Groundhog

bill2000

bill2000

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I was walking around the yard this morning and I found a groundhog encampment on the far side of a small rise. I can't see it from the house because of the rise but if I can lure it out about 20' it'd be an easy shot. I've never seen the critter out and about. Any suggestions on how I can lure him to come in range?
 
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Is he bothering you in some way? Has he attacked you? How about just letting the fella live! I know its a novel idea and all....

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Arik said:
Is he bothering you in some way? Has he attacked you? How about just letting the fella live! I know its a novel idea and all....

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Dadgum things will destroy your yard, eat your crops and make holes for livestock to step in and break a leg. Go join PETA if you want to save the groundhogs. :rolleyes:

Don
 
woodsltc said:
Dadgum things will destroy your yard, eat your crops and make holes for livestock to step in and break a leg. Go join PETA if you want to save the groundhogs. :rolleyes:

Don
Click to expand...

Dont give me that 'rolleyes' nonsense. If the guy had a farm he wouldnt be asking, he'd already know how to deal with a groundhog.

So far i see no mention of livestock or crops. Just cause you have a yard doesn't mean its a farm.

Has nothing to do with PETA or saving groundhogs. Simply.....why must every living thing that crosses our properties be killed?

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As I grow older I find it hard to kill just to kill. I've shot plinth of kritters in my time and all of them not edible. Now a days there are times when I'd like to shoot some of gods most stupid animals (human types) but there seems to be a law against that so now I just shoot paper. Love eaten quail though.
 
Arik said:
So far i see no mention of livestock or crops. Just cause you have a yard doesn't mean its a farm.

Has nothing to do with PETA or saving groundhogs. Simply.....why must every living thing that crosses our properties be killed?

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

I sure don't kill everything I see but this is in my yard and there's a major pile of dirt mounded up and I sure don't need my dog taking off after it.
 
Arik said:
So far i see no mention of livestock or crops. Just cause you have a yard doesn't mean its a farm.

Has nothing to do with PETA or saving groundhogs. Simply.....why must every living thing that crosses our properties be killed?

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Why don't you let the OP decide what he wants to do with it ... he asked the question about how to get a shot, so any logical person would conclude he doesn't want it on his property. :rolleyes:(notice my rolled eyes)

When you find one on your property you can make a "fuzzy pet" out of it if you want.

Don
 
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A groundhog can destroy a home garden - vegetable or ornamental - I have gone through all the humane methods over the years and none really solved the problem - well, an electric fence did, but that also killed a lot of birds. A few years ago I bought a single shot spring loaded .177 pellet gun with a scope - a head shot within 15-20 yards will kill it but even a butt shot will remind him that he is not welcome. I live in city limits, so that's my only option.

Groundhogs are creatures of habit - they usually come out early morning - maybe 6:30-7:30, then again in afternoon about 4:30-5:30 in my experience. They are easily spooked so pick a spot and remain still & quiet - put an apple or tomato on a 5 gallon bucket to force it to raise up and give you a target.
 
I'd bait a Hav-A-Heart with cantaloupe rinds. Ground hogs like most fresh green veggies but melon is best around here.
 
I live in the city limits but a woody area. The ground hogs come on my deck and devour any and all bird food. They also will eat your garden and landscaping. If you're OK with this, don't shoot. If you want rid of it, I can tell you groundhogs can soak up a helluva lot of .177 pellets or .22LR bullets.
 
Yeah, once they have a good family started think of the fun you can have then. I feel sure that some of the little buggers will move close enough to your house to even give you a shot from the couch.

Course you may have to give up any idea of ever having flowers or a garden growing. And any kind of livestock will be strictly out of the question because of breaking legs and stuff. Then you could step in one yourself and break your own leg and then crawl back to the house of course there wouldn't be a garden or anything to get in your way so that's a good point, I guess.

Now then let's talk getting rid of the little b...bugger. If short to medium range I like a 50 gr projectile out of my little 222. She's getting a little old now but she can still part their hair out to 150+.

A little bait like someone said sitting on a bucket should do you a fine job of getting him or her to stand up and be counted, so to speak.

Just my two cents.
 
woodsltc said:
Well, that would provide more targets. :D

Don
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And more fun!!! Groundhogs cause so many problems... Around here its shoot as many as you can! I say put a half lbs jar of tannerite next to his hole... Not that ive done that...
 
Bait him with cookies! Seriously. They love the cheap cookies. No kidding. Throw some on the ground around the hole. After he eats them, put some more out a little further from the hole. Keep doing it until he gets where you want him. Trust me it works. They can also be trained to come running for food! I would never believe it but I saw it done. When I worked at a manufacturing plant that was located inside city limits, a couple of workers would feed a couple of groundhogs. They had them trained to come on command by whistling and waved one arm. The only thing I ever saw them turn down was Habenaro peppers. They wouldn't touch them. The funniest thing I ever saw them eat was orange slices-candy. The candy got stuck on the backside of their teeth! It was hysterical to watch them lick their lips forever to get it off. I think they were addicted to the sugar in the sweets. Remember they are a rodent so they can eat anything. I hope you guys are laughing about this because it sure was funny to watch. Seriously this is all true! No kidding.
 
Every year I have problems with them in the garden and digging tunnels under the dirt floor of my pole-barn. They'll even climb fruit trees!!! Some years it's only one or two, other years there is a population explosion, like the year an idiot neighbor poisoned the foxes we used to have in the area. :mad: That was they year I was often gardening while packing a handgun, and got a couple of them that way.

Unfortunately, more houses have gone up around me, so we're not supposed to be shooting any more here. Hopefully I'll still be able to use my new pellet gun, or maybe my crossbow. :rolleyes:

Woodchuck is actually pretty good eating, and there are even details on how to prepare it in "The Joy of Cooking" cookbook. We had one Sunday dinner where nearly everything came out of the garden, including a good-sized young chuck. :)

One IMPORTANT thing to be aware of is that there are a couple of glands embedded in the back muscles that need to be carefully removed when butchering the beasts. Also, unlike rabbit and some other small game, they can be a real pain to skin.:eek:
 
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We don't have the classic groundhog over here, we do have a smaller relative and we have the yellow bellied marmot or rockchuck. We have some larger critters known as the Columbian Ground Squirrel, they are handsome critters about half the size of your eastern groundhog. I had one take up residence under a pile of lumber I had milled on my Canadian property. I had some 1 x 6 pine milled and had stickered it in piles out on my back lot, I heard a whisteling sound and located this guys burrow, he developed a quite large pile of dirt so I borrowed a neighbors have a heart trap and with a spoonful of peanut butter caught him the next day. He filled the trap and as I mentioned was a handsome little devil, I drove him about 5 miles away on my way into town and dropped him off...I don't believe we need to kill everything. I dislike the local squirrels that folks like to feed peanuts, they dig holes in my yard and deposit the peanuts or walnuts...I have a smaller havahart trap and again I take them for a drive and drop them off, any squirrel is a sucker for peanut butter. I've shot my share of varmints out of pastures and out in the country, especially those greasy marmots but lately I don't care to. I shoot targets now.
 
In Ohio, it is illegal to live trap your problems and release them to become someone else's problem. You would need permits to transport wild animals. But there is no limit or season on varmints, because they are pests! Wild hogs, coyotes, and ground hogs, together destroy Millions of dollars per year of crops, pets, livestock, and game animals! They are furry, but they are not cuddly, they are not nice, and like it or not, they need destroyed. The natural balance is all out of wack and the closest to any good these pests do is, the coyotes eat escaped dogs and cats. Trying to do any form of agriculture is hard work. Having rodents or hogs wipe out $50 a day apiece of your grain crop or your garden that is your food supply can be ruinous. Coyotes in you chickens are a terminal disaster. You can say "they're on my property, and not hurting any one else" that is a self deceiving lie and you are harboring future problems that you won't have to deal with. Watching Disney movies and being a tree huger won't change this unpleasant truth. Ivan
 
WHAT ??????

ChattCat said:
As I grow older I find it hard to kill just to kill. I've shot plinth of kritters in my time and all of them not edible.
Click to expand...

You shot plenty of what's????
just remember we're endangered ,armed, and grumpy..... :-)
 
Just be patient and stake out the area when you have some
time. He will make an appearance sooner or later.
Get a tall cold beverage of your choosing and sit back and
wait.
I've seen what they will do to a barns foundation and if i get
a chance.....Kaboom...
ANY Groundhog, Skunk, Opossum, Prairie dog, Coyote, within my
abilities to make a safe shot get to take the long nap.
And no it's not because i have a (blood lust) just waiting
to be satiated.
If you are a city person you just would'nt understand.

Chuck
 
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