Asked on May 10, 2017
How can I get rid of a groundhog under my deck?
+3
I have tried all the "internet fixes" of baiting with gum, cantaloupe, dirty cat litter, toxic gasses, live traps, etc and this female groundhog prevails! The local feed and seed felt so bad for me they gave me more toxic bombs for free. In order to get to her entry points I have to cut the floorboards of my deck. Anyone have a trick that really works? She keeps digging holes and it is compromising the stability of my deck supports as well as the need to cut the flooring. Help!
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install an exclusion barrier, a steel mesh fence, that goes all the way around the perimeter of the shed or deck. It needs to go at least 18 inches underground, with the bottom curving outward, to stop diggers like groundhogs from just digging underneath. If you install such a fence right away, while the animal is still living under there, you can leave one little spot open as a prime place to set a trap or even a one-way exclusion door that lets it go out for the last time, but not back in.
We had a ground hog living under our deck. We tried everything, but she was too smart for a live trap. We caught two small possums, but no ground hog. So I did some research. I bought a bottle of fox urine. Yes, that is right, fox urine. I sprayed it all around the deck and especially the area that I knew she could get in at. I did this every few days to make sure the scent did not wear off. The ground hog left and we never saw it again. Fox are their natural enemy. It was not expensive and it did not harm anything. It has been three years and we have not had any critters to come back. We also blocked the area where any critter could get under our deck, once we were sure she was gone.
Yep, Fox or Coyote Urine in powder form. I mix it lightly with the top of the soil along with sprinkling it on top. Gophers and moles worst enemy is a fox and/or coyote. I'm sure the spray works real well too. I could only find it at my local nursery. Plus it was a great excuse to check out the new plants too. I still wonder how they get all that urine out of those poor animals to make it into a powder form. Don't really want to know.
I have a BIG FAT groundhog who has been around many years and never bothered my plants or shrubs until this year. Found a new way to stop him. I used a long screw driver and a box of regular black pepper. About every six inches I would poke a hole with the screw driver and move it back and forth so the hole would be wider and made it easier to pour a couple of teaspoons down the hole. Then tamped the dirt back a little. I had to laugh because he moved to the other side of the house. Used the same method there as well. Thought I saw him at my neighbor's house yesterday...Snort!