What do grounds eat

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.

These critters may have been attracted by your garden full of tasty plants. Encourage them to go elsewhere. The best woodchuck deterrent is a fence. Excluding woodchucks from the garden will also keep out deer , rabbits , raccoons , and stray pets. Above ground, the fence should be about four feet high, with the top 12 inches unattached to fence posts i. The two 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 four to six inches off the ground about four to six 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. They have destroyed the foundation around the barns at this abandoned farm we recently moved to. They also have burrowed near the foundation of the house. So we are partially winning this! Easy enough to catch in a live trap, but our state does not allow releasing onto others property.

Most farmers don't want them. Makes for a good meal. Firstly, a family of groundhogs or woodchucks has lived adjacent to the garden for years and I've never encountered problems. Matter of fact, they have been beneficial in that their long burrows absorb rainwater and therefore keep the ground moist during the dry summer months.

Be sure to read your state and local laws before trying to humanely relocate a groundhog. Good luck finding someone who wants a groundhog on their property. They can ruin the foundation of your shed, home, retaining walls etc. People and pets are injured when stumbling upon their excavation work also. Unfortunately the only option may be to trap and humanely kill and dispose of the carcass. I have a mom and 6 babies groundhogs and a vegetable and flower garden. We live in harmony. They learn quickly.

They are solitary animals so the babies will leave by the age of 3 months approximately. The babies have tried three times to make a nest in the garden. I have the perfect spot that they love, with big rocks and open spaces. One has to be vigilant at the beginning and check regularly to see if they are in the garden. Any loud noise will send them running away. As for the building of their new nest, I make sure that they are not in the hole and then I put a piece of cardboard with Vick's Vapor Rub on it in the hole and refill the exit that is in my garden with the earth.

I also put lavender Epson salts around the type of flowers that they like and I keep an eye on any new attempts. They have learned that my garden is a "scary place" and they avoid it. I have the pleasure of seeing them play together, they are cute, sentient beings. All you need is compassion and determination at the beginning and they will oblige.

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. I killed six of them with Duke Conibear 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 "-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. Groundhogs earned the name "whistle-pig" because of the high-pitched whistling noise they make, used to alert other groundhogs to danger in the area.

If one is in your yard and making this sound, it means it is warning others about something nearby. Groundhogs are herbivores, which means they feast on an entirely plant-based diet. These animals enjoy grasses, dandelions, clovers, and many other weeds and plants. They will also eat agricultural crops and plants like lettuce, carrots, and black and red raspberries. Sometimes they eat grubs and bugs, but not often.

Read Also: What's the best groundhog bait? To check out the varied diet of groundhogs, take a look at what Eddie, a groundhog kept by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is fed on a daily basis.

Because of the variety of their diet, groundhogs can be a big problem for gardeners or people who grow their own vegetables. Groundhogs need to eat a lot to prepare for hibernation , and they do not understand the concept of private property. Groundhogs are versatile and tenacious animals. It's not hard for them to find their way into a garden, especially if they see a tasty treat like bean pods or clover patches.

Read Also: How to pick a good groundhog trap? These methods stop groundhogs in different ways. They are skilled climbers but might be deterred by a high fence. Groundhogs don't like people and will avoid an area with a repellent. If there's no food, there's no reason to come in. Additionally, they don't like the taste of red pepper and won't want to eat affected plants. Keep in mind that you can wash this off later if you want to eat them. Finally, the reflective nature of the Mylar works as a deterrent because it scares the groundhogs away from your property.

As expected, the main thing that attracts groundhogs to your yard is food. These animals are herbivores and mainly feed on plant matter. Their favorite foods are alfalfa and clover but they feed nearly on any plants such as grass; weeds; dandelion greens; herbs; fruits like strawberries or blueberries; vegetables like cucumber, green beans, corn, or lettuce. Groundhogs feed a lot to gain enough weight that will sustain them during hibernation.

Therefore, when they invade, they will eat anything that they come across in order to gain enough weight that will sustain them during the winter season, and in the process, they will leave a lot of damage. That is why you need to be worried when you spot them in your backyard. Groundhogs are typically most active during early spring.

This is because the weather is usually ideal for them during this time. During the warmer spring and summer months, they spend most of their time sheltering in their cool burrows and only come out to feed in the early morning and evening when temperatures have dropped.

They usually start to hibernate from mid-October all the way to February. By the time they start hibernating, they need to have gained a minimum weight of seven pounds in order to survive. Pregnancy goes by fast for them. Groundhog mating season is in the early spring and, after only a month-long pregnancy, mother groundhogs typically give birth to a litter of two to six blind, hairless babies.

Young groundhogs are called kits, pups, or sometimes chucklings. Groundhog families disperse in the fall, and the young reach sexual maturity by two years. Groundhogs typically live three to six years in the wild, but have been reported to live for up to fourteen years in captivity. Groundhogs are among the few species of true hibernators. This is the part of their behavior that has led to North American Groundhog Day tradition.

After losing up to half their weight while hibernating, groundhogs usually emerge from their winter burrows in February—hence the date of this holiday.