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Woodchucks or groundhogs can greatly damage a garden.
How to Prevent Groundhogs from Invading Your Garden
Do you have trouble with these burrowing pests? Here are tips for identifying and getting rid of groundhogs in your yard and garden.
What Are Groundhogs?
If every day is Groundhog Day in your garden, you’ll probably agree with those who call that gluttonous rodent their least favorite backyard creature. Even skunks get more respect. Speaking of Groundhog Day, find out the origins of that funny holiday.
The problem is that groundhogs—also known as woodchucks or whistle-pigs—are binge eaters who can wipe out your vegetable garden in a matter of minutes. They climb, they burrow, they swim, and they eat—an adult consumes about a pound to a pound-and-a-half of vegetation daily. Between spring and fall, they double their body weight.
Do Groundhogs Hibernate?
Yes, they do! Soon after they emerge from a winter’s hibernation, they mate, giving birth in mid-spring—at a time when the pickings are at their slimmest. Neat rows of seedlings must look like manna from heaven to hungry groundhogs, who sometimes perch on garden fence posts as if they are looking over the salad bar.
When hibernating, groundhogs—who are never speedy—really slow down, drawing a breath only about once every 5 minutes. Hibernation is curious behavior: Barely breathing, these mammals cool off to just a few degrees above the ambient temperature, sometimes as low as 39º to 40ºF. Their metabolic rate drops, and they sleep profoundly in their winter dens, neither eating nor drinking for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 months, drawing all their nourishment from the body fat they accumulated during the summer. No wonder they eat so much!
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Identification
How to Identify Groundhogs
Members of the squirrel family, groundhogs are squarish, stocky animals that typically weigh between 4 and 14 pounds. They have short, strong legs, coarse, grizzled, gray-brown fur, small ears, a short, bushy tail, and curved claws. Groundhogs look a bit like runaway fur coats as they waddle back to their burrows. This critter can grow to be about 3 feet long. They have large, competent, chisel-like teeth that make them efficient but not quite endearing.
Are you wondering where groundhogs live? Do you see any deep tunnels in your yard, under your deck, or near your foundation? You may have a groundhog. Groundhogs dig burrows to live in, and the entrances are usually 10 to 12 inches wide, with the excavated soil spread around them. There are usually two or three entrances.
Groundhog Damage
What do groundhogs eat? Everything from flowers to vegetables. Favorite foods include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lettuce, broccoli, plantain, and soybeans. Groundhogs will often devour your seedlings before they even have time to grow. Rabbits and deer eat some of the same plants, so make sure to check for burrows before concluding that you have groundhogs. If you don’t have vegetables around, groundhogs will settle for twigs, bark, bugs, and blossoms.
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.
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