How to Kill Woodchucks

Whether you call it a woodchuck or a groundhog, these chubby little rodents are widely known to be cute and harmless. Anyone who has ever had problems with them in their yard or in their garden will most certainly tell you otherwise. Woodchucks are not a threat to humans or pets, however, they have the potential to absolutely destroy your lawn and garden. These critters love to dig large, interconnecting tunnels with several access points. This allows them many places to enter and escape if they have to. If these tunnels get large enough, it can ruin much of your yard, and possibly even cause the yard to cave in certain areas. Luckily for homeowners and gardeners, there are many solutions to taking care of this problem. 

The purpose of this article is to inform the reader of how woodchucks can be killed by a variety of means.

Killing Woodchucks by Using Traps

There are many different traps that can be used to catch the woodchuck. Each trap makes more sense in a certain scenario, and it is really dependent on that. If you are in an area where pets are around, the best trap to use would be a cage trap. While not instantly lethal, these traps allow you to dispatch the critter on your own. A commonly used trap to catch and kill woodchucks quickly and humanely is the body grip trap. This trap works by applying spring tension to a trigger, which is then set off by the woodchuck. These are often set over the entrances to their burrows and are oftentimes very effective. Both the body grip and cage trap are the two most common types of traps used to catch woodchucks.

It is a good idea to time your trapping with the reproductive season of the woodchuck. One of the best times of the year to catch this critter is during the spring. This is before they have their babies, so that way there won’t be that many more little woodchucks you have to catch.

Killing Woodchucks by Using Poison

One of the most common methods of eliminating nuisance animals is by using a poison that kills relatively quickly. While there are no specific woodchuck poisons, one of the most commonly used poisons is simply just rat poison. It works by thinning the blood so much that by bumping into anything, the animal will internally bleed and die. One of the most commonly used ways to poison woodchucks is to put it right down in the entrance of their burrow. That way, it will hopefully not be found by pets or any other critters that shouldn’t come into contact with the poison. It is important to remember that pets can still get into this poison, which can be a serious issue.

Issues of Lethal Methods

Lethal methods are an excellent way to get rid of your woodchuck problem for good, because trapping and relocating oftentimes just shifts the burden onto someone else. It is important to understand that there are some important downsides to using lethal methods though. One of the biggest is that both poison and traps can hurt or even kill small children and pets.

 If you take special care to prevent this from happening, it won’t be a problem, but it is something to consider. Another potential issue with using a lethal method is taking care of the carcass of the dead woodchuck. These critters carry diseases in their bodies, and if someone or someone’s pet comes into contact with it, they could potentially contract a disease. Again, these are not huge issues if you take special care, however, they need to be strongly considered before blindly using lethal methods.

The Best Solution: Prevention

As with most nuisance animals, prevention is far easier than the trapping and removal of the animal. Prevention with woodchucks can take a couple of different forms. One of the most common is the idea of putting in a fence.

 Oftentimes, this would be a wire or wire mesh fence that extends below the ground several inches to a foot, as this can prevent burrowing. This can be a costly and time-intensive method, even though it is one of the most effective. An alternative prevention method would be the application of various scents that woodchucks don’t like around the perimeter of your yard. These include scents such as garlic, castor oil, and cayenne pepper. These scents make woodchucks avoid certain areas where they are applied. Mixing these chemicals with water and spraying it around your lawn is a costly and time-intensive venture, but it can definitely be successful in preventing woodchucks.

Live Trapping

One great option that people trying to remove woodchucks have is to catch the animals in cage traps and then release them in a wilderness area, far away from other homeowners. Not only is this a humane and safe way to remove woodchucks, but it is also an effective way to keep them from bothering other people’s yards and gardens. 

Whether you decide that live trapping or lethal methods work better for your situation, they will both be very effective at getting rid of the woodchucks destroying your yard and garden.

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