Woodchuck Prevention – Humane Wildlife Removal

How to Prevent Woodchucks

When you think of pest rodents, you’re more likely to think of mice or rats, rather than woodchucks. However, woodchucks are as much as a problem as their other rodent brethren. Here’s how to spot woodchucks, and prevent them from getting onto your property.

Why Prevent Woodchucks?

Firstly, why would you need to prevent woodchucks? The problem with them is that they’re very destructive. They make their homes in burrows, digging them 45 feet in some cases. They’ll need entrances to those burrows, so they’ll create holes all over your yard if they get in.

Those holes are a serious danger. If you or your pets like to use the yard, then a hidden hole is a serious problem. It’s so easy to fall into the hole and become injured. This is something you want to avoid, especially if you have children. At best, it can lead to a sprained ankle. At worst, it could easily be a broken leg.

Another reason to prevent woodchucks is that they gnaw on whatever they can. Like mice, they have front teeth that are always growing. They’ll gnaw on anything in order to keep them in check. That could be tree bark, or it could be power cables. You don’t want to take that chance.

Finally, if you’re an avid gardener then you’ll want to keep them out of your yard. They prefer plants as their main food source, although they’ll also go for fruit, or even food that is thrown away in your trash. Keeping them out of your yard means that your plants are safe.

How to Prevent Woodchucks

There are plenty of reasons why you would want to keep woodchucks out of your home. Here’s just a few ways you can stop them from making their home in your yard.

Remove the food sources: This is the main reason why woodchucks are staying on your property. If it’s an easy food source, why would they go elsewhere? You need to remove as much food as possible to make your home look less inviting.

If you have fruit trees, clear away fruit as quickly as possible when it falls to the ground. You’ll also want to ensure that you’ve removed access to your trash, having tightly closing garbage cans that they can’t get into. Getting rid of plants is harder, especially if you’re cultivating them. Some find it difficult to totally eradicate the food source, as woodchucks eat almost everything that grows in your garden.

Plug up the holes: As the woodchucks make burrows, they’ll leave holes that allow them to enter and leave at certain points. Some homeowners choose to plug them up, leaving one empty that the woodchucks can escape from. Some don’t like to do this though, as it requires the use of cement. If you like to keep a tidy garden, the cement patches will look unsightly.

Using deterrents: There are several ways you can deter woodchucks from your property. Many like to go down the deterrents route as it means the woodchucks won’t be harmed. A lot of people choose to use sudsy ammonia or cloudy ammonia to repel woodchucks.

It’s poured into their burrows, enough that it will travel all the way down. The process is repeated until the woodchucks are driven out.

Others like to use mothballs in a similar way, as it puts the creatures off staying in those burrows. You can also simulate the presence of a predator, which will encourage them to vacate the area. Fox urine is most commonly used for this task. Finally, you can buy electronic devices that are designed to repel the woodchucks.

Trapping: Finally, trapping and releasing woodchucks is a good way to remove them from your home. These use bait to convince the woodchuck to check out the trap. Once they’re in, they’re trapped, and you can take them elsewhere to release them. Be warned, they do get aggressive when trapped, so take caution as you move the trap.

There are several ways you can convince woodchucks that your yard isn’t a great place to be. You can repel them with electronic devices, mothballs, or ammonia. You can remove their food sources, and trap them so you can relocate them.