Non-leathal groundhog help?

[hissyfit]

Anything I can put out that will discourage the bugger? Preferably inexpensive? I don't want it hurt. He's wiped out my cabbage and brussel sprouts twice. >:( Hubby actually made little metal cages to put over them, thinking that when they were bigger and tougher, he'd leave them alone. Took the cages off and, gone!!-mowed down!!, the next morn. Not bothering the peas. He tasted each tomato plant but didn't like them, thank God.

I even took cat hair and put clumps by each plant, thinking that would work. Nope.

[mom2]

I have trouble with them eating my roses. Make wire cages out of chicken wire or screen wire and plant in them. Was at my cousins yesterday and she had big problem with moles eating her plants so she just puts a big pot in the ground and pants int he pot.

Otherwise get a rat terrier or some other such dog - they will rout them out and kill them.

[DM]

Just shoot it and be done with it... It's not like your's is the last one on the planet... lol

Second choise, buy a live trap, trap it/them and relocate them at least 10 miles away... Sadly, that will make them someone elses problem... :(

DM

[WRTN]

If the little rascals are too sneeky to catch in a trap or shoot out in the open, you can try a home version of the "Rodentinator". ;D Get a 20 lb. bottle of propane and attach a 10 foot hose to it. You will also need a 15 ft. or so long length of cannon fuse or some type of ignition device that will along you to move back at least 40 yards or so.

Place the hose and the fuse down into the ground hog hole as far as possible but leave enough fuse above ground and away from the hole to safely light and turn on the propane.

Turn on the propane. (this is the tricky part) Figuring how much propane to put down the hole. Too much and you will have a very dramatic blast. Too little and it will not be effective. Really deep and elaborate underground holes require a lot more propane.

You will have to experiment. The process should work something along the lines as shown in the below video. Be careful, use some good judgement, as well as eye and head protection.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=10128 711

[DM]

There's NO reason to light the propane... Propane is heavier than air, and it will sink down the hole, poisioning anything on the hole. 15 seconds of propane it all you need...

STAY AWAY from buildings doing this, or... well, you know...

DM

[hissyfit]

WRTN,

I'd like to keep my shed, thank you.
;D ;D ;D ;D

We just found some stuff called ShotGun RepellsAll we're going to try. It's supposed to work for up to three months. Hoping..

[bookwormom]

say, would propane work in mole holes too?

My MIL says groundhogs are good to eat.

if you move it away not only is it someone else's problem, the hog has a problem too, being in some other territory. I don't know what kind of habits groundhogs have, but most animals are pretty territorial, including humans. You would not like to have someone move into your yard.

[backlash]

*There's NO reason to light the propane... *Propane is heavier than air, and it will sink down the hole, poisioning anything on the hole. 15 seconds of propane it all you need...

*STAY AWAY from buildings doing this, or... *well, you know...

*DM
What do you mean no reason to light the propane?
Didn't you watch the video?
;D ;D

I have got to try that.
As a side note the city of Spokane, WA was blasting rodents and the local ASPCA had a fit. Don't know if they stopped or just didn't advertise what they are doing.
AC

[tomato204]

You have to decide who you want to survive the situation, you or the groundhog. If you really don't want to hurt the groundhog, plant him another garden.
You just have to be tough sometimes, it is literally you or him!

[idris]

I quick read of How to grow more vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine,by John Jeavons, I can only suggest get in gopher plants , a repellent, or a snake or raptor to eat it.
Easy way: trap and relocate or eat. :o



http://www.growbiointensive.org/publications_main.html (http://LINKADDRESS)

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Wouldn't simply having a dog keep it away? It works against wild rabbits, moles, etc. Of course the dog leaves big craters digging up moles, but they are gone.

[jonvee]

This may sound funny or wierd, but it works. A friend came over to see my yard and her hubby saw I had a gopher. He started gathering up all the dog poop and packed it down the hole. I haven't had a gopher since. I started doing that with the squirrel holes and it seems to work for them too.

[hissyfit]

This may sound funny or wierd, but it works. A friend came over to see my yard and her hubby saw I had a gopher. He started gathering up all the dog poop and packed it down the hole. I haven't had a gopher since. I started doing that with the squirrel holes and it seems to work for them too.
-----------------------------------------

I'd leave too if you packed my house full of sh*t!!!!!!!!

:o :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
That is too funnee, but it does make sense.

[hissyfit]

[quote author=idris link=board=flo-farm-garden;num=1241962596;start=0#9 date=05/11/09 at 20:07:03]I quick read of How to grow more vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine,by John Jeavons, I can only suggest get in gopher plants , a repellent, or a snake or raptor to eat it.
Easy way: trap and relocate or eat. :o


Did a quick read on the gopher plants-sounds interesting, except for being poisonous. But I don't plan to eat or bath in it :)

Y'all will laugh at what has worked. We put down the RepellsAll and because I don't trust just one thing, we put kid's pinwheels stuck in the ground near my plants. Makes a wherr noise. He hasn't ventured back. I see him ranging in the unplanted field behind the garden. Rabbits don't seem to like the pinwheels, either.

When I was little, I probably ate one. We were dirt poor. One kinda neat thing. My brother has our granny's banjo which has a groundhog skin on it, made by our father. Obviously, that banjo is precious to the family.

[Oldman]

hissyfit, I killed or caught 20+ groung hogs last year. The ones I caught I carried over beside the highway and turned them loose thinking they wouldn't be a problem there.
I have a friend that lives maybe a mile from where I turned them loose on the other side of the highway. I never thought they would cause someone else a problem, and especially a really good friend.
Kyle isn't growing a garden this year because the ground hogs tore his garden all up so bad last year and he said he was just too old to do all that work and feed wild animals.
He said that he had never had a problem with ground hogs before, so all I can think is it was all my fault for what he lost. I pretty much hate myself for that but I was doing what I thought was right at the time. I never thought they would go that far.
Nope, I don't have the heart to tell him where they probably came from.
I did carry my cage over there and set it up and tilled a couple rows for him and got him back into the garden again tho.
He's 78 years young as he calls it, fit as a bull, but I sure hated seeing the look on his face when I talked to him and he told me about the ground hogs.
Makes you feel really bad to know you caused someone else a problem like that.
My advice would be to kill every one of them you get a chance to. They are the most devistating animals I have ever came across, except for maybe the danged snake that bit me. Other than that, they are terrible in my book.
I will never relocate another one. If I get a half a chance, they are dead.
And they are supposed to be good eating. I grilled a few last year for the dog and cats but didn't have the stomach to taste it. But I am going to this year.
Several people said they are really good and if you stop and think about it, they eat a good diet. THEY LOVE BEANS, GREENS, etc., lol.
And they have taste testers too.
Nope. This tomato has too much acid.
Nope, this tomato isn't quite ripe yet.
Nope, this tomato is too ripe.
Nope, I don't like this cucumber. Too big
Nope, this ones to small.
And what gets me is they can ruin a garden in clear daylight. Water it in the morning and just think to yourself, I need to pick the beans this evening and they "HEAR" you think that.
They will have a meeting in the den and one of them says, he is going to pick his beans tonight so we only have 6 hours. Lets get everyone together, the party is on for high noon. It's too hot for him so we will be safe then.
I swear I think they do that, LOL.
Kill'em all.
Oldman

[hissyfit]

"the party is on for high noon"

Oh, God, that's funny! When we put the pinwheels out, husband said they were probably asking each other when's the party. ::) ;D ;D ;D ;D

Good post, Oldman

[Oldman]

When they can eat two and three rows of beans while I go to the store to buy two cases of mason jars, they had one heck of a party, LOL.
It's a wonder they could even waddle away when they heard the truck pull in. I have no idea how many they invited to the "parties" but they cleaned their plates.
I stopped on the high way about a mile from my house with every intention of shooting one standing on the bank as if he was king kong. I saw it, pulled over backed up, chambered a round and the he heard me "think" you are a dead sucker, and scampled away before I could get a shot at it.
I used to think they were cute as all get out. Well, I still do, but they will tear a garden down in an hour or two.
Dang the little devels. Give me a shot at one and it's going to the garden in the sky.
I have grown to hate the cute little suckers.
Oldman

[Oldman]

hissyfit, to answer your question in the OP, I am putting up an electric fence this year.
Between the deer, ground hogs and my own chickens I couldn't seem to keep pinned last year, I would guess they ate or destoryed close to $1,000 worth of produce last year.
That doesn't count all the plants I started that never got planted because I kept replanting what they ate.

I have asked on here and several other forums, and it seem like an electric fence is the only thing that will stop them.
I put up deer netting last year and the best it done was let them in and trap them inside long enough for me to get a shot at them. They would run into the net and get tangled long enough, and I couldn't have gotten a shot with out the net.
I am hoping the electric fence will keep them completly out, but I am still going to kill any I get a chance to.
Especially if I find that I like the taste of the meat which I am hopeing I will. If I don't, the dog and cats does anyway. ;D It is free food for someone or something anyway it goes.
Grown hogs, rats, poison snakes, goffers, etc. are on my to kill list. I would add politicians :o but I best not. ;)
I wish they were on everyones. The animals, I mean.
Oldman

[hissyfit]

Oldmam, let me know how the electric fence works out for you. We had gone sofar as to buy everything we needed and wound up returning it because we were told it wasn't a matter of you "might" get struck by lightning but "when". Was enough to scare me off because our house sits on the very top of a hill and we have been struck by lightning. Blew out the well relays, did other electrical damage and blew a hole out the siding. Just as I was trying to reassure little grandson storms were nothing to be afraid of. I still laugh about the grandson part. Oh, and it hit the above ground pool another time. I have no fear of storms-just a nice healthy respect for lightning now. ;D ;D ;D

[WileyCoyote]

How does the propane dissapate and what does it do to the surrounding soil?

[Anon001]

I don't think you have to worry about the propane dissipating. I think you ignite it.

[huckelberry]

you can take a 55 gal drum of water...dump it all at once down the hole,groundhog will pop to the surface of his other hole an is easy to shoot or catch....he can out dig a garden hose....but not 55 gallons all at once,ive done this an it works great ...if its a young animal,it will bbq up nicely.... ;D ;D ;D