Ok, now for the creative powers to be let loose. I have a wood chuck, maybe a skunk, whom is digging a rather large burrow under my newest wood pile. The wood is up on pallets, and there is a rather sizeable pile of dirt coming out from under. These critters have to go. Open to all ideas except for firearms (we're in the city). I'm not yet willing to dismantle a cord and change of pile yet either.. Any ideas? Sca
More than likely a groudhog. I'm gonna go with a box trap as it will probably be the safest for non target animals. Neighbors pets etc. Place it so there is only one way out of the hole so the critter has to go in the trap. Cover the top and sides with an old rug or blanket so the little bugger only sees light at the other end of the trap. It may take a few days as they don't seem to come out everyday. Good luck.
This ^^ Then what? It's unlawful to relocate it. But that's exactly what I've done with them over the years. I release them on a back road that was wooded, near a small creek. Good luck!
The problem with releasing animals is that most have a good homing instinct and come back. Coons are great for this but many animals have it. In addition I could never understand taking your problem and dumping it onto your neighbors, even if the neighbor happens to be 10 miles away. I've always believed it is better to take care of the problem yourself. Woodchucks have always been a problem and farmers hate them because of the damage they can cause. The worst is another animal stepping in a hole and breaking a leg. Then there is equipment damage and then damage to buildings.
Isn't it wonderful living in the country where using a firearm to take care of a problem isn't a problem? I had to do just that last week.
Probably a gopher grenade. Light it, toss into the hole, and cover it. The stick burns and releases CO (I think). Home depot and other shops sell them.
Yes! Don’t make it someone else’s problem. Growing up about 5-10 minutes from a lot of neighborhoods, we’ve seen plenty of critters get dropped off on the dirt road directly across the street and we’ve had to shoot just about all of it.
I've had wood chucks decimate my garden in years past, so I may be biased here. At the risk of sounding cruel, I'm in favor of trapping and drowning it. It's a quiet and humane way to dispatch an animal.
I like the trap idea. If I have the time to roast the little fellow, im for it. As far as moving it, not sure I'd do that again, given the rules. I found woods pretty far away, and far from other people. Ive thought about smoking the little bugger out, but if the hole is too far under the pile, i won't even be able to reach it. Agway sells smoke bombs just for this purpose. But highway flares work just as well, if ya have several. This has worked in the past, but I've never dealt with a den under a wood pile before. Sca
If you can get a hose in the hole, just connect it to an exhaust pipe. Run for a bit and problem solved.
If you want to try trapping that groundhog, I have found that cantaloupe seems to work well for bait. You decide what to do after you have captured it.... Lead poisoning and garden fertilizer? A break action pellet gun will work in the city if neighbors don't object. Sub-sonic round, so not a lot of noise. Effective. I have not had good luck with the smoke bombs.
If you're really bound and determined not to move the pile of wood you could take a backhoe and start digging from in front of the pile of wood to where you think her nice little hidy-hole is. Being careful of course not to dig such a big hole the pile of wood falls in. If there were a pile of wood between me and a woodchuck I wanted gone the pile of wood would be moved already. I've gotten rid of them just by annoying the f*ck out of them filling her hole with rocks and even the dirt that was pushed out. Hang up the unwelcome sign and be prepared for her to dig a hole under another stack or shed that is a nice quiet spot right nearby.
