You’re familiar with the fun tongue-twister: “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
And the answer: “A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!” Or the worse answer: “If a woodchuck could chuck wood, a woodchuck would chuck would, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood!”
The real question is why are groundhogs, which are also called woodchucks, called woodchucks when they dig dirt?
Check out top tips for groundhog removal here. If you’re in need of some humane groundhog removal, call Done Right Pest Solutions at 651-342-9489.
Table of Contents
- Groundhog activity & diet
- Tips for DIY groundhog removal
- Professional immediate removal & live-trapping services
- Conclusion & next steps
Groundhog Activity & Diet
Groundhogs like wooded areas, not far from rivers or lakes. They are a low-land mammal. As a result, folks living in cities along rivers and lakes are more likely to have groundhog activity in their yards. Some examples of common cities we get calls about groundhogs or woodchucks are Stillwater, MN; Bayport, MN; Lakeland, MN; Hudson, WI; Hastings, MN; and Prescott, WI.
Groundhogs or woodchucks are herbivores; they’ll eat plants, roots, fruit and veggies from gardens, bark from trees. It’s not uncommon to find a groundhog nibbling on food from your garden, or digging burrows nearby or under a deck.
A fun fact is that the groundhog is the largest rodent in the squirrel family.
Mating season is in April to May, and the mothers would give birth in May to June. So it is not uncommon to see groundhog activity in your yard around this time, as the mothers are nesting, having babies, and then raising them and weaning them. Once the babies are weaned from the mom (in a couple of weeks), they should leave the yard.
So if you can wait a few weeks, we’d recommend waiting it out, and then filling in the holes they’ve dug, repairing any damage they’ve created.
Though, if they’ve come to your yard once, it’s not uncommon either for them to return year after year during this time period. They can be pesky, but other than some yard damage, for the most part, they are not dangerous or destructive.
A pro tip is to go over as many bridges and under bridges, cross over rivers and railroad tracks, etc. to try to confuse the woodchuck, if you are live trapping them on your own.
Tips for DIY Groundhog Removal
The best way to ensure that the groundhogs or woodchucks leave for good is to live trap them and physically bring them elsewhere. This can be quite the process though, and we would recommend immediate action prior to any babies are born. The babies wouldn’t be able to survive without the mother, and it would be a lot of work to catch the whole family.
Get a large animal live trap from a home improvement store like Menards or Home Depot. Use a bait like some fresh peaches or nectarines. Once you catch the groundhog or woodchuck, you need to drive it over 25 miles away, because these rodents are smart! One of the smartest, if not the smartest!
A pro tip is to go over as many bridges and under bridges, cross over rivers and railroad tracks, etc. to try to confuse the woodchuck, if you are live trapping them on your own.
Best to simply remove the woodchuck or groundhog from your property and simply take it elsewhere to have its babies. 🙂
Remember to relocate the animal prior to 24-hours once its caught in your trap. Legally pest controllers need to relocate animals prior to 24-hours once an animal is caught. Being caught in a trap is highly traumatic for an animal, so its best to relocate the groundhog ASAP!
photo courtesy of co-owner Kelly Rogotzke
Professional Immediate Removal & Live-Trapping Services
Done Right Pest Solutions does offer live-trapping services for squirrels, possums, and raccoons during our off season (November-April). But chances are you might need groundhog removal during May or June, maybe even later in the year. If that is case, we’d recommend you DIY your groundhog removal. But, if you cannot DIY your woodchuck removal, we’d recommend our immediate removal service.
We use a carbon dioxide machine to smoke the groundhog burrow in the evening or on a rainy day. This will humanely kill the groundhog and you can fill the hole after the service.
Remember to relocate the animal prior to 24-hours once its caught in your trap. Legally pest controllers need to relocate animals prior to 24-hours once an animal is caught. Being caught in a trap is highly traumatic for an animal, so its best to relocate the groundhog ASAP!
Conclusion & Next Steps
We hope you’ve learned a lot about groundhog activity and groundhog diets. We gave some good DIY groundhog removal tips or DIY woodchuck removal tips. Ultimately, we prefer if you could live trap them on your own so these rodents can live. We did detail our immediate removal service, however.
If you’re in need of some tips and tricks for your specific groundhog issue, feel free to call or text us at 651-342-9489. You can also email us at any time: donerightpestsolutions@gmail.com.
We look forward to helping you with your woodchuck issue.
We’re here when you need us,
Done Right Team