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How to Get Rid of Groundhogs (aka Woodchucks)

a woodchuck/groundhog in the garden

Woodchucks or groundhogs can greatly damage a garden.

Image Credit:
Crestock
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Do you have trouble with these burrowing pests? Here are tips for identifying and getting rid of groundhogs in your yard and garden.

What Are Groundhogs?

If every day is Groundhog Day in your garden, you’ll probably agree with those who call that gluttonous rodent their least favorite backyard creature. Even skunks get more respect. Speaking of Groundhog Day, find out the origins of that funny holiday.

The problem is that groundhogs—also known as woodchucks or whistle-pigs—are binge eaters who can wipe out your vegetable garden in a matter of minutes. They climb, they burrow, they swim, and they eat—an adult consumes about a pound to a pound-and-a-half of vegetation daily. Between spring and fall, they double their body weight.

Do Groundhogs Hibernate?

Yes, they do! Soon after they emerge from a winter’s hibernation, they mate, giving birth in mid-spring—at a time when the pickings are at their slimmest. Neat rows of seedlings must look like manna from heaven to hungry groundhogs, who sometimes perch on garden fence posts as if they are looking over the salad bar.

When hibernating, groundhogs—who are never speedy—really slow down, drawing a breath only about once every 5 minutes. Hibernation is curious behavior: Barely breathing, these mammals cool off to just a few degrees above the ambient temperature, sometimes as low as 39º to 40ºF. Their metabolic rate drops, and they sleep profoundly in their winter dens, neither eating nor drinking for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 months, drawing all their nourishment from the body fat they accumulated during the summer. No wonder they eat so much!

groundhog in the grass

Identification

How to Identify Groundhogs

Members of the squirrel family, groundhogs are squarish, stocky animals that typically weigh between 4 and 14 pounds. They have short, strong legs, coarse, grizzled, gray-brown fur, small ears, a short, bushy tail, and curved claws. Groundhogs look a bit like runaway fur coats as they waddle back to their burrows. This critter can grow to be about 3 feet long. They have large, competent, chisel-like teeth that make them efficient but not quite endearing.

Are you wondering where groundhogs live? Do you see any deep tunnels in your yard, under your deck, or near your foundation? You may have a groundhog. Groundhogs dig burrows to live in, and the entrances are usually 10 to 12 inches wide, with the excavated soil spread around them. There are usually two or three entrances.

Groundhog Damage

What do groundhogs eat? Everything from flowers to vegetables. Favorite foods include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lettuce, broccoli, plantain, and soybeans. Groundhogs will often devour your seedlings before they even have time to grow. Rabbits and deer eat some of the same plants, so make sure to check for burrows before concluding that you have groundhogs. If you don’t have vegetables around, groundhogs will settle for twigs, bark, bugs, and blossoms.

Groundhogs eat mostly during the early morning and afternoon, so try to see when your garden is receiving the most damage. These creatures will also gnaw and claw at fruit trees, so check your trees for any such marks.

groundhog eating clover

Control and Prevention

How to Get Rid of Groundhogs

These critters may have been attracted by your garden full of tasty plants. Encourage them to go elsewhere. 

  • Sprinkle blood meal, ground black pepper, dried blood, or talcum powder around the perimeter of your garden. You can try using hair clippings as well.
  • Puree and strain hot peppers and garlic, mix them with water and enough liquid soap to make it stick, and spray it liberally around the garden.
  • Put some harmless but strong-smelling substance just inside the burrow (such as urine-saturated clumps of kitty litter). Loosely seal the entrance so the smell stays inside the burrow.
  • Would you eat lettuce tossed with bobcat urine? Neither would a woodchuck! Fox, coyote, wolf, and bobcat urines are among the forbidding predator scents now sold as groundhog repellents.
  • Eliminate woodpiles and other places where groundhogs nest.
  • Keep undergrowth and grass cover low to deter groundhogs.
  • Groundhogs are always looking for vacant burrows. Close down their tunnel systems. Bury a 3-foot-square panel of welded wire, centered over the entrance hole, before an abandoned burrow is rediscovered.
  • Unfortunately, humane traps and relocation may be the only solution. Place traps in front of burrow entrances or in the garden. Bait them with broccoli, apple slices, fresh lettuce, carrots, or sweet corn, and work the bottom of the trap into the earth. Check the trap often after setting it to minimize stress and injury to trapped creatures. Cover the trap with an old blanket to calm the groundhog.

How to Prevent Groundhogs from Invading Your Garden

The best woodchuck deterrent is a fence. Excluding woodchucks from the garden will also keep out deer, rabbits, raccoons, and stray pets. Since groundhogs climb and also burrow, you’ll need to build a secure enclosure using 6-foot-wide woven-wire fencing. Above ground, the fence should be about 4 feet high, with the top 12 inches unattached to fence posts (i.e., floppy and facing away from the garden, so that when a groundhog tries to go over the top, its weight will flip it back). The 2 feet of fencing buried underground should form an L-shape, with 12 inches going straight down and the bottom 12 inches bent at a right angle away from the garden.

An apron of weighed-down black plastic around the garden discourages some diggers, as does an electric fence strung 4 to 6 inches off the ground about 4 to 6 inches outside the woven-wire fence.

Pay special attention to areas facing fields where woodchucks live or places where they have been digging; sometimes, extra fortification in just these spots is called for. Be sure the gate is protected, too. Fencing is not inexpensive, but it’s an investment in serious gardening.

Garden Pests

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Becky Gray</span> Wed, 05/29/2019 - 14:29
If you live in the Rockies, as I do, and are reading this for any hints to get rid of ground squirrels, as I am, be aware: Every few years someone in Colorado dies of Bubonic Plague or of another rodent born disease, Hanta Virus. The Plague is spread by fleas. If you have a dead ground squirrel, chipmunk, mouse or prairie dog on your property, don't touch it. Don't let your dog or cat touch it. The fleas jump off as soon as the body temp of their host drops just a degree or two. Sorry to be a downer, but it is really dangerous although uncommon. Hanta is from the urine and feces of infected mice. That dust often becomes airborn when it dries out. Both diseases can be deadly. We have meds for plague, but you have to recognize it withing a couple of days. Most states are constantly on the lookout for any dead rodents that they can check for infection. So it's uncommon, but really something to be aware of.
<span>Paul W.</span> Sat, 04/06/2019 - 08:19
I killed six of them with Duke Conibear 220 traps. They were destroying my garden. At first, I went out into the near-by woods patch to look for their holes. I found nine holes. I tried filling them in after using "smoke bombs", road flares, etc. It was ineffective. Then, I put up two of these inexpensive-but dangerous conibears, one-per-side at the bottom of my garden fence. I didn't even have to bait it because woodchucks are lazy and you can guide them into the trap by putting 10-12"-high boards along the bottom of your fence (even grass clippings will work). They will walk around it rather than jump over, and try to walk right through your trap, which you must securely fasten on it's side on the ground. When they started in on my beet greens, it was war. There were six of them, and I got them all. That was two years ago.
<span>Rlb</span> Mon, 06/17/2019 - 15:54
I agree with you Paul. When all else fails use lead. And, it usually does fail.
<span>Breezy Knoll</span> Thu, 05/16/2019 - 10:27
Build a simple box house to invite Owls to nest in your yard. It should be 11 feet off the ground with an overhang or branches for protection. There are many wonderful sites that have instructions on houses for the best owls for your area. Great predator to have around for small rodents and groundhogs!
<span>Anne</span> Wed, 06/07/2023 - 10:15
Wonderful idea to build an Owl-nest box to control the Ground-hog / Woodchuck population; one could also plant their favorite food far from your garden;
<span>Bob Barker</span> Sun, 10/14/2018 - 21:27
Ok for all with this problem suck it up ive tryed every way u can think of to allow them to live and be moved or to move them out of my property just kill um shoot um sounds harsh but soon you will understand and like one of the comments rember they are super smart and learn very fast so dont miss and dont allow them to see another in a trap or die
<span>K Riley</span> Wed, 05/02/2018 - 17:48
Saw this recipe that I am going to try this year. I have a groundhog under my shed and deck Pour 4 ounces of castor oil and 1 tbsp. of dishwashing liquid into the bottle of your garden sprayer. Add water to fill the sprayer to the top and shake very well. Coat your lawn with the mixture. Be sure to give it a thorough coating. For large lawns, a sectional approach may be necessary to adequately coat the lawn. Simply mix another bottle and go back to spraying. Fill in the visible mole holes with dirt, soaking the dirt fill with the mixture. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 after about a week, filling in any new holes. Most of your moles should be gone, but a second soaking will ensure that any remaining moles move out and don't return. Repeat the application as needed if mole activity reappears. Spray the lawn at least once with the mixture early each spring to keep moles from moving into your yard.
<span>Jenn</span> Wed, 05/02/2018 - 08:55
We’ve been waging war against these critters for four years now. We, like others, thought they were adorable at first, and attempted to coexist with these large rodents—until they destroyed our gardens. Next we tried repellents and trapping. We successfully captured a large adult and relocated it using a havaheart trap, but two weeks later another one appeared in its place. (Ever see a cornered woodchuck gnash it’s teeth in defense?! I thought about sticking my very willing terrier on them, but couldn’t after that menacing visual.) The last straw was when they moved in for good and started a family under our barn foundation. After two months of baiting traps and catching squirrels/skunks, I broke down and borrowed a neighbors .22 caliper rifle. It was one of the harder things I’ve done, but they’re definitely gone and I done have to worry about poison on my homestead near my pets. This spring so far so good, none have taken up residence in the old burrow. Sayonara suckers!
<span>Lisa Armbruster</span> Wed, 06/27/2018 - 18:43
We had to use a rifle also, to kill two last year. We live out in the country and have a large garden. We also have chickens and poison is not a good idea to us. The groundhogs were eating our broccoli and other plants. None came back this year. The traps are good to catch chicken predators.
<span>Ellen B</span> Tue, 05/28/2019 - 02:10
Please keep dogs away from ground hogs, especially small and medium sized dogs, and some bigger dogs that just aren't fighters. Ground hogs are vicious and quick and bit my sister-in-law's dog in the jugular vein, and almost killed it. They were able to rush the dog to their nearby vet that was open at the time, and had a clamp put on the jugular to keep the dog from bleeding out. Please don't put your dog through the pain and shock, not to mention a costly vet bill.