What do groundhogs look like?
Groundhogs are also known as woodchuck and belong to a large group of ground squirrels. It is a lowland creature and is found in much of the eastern United States across Canada and into Alaska as well. Adult groundhogs are usually 16 to 20 inches long with 6 inches of tail. They are usually brown, and grey blackish and have a squirrel-shaped body. It has completely black eyes and ears are short.
What do they eat?
Groundhogs feed on shrubs, herbs, sometimes small insects and ants. They usually eat vegetables and seasonal crops, and there is a chance that your field becomes vulnerable groundhogs find their hide-in there. They also eat grubs, grasshoppers, insects and other small animals but they are not omnivorous at all.
Use of sound to repel reptiles
Humans have different sound ranges while animals have different sounds. As an example, humans cannot hear high pitched sounds while dogs can hear high pitched sounds and are quite sensitive to such sound ranges. Similarly, it may be considered that using high pitched sounds can work against the groundhogs to repel them away from your yard. It is this theory that is used when people look at using an animal repellent that produces a high pitched sound.
Why does it not work?
You may be wondering whether high pitch sound will work against groundhogs or not? It does not work against them because groundhogs reside in the burrows which are underground and quite deep into the grounds. However, there is a device available on the market that operates on battery and is mobile. They can be installed anywhere and can serve the purpose of another reptile which dwells on the surfaces as opposed to groundhogs. They spend most of their time underground and may be insensitive to the high pitched sounds.
Other remedies
Other remedies can be used to repel the groundhogs away from the yard. It can be the use of certain chemicals, pepper or other mixture that we are suggesting here. Spread red pepper, black pepper or any other spices mixture near their burrows to keep them away from your house.
However, if the area to be cleared is large enough then you can mix these spices in water and spray them all over to ensure the large area has been covered effectively. You can also use garlic to keep them away from your house, but it is a tiring process. You may use your pet dog to scare the groundhogs away from your house. You may use eggs, crack the eggs and spread it all over the burrow and cover with dirt. It may help to keep groundhogs away. You may use fences and trappings to remove groundhogs.
Go back to the Baldwin County wildlife removal home page.