The key to animal prevention is understanding what is attracting that animal to your property.
You’ve put a lot of work, time, and dedication into making your garden a lush, beautiful part of your property. The last thing you’d want is for groundhogs to come and have their way with all your hard work. Groundhogs are known to live in fields, pastures, and gardens like yours, so to keep them from gravitating toward similar landscapes around your home there are measures you can take that will keep them away. Follow this guide for protecting your garden from groundhogs.
Understanding Groundhogs
The key to animal prevention is understanding what is attracting that animal to your property. Groundhogs weigh anywhere between 4 and 14 pounds. They eat about one-third their body weight every day and adults are about 16 inches in length. One of the most notable habits of groundhogs is the way they burrow into the ground. The burrows go as far as 4-feet deep and about 15 to 25 feet horizontally. You can find a burrow by a fresh pile of soil that surrounds the entrance. If you have a vegetable garden, it’s likely that the groundhogs are attracted to your peas, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, beans, or squash. If you have a flower garden, the groundhogs may be making a meal out of your daisies, lilies, pansies, marigolds, or sunflowers.
Scare Them Away
One of the first ways you can protect your garden from groundhogs is by scaring them away. They are generally known to be shy creatures who don’t like noise and jolting movements. Use windchimes, pinwheels, and other similar items to keep them from sticking around your noisy property.
Fencing
Another tactic you can use to prevent groundhogs from destroying your garden is by fencing them out. It’s not as simple as installing a fence — groundhogs can climb short fences and borrow under others; you’ll need a method designed specifically for the animals. Use chicken wire at least 6-feet tall with 5-foot posts. You’ll use the extra foot of chicken wire at the top to bend away from your property, preventing the groundhogs from climbing over.
Catch and Release
You should leave this method to animal-control professionals who have the proper tools and techniques to remove the groundhogs from your property. They’ll use humane methods of setting live traps and using some of their favorite meals to bait them into the traps. They’ll then be trapped and relocated.
Have an Animal Problem on Your Property? Give Us a Call!
Shumaker’s Animal Control has over 25 years of experience in the animal and pest control field. Whatever your problem, we can help remedy the situation and restore your home (or yard) back to normal. Give us a call at (443) 854-8072 or contact us online today to see how we can help you! For more information on household and neighborhood pests and how to protect your family, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
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