Groundhogs have long been a problem for farmers and homeowners alike. When populations surge, they will damage crops and food plots. Farmers have wide open areas on which they can practice groundhog control by shooting. However, such control measures are not an option when groundhogs move in around our homes in residential neighborhoods and this problem seems to be on the rise.
As groundhogs learn to live in populated areas, they have become more difficult to control. They have few natural predators and their shy personality makes them difficult to deal with. Around the home, groundhogs will feed on just about any plant or flower. Groundhogs will damage plants quickly with this feeding. They particularly like tomatoes, fruit or any ground growing vegetable. Most weekend gardeners will attest to the persistence these stocky creatures will demonstrate when trying to get to a certain crop they want.
GROUNDHOG BIOLOGY
Groundhogs are members of the squirrel family. They are the largest of all squirrels and are commonly known as groundhogs or groundpigs. Though distributed across the United States, there are some regions which don’t have any of the six species.
Groundhogs are stocky. They weigh 5-15 lbs when mature and have short ears and legs relative to their body. In northern states, groundhogs will hibernate. They like to feed in the early morning and late afternoon. However, it is common to see them lying in the sun around their burrows.
Groundhogs reproduce once a year and produce litters which have 4-8 young. Populations usually don’t grow too large yet they mere existence can cause economic damage. They will readily burrow under the slabs of homes which leads to structural problems. More devastating are the broken legs and other injuries horses and cattle sustain from stepping in a burrow. This is why horse farms, cattle ranches and any farm which has large livestock must keep groundhog populations to a minimum.
The main problem with groundhogs is their need to eat vegetation. Groundhogs are good climbers and will readily forage onto trees to steal apples. But they’re equipped well to dig and will readily harvest most any garden vegetable they can find like carrots.
GROUNDHOG DETERRENTS
There are two main ways to repel ground hogs from your yard and garden. For specific plants, liquid repellents can help. But they’re not permanent and need to be applied monthly. Sound repellents are ore permanent and once set up and positioned in the area you want to protect, sound repellers can be all that is needed to keep groundhogs off your land.
GROUNDHOG SPRAY AWAY CHASER
Around the home, most groundhog problems are due to damage they cause eating plants. There are two liquid groundhog deterrents which will chase them away.
So if they have a lot of food available and you only notice them browsing on your land intermittently, you can treat desirable plants with a product called PEST AWAY.
This spray tastes terrible and will stop groundhogs from feeding on any plant you spray. When other food sources are available, Pest Away will cause the animal to find another plant for dinner.
SOUND CHASER REPELLER
For nesting ground hogs who have made holes in the ground, the above deterrents will not be strong enough. To get rid of nesting ground hogs, you’ll need to gas their dens and then set up our sound repellers.
FIRST GAS THEIR DENS
GIANT DESTROYERS are easy to use and should be placed down any burrow or hole you find. Seal the top as shown in the following video and you’ll effectively render the burrow unusable.
1-2 sticks will take care of any ground hog burrow. If they’re down the burrow when you gas them they most likely will not survive the treatment. If they’re not in the burrow, they won’t use it again assuming the bulk of the fumes stays in the den as seen in the video above.
NEXT SET OUT OUR SOUND REPELLERS
One of the easiest ways to keep groundhogs off your property is to install ULTRA SOUND REPELLERS. These devices send out ultra sound by default. Ultra sound is in a frequency humans cannot detect but animals can. And some of these frequencies are disturbing to animals. Groundhogs definitely do not like these sounds and will stay out of areas where they detect it. By installing units along property borders, you can keep groundhogs from entering your yard. Units can be configured to “always on” by powering them with the included AC power supply. Alternatively you can power them with batteries and rely on their motion detector to trigger the mechanism. Either way, these units can keep groundhogs from entering gardens and destroying plants.
So if you have groundhogs active in fields surrounding your yard and don’t want them nesting in your property, set units up pointed to where they might enter. If you already have active animals, use the included power supply if possible. We have 33 foot and 66 foot electric cord extenders so if needed, you can reach units located far from the home. Cables can be buried in the ground too for discreet installations.
Each unit can protect up to 5,000 sq/ft and since they work “directional” like a flashlight, you can effectively point them in one direction and protect specific areas of the yard.
Other features of the unit include an optional “audible” sound. Generally this is not needed but if you are powering the units by batteries, using the audible sound turned up will make them more effective.
There is also an included remote wireless key to power the unit on/off as needed. And we have many options including power cord extenders and mounting blocks making them suitable for any location and either power option.
For groundhogs, set the Operating Time to any of the 3 options depending on when your hogs are most active. If powered by batteries, set it to Motion Detector with sensitivity at “30”. Use audible sound too and set that to “40-80”. If powered by the included power supply AC brick, set the ultrasound to “Constant”, turn the “Sonic Volume” to the far left which will turn off all audible sound as you will not need this on. Remember, using the included power supply with the power always on will enable the unit to cover the most area as possible because the hogs will detect the unit from afar. But if you don’t have a nearby outlet for power, use batteries and understand the motion sensor will only trigger when target animals come within 40-50 feet of the unit. The Frequency (yellow knob) should be set in the middle regardless of the power option and in general, using batteries and motion detection will keep them away and out of the yard for good. Units should be placed 1-2 feet above ground and pointed in the direction where animals are entering as well as “over” the turf you want to protect. 
For easy installation, MOUNTING BLOCKS are handy. They can accept 1 or 2 repellers (picture to the right) and have a 1/2″ hole on their bottom so they will easily fit over a 1/2″ piece of rebar or any other wood or plastic stake. Ultra Sound Repellers will work fine by themselves as long as you have a good place to set them up. But we highly recommend getting the Units with Mounting Blocks in the kits we offer. Mounting Blocks allow you to place units anywhere and they will save time too.
We also feature several accessories for our sound repeller including POWER CORD EXTENDERS (33 FEET AND 66 FEET), CIGARETTE LIGHTER POWER ADAPTER, ALLIGATOR CLIP POWER CORD and AC POWER SUPPLY REPLACEMENTS.
GROUNDHOG TRAPPING
Trapping groundhogs is another method that is highly effective since trapping is both easy and permanent. Trapped animals can be destroyed or relocated and if they’re nesting on your property, this may be your best solution.
We have two kinds of traps that can be effective on groundhogs. Live traps are essentially wire cages which catch targeted groundhogs once they enter and trigger the door closed by walking over the trip pan. Kill traps will “crush” the groundhog and kill it in seconds. Both are highly effective when deployed properly.
BEST GROUNDHOG LIVE TRAP
In general, live trapping groundhogs is easy. Just identify where the groundhog is active and set out our model LT111230 which measures 11″ wide by 12″ tall by 30″ long. Its easy to set and carry around and will comfortably fit any ground hog.
This is a commercial grade, heavy duty trap which also comes with a sliding rear door. This door is super handy for both trap maintenance, baiting and animal release.
If you have a den close by and can fit a trap over the hole, our LT111236BD could be the easiest option of all. It features a bottom opening used to “cover” den holes for animals like groundhogs, ground squirrels, badger and more. When animals emerge from their den, they’ll pop up inside the trap with only one direction to go: deep into the trap where the trip pan is set.
Basically you’ll want to keep the front sliding door “down” during the set. Next, set the trap and place it directly over the hole. Exiting groundhogs will have to enter the trap since it will have no where else to go. Once inside it will get trapped and the bottom entrance IS NOT PART OF THE HOLDING SECTION.
This ensures the trapped animal cannot get away. This trap is so effective you generally don’t have to use bait it but we still recommend you do just to ensure the animal moves over the trip pan.
GROUNDHOG TRAP BAIT
To be successful live trapping, you need a good groundhog bait. Our bait is made with a leafy vegetable mix groundhogs can’t resist. Place some at the traps entrance and little more on the trip pan. Next, place 1-2 oz on a paper plate or the bottom half of a dixie cup behind the trip pan. TRAPPERS CHOICE FORMULA I and FORMULA II will get the attention of any groundhog in the yard and can be placed over carrots or broccoli for extra “eye” appeal.
USE GROUNDHOG TRAILING SCENT TO LURE THEM CLOSE
Since groundhogs can travel far for a meal, you could have hogs coming from an acre away and targeting a range of your landscape. Trying to trap these animals can be a challenge.
To help them focus, use TRAPPERS CHOICE TRAILING SCENT. This is another food based lure but different in that it does not work by “visible” contact. Instead it works by volatilizing in the air creating a strong aroma and scent that will travel acres.
It comes packaged in a small eye-drop like dispenser which is easy to use. Place a drop or two at the traps entrance and then out and away from the trap by squeezing a single drop every foot and in a line 10-30 feet out.
The idea is to create a large area which smells good to the chuck. Once it enters the scented zone it will find detect the smell, get focused and find its way to your trap. Available in two flavors like the bait, be sure to match up the trailing scent with the right formula you get. So if you start with formula 1 bait, get trailing scent 1.
Once caught, relocate the animal at least 5 miles away. Try to release it early in the morning in an area where it will readily find food and shelter. Since groundhogs are easy targets once removed from their den, you must be careful when relocating. If left with no food or ground suitable for a burrow, they will quickly die.
GROUNDHOG KILL TRAPS
If you’re not interested in trapping groundhogs alive, consider a kill trap. These are devices generally used by professional trappers but if you follow our guidelines on how to make a set and you have a good location to make a set on your land, deploying these traps can be an efficient way to control groundhogs.
Kill traps are work instantly and do so with little discomfort for the animal. They work by snapping shut over the animals head leading to instant death.
Groundhogs are easy to trap this way since the trap can be set right over their dens. When the animal tries to exit, it will hit the trigger of the trap with it’s head leading to its death.
Bodygrip traps come in many sizes but the BODYGRIP 220 is the best one suited for groundhogs. They need to be placed over den holes. Simply laying them over a hole that is relatively flat and horizontal can do the job. When the ground hog emerges, he’ll trigger the trap leading to a quick demise.
If the hole is on the side of a mound, more vertical, you’ll want to secure the trap using a TRAP STAND. This device effectively holds the trap in a “standing” position. You can also use this in front of trails through fences, hedges, etc. where groundhogs are known to be active.
The Trap Stand comes with either a long rebar stake for securing it to the ground. Additionally, it is suggested that you attach the traps chain to another stake or other secured anchor. This will help prevent the hog from falling back into the den with your trap. It will also prevent a predator dragging the trap away which they have been known to do just to get a meal.
For upright sets, use a trap stand.
Lastly, if you’re new to trapping, get a pair of TRAP SETTERS. The springs of the Bodygrip are quite strong and the Setters will give you leverage to close the spring and make a safe set.
CONTACT US
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Kim Klickna says
Once you kill a groundhog with a bodygrip trap, is it hard to get the dead animal out of the trap?
Tech Support says
Not at all. The trap doesn’t cut into them; it merely grabs them and holds on tight. Once trapped, removing the animal is a lot like setting the trap but not quite as hard since you don’t have to start from the beginning. In fact, in most cases you only need to pull the trap apart a bit and the animal will drop right out.
Bodygrip 220: https://bugspray.com/traps/conibear/body-grip-220-7-x-7