"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
news
Suja wrote:

Although I am no fan of Groundhogs, I've got to say that they've never
actually hurt anything. They're happy to nosh on the lawn (clover or
other weeds, I guess) and haven't touched anything I've planted. The
deer, OTOH....

If a child wanders between a groundhog and its den, the groundhog will
attack the child to get to its hole. I know, one attacked me. You would
never guess how vicious they turn when they think they are cornered.

I was actually bitten by a groundhog. Fortunately his teeth did not
penetrate my boot. I was trying to help him get away by pulling out the
arrow I used to pin him to the ground
Frank

"LeeAnne" wrote:

I saw a documentary about golf courses once. Some good methods to use
include plastic explosives, shoving high-pressure water hoses into the
tunnels, and when all else fails, use a couple cases of dynomite.

I think that documentary was "Caddie Shack" starring: Freddie Gopher,
Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield.

Actually groundhogs are very clean animals and will leave if lots of
dirty kitty litter is put in their hole or other disgusting substances.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
news
Suja wrote:

Although I am no fan of Groundhogs, I've got to say that they've never
actually hurt anything. They're happy to nosh on the lawn (clover or
other weeds, I guess) and haven't touched anything I've planted. The
deer, OTOH....

If a child wanders between a groundhog and its den, the groundhog will
attack the child to get to its hole. I know, one attacked me. You would
never guess how vicious they turn when they think they are cornered.

I was actually bitten by a groundhog. Fortunately his teeth did not
penetrate my boot. I was trying to help him get away by pulling out the
arrow I used to pin him to the ground
Frank

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
news
Suja wrote:

Although I am no fan of Groundhogs, I've got to say that they've never
actually hurt anything. They're happy to nosh on the lawn (clover or
other weeds, I guess) and haven't touched anything I've planted. The
deer, OTOH....

If a child wanders between a groundhog and its den, the groundhog will
attack the child to get to its hole. I know, one attacked me. You would
never guess how vicious they turn when they think they are cornered.

I was actually bitten by a groundhog. Fortunately his teeth did not
penetrate my boot. I was trying to help him get away by pulling out the
arrow I used to pin him to the ground
Frank

"LeeAnne" wrote:

I saw a documentary about golf courses once. Some good methods to use
include plastic explosives, shoving high-pressure water hoses into the
tunnels, and when all else fails, use a couple cases of dynomite.

I think that documentary was "Caddie Shack" starring: Freddie Gopher,
Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield.

Actually groundhogs are very clean animals and will leave if lots of
dirty kitty litter is put in their hole or other disgusting substances.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

"LeeAnne" wrote:

I saw a documentary about golf courses once. Some good methods to use
include plastic explosives, shoving high-pressure water hoses into the
tunnels, and when all else fails, use a couple cases of dynomite.

I think that documentary was "Caddie Shack" starring: Freddie Gopher,
Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield.

Actually groundhogs are very clean animals and will leave if lots of
dirty kitty litter is put in their hole or other disgusting substances.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

"LeeAnne" wrote:

I saw a documentary about golf courses once. Some good methods to use
include plastic explosives, shoving high-pressure water hoses into the
tunnels, and when all else fails, use a couple cases of dynomite.

I think that documentary was "Caddie Shack" starring: Freddie Gopher,
Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield.

Actually groundhogs are very clean animals and will leave if lots of
dirty kitty litter is put in their hole or other disgusting substances.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

"Mike Davis" wrote in message
newsr13c.33608$UU.15729@lakeread01...
Any experience with driving away groundhogs (aka woodchucks, whistlepigs,
etc.) from the garden area. I'm moving into a house where the former
garden
tract has become home for a fat and feisty furball.

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.

Lots of suggestions: German Shepherds, Labradors, Rotweilers, Dobermans,
Spaniels, Pit Bulls, or any Heinz 57 over 50 lb that isn't too old, fat or
spoiled will do fine. No encouragement needed.

"Mike Davis" wrote in message
newsr13c.33608$UU.15729@lakeread01...
Any experience with driving away groundhogs (aka woodchucks, whistlepigs,
etc.) from the garden area. I'm moving into a house where the former
garden
tract has become home for a fat and feisty furball.

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.

Lots of suggestions: German Shepherds, Labradors, Rotweilers, Dobermans,
Spaniels, Pit Bulls, or any Heinz 57 over 50 lb that isn't too old, fat or
spoiled will do fine. No encouragement needed.

"Mike Davis" wrote in message
newsr13c.33608$UU.15729@lakeread01...
Any experience with driving away groundhogs (aka woodchucks, whistlepigs,
etc.) from the garden area. I'm moving into a house where the former
garden
tract has become home for a fat and feisty furball.

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.

Lots of suggestions: German Shepherds, Labradors, Rotweilers, Dobermans,
Spaniels, Pit Bulls, or any Heinz 57 over 50 lb that isn't too old, fat or
spoiled will do fine. No encouragement needed.

"Stephen M. Henning" wrote in message
news

Actually groundhogs are very clean animals and will leave if lots of
dirty kitty litter is put in their hole or other disgusting substances.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

If you review past posts, Madgardener once gave a rather pungent description
about a fool-proof method of getting rid of groundhogs. It was my all-time
favorite post on this NG. That woman has soul.

John

Roy wrote:

A well placed shot in the head will solve a ground hog problem
imediately...



It's too bad this option is not available to some gardeners.

If it is a possible solution in your area, I recommend a .22 caliber.
They have enough range to get to a woodchuck and they don't make much
noise (thereby alerting the neighbors). A 12 gauge is much safer in
suburban areas, because it doesn't have much range, but you have to get
closer to the chuck and the neighbors are sure to notice.

If you opt for the .22, use it from an upstairs window if possible so
the trajectory is downwards into the ground and pay close attention to
the background of what you're shooting at.

Ricky wrote:

...they will
toddle right back...



Notwithstanding the legality issue, it is possible to take them far
enough away that they won't toddle back.

However, the woodchuck population is like a gas (albeit in two
dimensions). If you remove (by any means) a woodchuck, the population
will expand to fill the available space. If you add a woodchuck, the
population will contract, but in either case you have a uniform density
of woodchucks. Of course this does not happen instantaneously, but at
some speed characteristic of woodchucks (might be a few days) having to
do with territoriality. The only way to create a hole (or gaseous
rarefaction) is to increase the heat locally for woodchucks by
installing a dog, bombing their burrows regularly, or otherwise abusing
them on a regular basis. The hole will exist as long as you put enough
energy into maintaining the high temperature.

The same comments apply to squirrels, mice, voles, japanese beetles, and
other mobile pests.

Stephen M. Henning wrote:

If a child wanders between a groundhog and its den, the groundhog will
attack the child to get to its hole. I know, one attacked me. You would
never guess how vicious they turn when they think they are cornered.

I've heard that from a friend of mine who was attacked by one as a
child. Don't have any kids here, and if any of the groundhogs are
stupid enough to attack my dogs, they deserve to be eliminated from the
gene pool.

Suja

Stephen M. Henning wrote:

If a child wanders between a groundhog and its den, the groundhog will
attack the child to get to its hole. I know, one attacked me. You would
never guess how vicious they turn when they think they are cornered.

I've heard that from a friend of mine who was attacked by one as a
child. Don't have any kids here, and if any of the groundhogs are
stupid enough to attack my dogs, they deserve to be eliminated from the
gene pool.

Suja