early summer. One
nice thing about that: Young ones are easier to trap, plus their new
burrows are usually simple and easy to smoke bomb (or whatever).

The adults dig way-station bolt-holes to extend their range. The holes
I've dealt with are usually 5 to 6 feet deep and just a hole.

I'm thinking of going Saddam Hussein on them and using chlorine gas, has
anyone tried poison gas?

If you do end up trying this, PLEASE consider a mask for yourself. Gas
masks are no longer expensive now that the 9-11 fears have worn off. I
own a good quality Israeli one that I use when I use HCL for cleaning
hard water deposits in the bathroom. It has poor ventilation.
--
--

Peace! Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a Bitch."
-- Jack Nicholson