Repel groundhogs?

[Tap]

These things just keep coming. It doesn't matter how many I shoot, there will be another that moves in to take their place. There's no doubt that I've shot close to 200 (maybe more) in the last 3 or 4 years. And I'm talking small acreage. This kill total isn't from hundreds of acres... It's up close and personal to my home. Disposal of the carcasses is a pain. My neighbor says it smells like Death Valley around here:eek:
I really don't like killing something and wasting it, but these things are a nuisance. Is there a repellant that works?

They dig into everything...retaining walls, french drains, foundations, and fields. Several years ago my elderly neighbor rolled over his Farmall M on himself. He was pinned under the tractor for more than an hour while emergency crews extracted him. He was lucky to survive with just a crushed and broken leg.

They come on my porch and eat deck plants and chew the furniture, railings, posts, etc. I even had one climb up onto the top of the picnic table on my deck! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him lounging on my table.:mad: They hang out like porch dogs. I've seen them climb into the underside of my truck to chew who knows what??
Is there anything, other than lead, that will repel these varmints? I just want to keep them away from my home and vehicles.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Get a dog!

 

[hillHuntR]

The younger ones are supposed to be good eating...a lot like rabbit. I havent found out yet but starting to see more of them around here the last several years.

No help on repellent, maybe a dog that is protective of the yard would be best bet? I know dogs can catch and kill them

 

[Tap]

Thanks.
A dog is not a great option for us.
A small percentage of the ones I shoot are young ones. Most would not be "table fare".
I wish the coyotes would keep them under control.

 

[JFK52]

Under the heading "believe it or not" woodchucks are PROTECTED species in Wisconsin and hunting them is prohibited.

 

[chummer]

Clorox around the foundation and down any holes. We had woodchucks living under our camp and I was told to pour it around the perimeter. They appear to have left town.

 

[j-bird]

It's been decades ago, but yes I have eaten young groundhog before......it was slow cooked and you can eat anything with enough BBQ sauce! it wasn't terrible.

best thing to control them I have found is 22-250 rem! But you have been going down that road. Mo's point of a good dog can help, but groundhogs - especially older ones can be quite the handful for a dog. All other attempts to drive them off/kill them I am aware of are quite dangerous and more than likely not legal.

I have never heard of a place being as over-run as yours appears to be.....200 over 4 years......that is 1 a week on average!!!

 

[UP Powers]

I wish I had that many.. I would love to be around someone when they use this.. rodenator.. pumping propane down a hole and then touching it off. brilliant idea.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

I wish I had that many.. I would love to be around someone when they use this.. rodenator.. pumping propane down a hole and then touching it off. brilliant idea.

Ask the idiots by Princeton MN if it was a brilliant Idea when they burned down some houses using one of those things in a grass farm field.

 

[Tap]

Clorox around the foundation and down any holes. We had woodchucks living under our camp and I was told to pour it around the perimeter. They appear to have left town.

Thanks chum.

 

[Tap]

It's been decades ago, but yes I have eaten young groundhog before......it was slow cooked and you can eat anything with enough BBQ sauce! it wasn't terrible.

best thing to control them I have found is 22-250 rem! But you have been going down that road. Mo's point of a good dog can help, but groundhogs - especially older ones can be quite the handful for a dog. All other attempts to drive them off/kill them I am aware of are quite dangerous and more than likely not legal.

I have never heard of a place being as over-run as yours appears to be.....200 over 4 years......that is 1 a week on average!!!

I wish I would have been recording the exact total, but I do remember the general numbers and I'mclose on my estimate. I shot 7 from my porch the 1st day I owned my 5.56...and that happened in 20 minutes. Early in the spring, I will have periods that I shoot 1 or 2 PER DAY. Then it drops down a little and picks back up around now. When I remove one, a new one moves in to fill the void. Seems to be typical groundhog behavior to take over a vacated area.

 

[UP Powers]

wow.. that's crazy!! I didn't know someone burned down some houses with it. But, I would think common sense would prevail.

 

[j-bird]

Ask the idiots by Princeton MN if it was a brilliant Idea when they burned down some houses using one of those things in a grass farm field.

That was sort of along the lines of some things I have seen done with gasoline before in efforts to get rid of them. I guy I know poured gallons and gallons of water and then a few gallons of gasoline and then tossed a torch to ignite. Almost set himself on fire in the process. He was standing near an undiscovered hole.....it was "discovered" when the gasoline ignited! He said he almost had burnt and dirty britches!

wow.. that's crazy!! I didn't know someone burned down some houses with it. But, I would think common sense would prevail.

Sometimes common sense isn't so common.......

 

[WTNUT]

Thanks.
A dog is not a great option for us.
A small percentage of the ones I shoot are young ones. Most would not be "table fare".
I wish the coyotes would keep them under control.

I have eaten several young ones and don't like them. My grandfather did and said "eat it boy". Next, if you had more coyotes you would have a coyote problem. We use to have many groundhogs and the coyotes have all but eliminated them. I have not seen one in years.


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