Hello all, After 7 years at our home, I am having trouble with a woodchuck(s) dining on my garden plants and flowers. My neighbor has lost a ton of flowers to the critter, and they have managed to live trap and release one, but there are more. We borrowed a live trap from them and baited it with carrots and apples. Has anyone had experience dealing with these animals? Any other suggestions on how to get rid of them humanely? Thanks!!!! JoAnn moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
I hope a lot of people have some good ideas because a woodchuck just took up residence in my back-fence neighbor's garden.... he ate every single leaf off of his edamame... Neighbor not happy AT ALL. I'd like to give him a humane solution before he tries one that is less so!... I wondered if the simple swinging aluminum pie pans would help... Or that Waxy Pepper Spray might make the leaves and flowers less tasty... ? I will be watching this thread too.
When my oldest son lived in New York he had a big problem with them. He fenced and of course they dug under. He found a solution. He had house cats and lots of used kitty litter. He dumped the used kitty litter down every hole he could find and around the edge of his garden. They up and left and didn't come back. He routinely changed the kitty litter. I don't know how long the smell lasts or if you want your yard and garden smelling like used kitty litter but he found it worked. dooley
Sorry I have no humane ways of getting rid of the rodent....growing up my dad was not keen on catch and release since they will come back. I just remembered that my grandfather would plant a a woodchuck rodent garden with some plants that he allowed the little thing to get at..and then fenced the garden off. He buried the small gauge fence about 12 inches into the ground and that kept all the critters out.
Dooley, you just reminded me about the ground hog that USED to live under a patch of Daylily's at work. I used very well used kitty litter and it worked! Give it a try JoAnn!
Neighbor is going to try Critter Ridder and we were also thinking maybe some "fox scent" would discourage the woodchuck.
Well, good news! The woodchuck took the bait and my husband and son released it where the first one went. Not sure if there are more. Good to know that kitty litter works. With 3 cats we have plenty!
Don't get caught releasing these beasts, In Michigan the DNR frowns on giving your problems to others. They are about the most destructive creature I have had to deal with, We have trapped many and had to have them put down. I know of no other way, and I'm a Naturalist. Ron
2 Successful Groundhog and Deer Strategies Hi, Thanks for the cat litter down the groundhog hole idea. I'll try it. We live in Baltimore, County, MD. We have so many thousands of deer in our area they travel in herds. The darn ground hogs, as you know, multiply like mice. Over the years my father and I have taken different paths - gardening-wise. Dad uses a traditional straight row-rotary tiller plus cheap granular fertilizer. I discovered that with organic, raised bed gardening - a few plants can feed 10 families with no weeding or hoeing needed. Here's what's worked: Dad has put up giant lights on each end of the house. So bright you could land a Cessna at night. I told him he was just giving the varmints a better look at what they were eating. But Son of a gun. The Swiss Card, Collards, Cabbage and Turnips he planted under the light haven't been bothered at all by deer or Groundhogs. And I noticed that bats are using Dad's night lights to attract bugs all in one place. So our bat population has jumped. They are certainly more visible. You can hear them WIZZING past your ears. I've had to adapt my raised bed, organic gardening approach to straight rows. If any plant sticks out beyond the row, Dad tills it under with the tractor tiller. Strategy #1 - I planted New Zealand Spinach, Kale and collards - 8 feet of each down one row. Then two more kinds of kale, turnips and something green and shiny Dad bought that I can't identify. Footprints show the deer and groundhogs are paying attention to my Veggie Buffet. When I plant two or three kinds of the same leaf vegetable all together. They often eat just one. Not liking the "Taste" of the other two. All Kale tastes the same to me. Weird but true. Nothing on 4 legs seems to like the taste of New Zealand Spinach. They won't eat the squash either. But a 12 foot row of greens feeds an army. Strategy #2 - Dad complains that a deer or groundhog went down his corn row and ate 52 plants. He actually counted how many had their tops eaten off. Dad also, for the 1st time ever, has some kind of varmint eating the leaves off several of his tomato plants. NOT MINE, however. I've been mixing an all organic, volcanic ash plant food into 5 gallon buckets of water. Poured it onto ONE Big Boy Tomato Plant. It's huge and nothing is nibbling on it. I hoed up a moat around 1/2 a row of corn as a test. It's twice as high as the rest and a deep dark green color. The zuchini are vibrant too. Pouring the water on so it soaks way down to the roots helps. Nothing much eats these super healthy plants. I noticed my Deep Green tomato leaves even SMELL stronger than Dad's light tomato green plants. Bugs and bees are attracted like crazy. They do eat a few holes in leaves. Nothing that bugs the plants, health-wise tho. I set out 12 Sweet potato plants right in front of a ground hog hole. He dug his house under Dad's garden shed. To add insult to injury. In previous years, the groundhog or deer would have eaten off the tender plants. But so far. Since I've been watering with the Volcanic ash plant food - all 12 are growing like weeds. Undisturbed. I know each garden is unique. Everyone has a different family of varmints to deal with. But after 40 years of gardening it's comforting to have a partial answer to a successful garden. A dependable NO PESTICIDE food supply. Especially with the rising price of food. I picked 10 pounds of kale last week. 25.00 worth at organic store prices! Thanks, Allan
I tried the kitty liter around my whole yard (droppings taken out ) and it was the old clay liter, I was told it would keep the rabbits out. I don't know if the smell went away too soon or if it just didn't work...But is well worth a try if you have holes to put it in.. Sherry
