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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>Chris K</span> Sun, 09/03/2017 - 13:48
We had a family of groundhogs that decided to take over our back yard, uninvited!! We tried everything to get rid of them. Our first mistake, we thought they were adorable, they did not see us as a threat to them, we coexisted. But...then...they started getting in to my garden, big mistake on their part. I put up a fence, and it was floppy, they climbed over it. I sprayed an "animal blood spray" around my garden, it never phased them. I sprayed an epsom salt and water spray on the leaves of my plants. That helped a little but I had to stay consistent with it. I tried "gopher gas," which I hated doing because it is hard for me to kill an animal and it seems like such an unkind way to go. But......it did not work either. Secretly, I was actually happy they did not die in that awful way. But still, it was war.....I was getting tired of my garden being devoured by these creatures. They were enjoying the fruits of my labor and we weren't. FINALLY!! THE SOLUTION!! We, without realizing it, found the solution to our woodchuck problems, a tenacious terrier. We picked him up from the animal shelter, knowing he had behavioral issues, but I figured he was just bored in life and needed a reason for living. Our woodchuck problem was his deliverance in life. I put him on a 25' lead, I hold on to the end and let him bark his head off down the woodchuck holes. Four woodchucks gone!! There are about four woodchuck holes that he checks out everyday, if he doesn't bark I know they are not in there. Recently, they tried coming back to establish a hibernating den. Big mistake on there part, my terrier was on them. My dog is happy, he has a job, I am happy we are enjoying the fruits of my labor. :-)
<span>Joann Frazier</span> Thu, 05/04/2017 - 16:59
We have baby ground hog's, I have seen two. They don't set the trap off, so how to trap them? We trapped one parent, don't want to trap the other because of the babies. Need them gone, starting garden soon. They are eating grass. I would like to trap together. One baby hissed at me so I am not getting close enough to pick them up. Which would be great, then I could put in trap and feed until I get the next one. Then the parent. Please advice.
<span>Maureen</span> Tue, 02/14/2017 - 22:01
Can a planter box be raised high enough to keep woodchucks from climbing up? And if so, how high is that?
<span>Bilbo</span> Thu, 05/30/2019 - 21:21
I found that raising the planter box and putting thin sheet metal that you can find at Lowes or Home Depot on the legs will prevent them from climbing as they have no surface to hold on to and slide. A thin layer of silicon grease will be an added deterrent.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 02/16/2017 - 09:07

Woodchucks happen to be very good climbers. One suggestion is to add some chicken wire across the top but keep it loose and wobbly to discourage woodchucks from climbing over it. Burpee sells a small animal barrier that you could see online as a reference.

 <span>Sloglo</span> Fri, 07/15/2016 - 17:33
I have a vacant groundhog burrow in my crawlspace. What's the most soil saving way to deal with it; try to cave it in and fill with what she excavated or move the excavated soil back into the hole (and how would that be done)?
<span>Frederick Gassmann</span> Fri, 06/22/2018 - 18:25
Yes, ground hogs can climb. Have had a ground hog problems these past 2 years and have frequently seen them climbing 6' high into small trees in search of tender shoots to eat. Would not have believed they could climb that high until I saw it repeatedly myself. Regretfully you have to be committed to do whatever is necessary to get rid of them. I know the young are cute but it is best to be direct and professional and use extreme prejudice to eliminate ground hogs. They are very intelligent and will learn quickly to stay one step ahead so it is best to be direct and decisive.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/18/2016 - 12:42

Groundhog tunnels can sometimes be extensive, with 25 feet to 40 feet of tunnels, some as much as 5 feet deep, and a few chambers. Is this crawl space directly underneath your home? If so, it might be best to have a contractor take a look at it. Concrete pumping companies can fill in deep holes in and around the foundation with a special mix (the service is found under various names, such as pressure grouting). If you do not think the hole is a problem to your home, then there are mixes that you can buy that are specifically for filling in animal burrows/tunnels. You can search online for options, or your local hardware store might know.

 <span>Jh</span> Tue, 07/05/2016 - 14:30
I have had a groundhog and babies live under my deck for over 10 years. I left them alone. But yesterday, one of them attacked my dog who thankfully only had a ripped lip and snout wounds. And that was only a baby that did that! If the mother would have met up with my dog, I believe my dog would have died. It is time to get rid of them. My deck is very large and wide and I cannot get underneath it at all. I heard moth balls work. Has anyone ever heard of that?
<span>Karen Bellinger</span> Mon, 05/21/2018 - 00:07
I bought 6 boxes of moth balls as the groundhogs are under my house eating the wood studs and they didn't do a thing, the groundhog pulled the moth balls out side, so I put the moth balls back under the house and next day they were back outside and the black pepper didn't work for me other