Rounding Up the Groundhogs
We may love this little critter when it pops its head out of its hole on Groundhog Day, but when they cross the line to digging holes in our fences and destroying our gardens and crops, people tend to forget about how cute they are and focus more on the damage they cause. While many seem to turn to hunting to deal with these little rascals, there are plenty of other, more groundhog-friendly ways to rid yourself of this pest.
Putting up a good, sturdy fence should be your first line of defense against the groundhog. While you can’t put one around an entire farm, they work perfectly for protecting gardens and food plots. You’ll want to build your fence out of either heavy poultry wire or 2-inch woven mesh wire, and it needs to be at least three feet high away from the ground. You have to bury the fence at least 6 inches deep to prevent any groundhogs from just digging their way under it, and you’ll want to bend the bottom 6 inches in an L shape and have it pointed outwards, away from your garden, meaning you’ll be burying an entire 12 inches of the bottom of your fence. For added protection you can also place electric wire around 4 inches outside the fence and 4 inches above the ground. This will keep any animals from climbing or burrowing their way in.
You can also try and frighten groundhogs away with scarecrows or other frightening figures. You can add in a bit of radio at times to help deter unwanted visitors. Before trying anything more dangerous to rid yourselves of pesky groundhogs, you definitely want to check with the professionals and ask for their advice as well as whether they might be needed to remove the critters. Do not even think of going near or touching a wild animal like a groundhog, no matter how cute they might be. Leave them to the professionals please.
Have you ever had a groundhog problem in your yard or garden? What did you do about it?
