Groundhogs are diggers. They excavate tunnels and burrows underground, in which they live and raise young. The tunnel may have up to five entrances and 50 feet of total tunnel distance. They create a den to live in, and to hibernate in. They are primarily active during the daytime. They can climb and swim, but they mostly stay in fields, foraging. When they sense danger, they retreat for the tunnel. Woodchucks can create a wide variety of vocal noises. They grow fat during the summer, lethargic by autumn, and in winter, they hibernate. They emerge in spring and start the mating process
There are two ways to handle a groundhog problem. The first to simply capture (trap and remove) the nuisance groundhogs that are living under your structure. However, with a trapping/removal-only program we will only provide no warranty against other animals getting in because, as we mentioned before, a quiet groundhog den is an attractive place for occupancy by many other animals including new groundhogs.
Which leads us to the second, and infinitely more effective, way to get rid of groundogs living under your deck or shed. An exclusion on that structure (in conjunction with a trapping and removal program) will prevent future animals from gaining access. In an exclusion, a trench is dug around the structure below the ground, then wire is attached to the bottom of the structure and led down into the ground in an L-fashion, so that the wire looks like a book laying on its side. The trench is then back-filled, leaving your structure with a permanent barrier to keep groundhogs, skunks, and other ground-dwelling animals out – for good! In the case of a proper exclusion, we offer our full 1-year written warranty against new animals gaining access under the structure.
Litters of 2 – 9 babies are born around the end of March or early April, although they will not venture out of the den for up to 6 weeks.
