🚀 go-pugleaf

On Jun 20, 8:48 am, Here...@Home.org (Jack) wrote:
> The east side property line is a paradise for woodchucks -- which are
> called groundhogs here -- because it is defined by a line of about 50
> mulberry and black cherry trees.  There's also a barbed wire fence.
>
> The 'hogs are smart enough to excavate connecting burrows on either
> side of the fence.  This eliminates the use of smoke bombs because you
> need access to clog-up each hole.  That's hard to do with a barbed
> wire fence. Those battery-powered noisemaking stakes don't work
> either.  Instead of being driven away by the noise, the 'hogs attack
> and destroy them.  The best solution the past 32 years has been a 12
> gauge shotgun, but 'hogs ain't easy to hunt.  They are wary, and enjoy
> excellent eyesight, hearing, and olfaction.
>
> Had a guest who suffered a sprained ankle by inadvertently stepping
> into a hole.  On another occasion a tractor wheel got stuck and it was
> hell trying to free it.  Last year a 'hog ignored the vacant burrows
> along the east side and started a new one under the house foundation.
> But the worst problem are the piles of dirt and rocks outside the
> burrows.  You have two options on mowing day: rake the debris back
> into the hole, or carefully mow around the piles.  The second option
> is better because if you continually rake the debris back into the
> hole, the 'hog gets pissed-off and starts a new hole.  Don't need any
> new burrows.
>
> On the bright side, I wounded one today, looked like a big alpha male.
> A wound is as good as an outright kill because the infection will
> finish him shortly.  But the news spread fast.  Not a half hour later,
> a smaller one scampered along the row apparently to claim the more
> desirable burrow where the big guy lived and which features both a
> white and black mulberry tree within a few feet of it.

Get a bunch of Giant Destroyer bombs, dump in hole and cover them up,
but not if your home or a neighbor is downwind. I used them in my
basement and cleaned out everything living, even myself.

On Jun 20, 9:48 am, Here...@Home.org (Jack) wrote:
> The east side property line is a paradise for woodchucks -- which are
> called groundhogs here -- because it is defined by a line of about 50
> mulberry and black cherry trees.  There's also a barbed wire fence.
>
> The 'hogs are smart enough to excavate connecting burrows on either
> side of the fence.  This eliminates the use of smoke bombs because you
> need access to clog-up each hole.  That's hard to do with a barbed
> wire fence. Those battery-powered noisemaking stakes don't work
> either.  Instead of being driven away by the noise, the 'hogs attack
> and destroy them.  The best solution the past 32 years has been a 12
> gauge shotgun, but 'hogs ain't easy to hunt.  They are wary, and enjoy
> excellent eyesight, hearing, and olfaction.
>
> Had a guest who suffered a sprained ankle by inadvertently stepping
> into a hole.  On another occasion a tractor wheel got stuck and it was
> hell trying to free it.  Last year a 'hog ignored the vacant burrows
> along the east side and started a new one under the house foundation.
> But the worst problem are the piles of dirt and rocks outside the
> burrows.  You have two options on mowing day: rake the debris back
> into the hole, or carefully mow around the piles.  The second option
> is better because if you continually rake the debris back into the
> hole, the 'hog gets pissed-off and starts a new hole.  Don't need any
> new burrows.
>
> On the bright side, I wounded one today, looked like a big alpha male.
> A wound is as good as an outright kill because the infection will
> finish him shortly.  But the news spread fast.  Not a half hour later,
> a smaller one scampered along the row apparently to claim the more
> desirable burrow where the big guy lived and which features both a
> white and black mulberry tree within a few feet of it.

The Sister-in-law tends to soak slices of cantaloupe with antifreeze
and drop some in the groundhog holes when they get to be too much.

Jack wrote:
> The east side property line is a paradise for woodchucks -- which are
> called groundhogs here -- because it is defined by a line of about 50
> mulberry and black cherry trees.  There's also a barbed wire fence.
> 
> The 'hogs are smart enough to excavate connecting burrows on either
> side of the fence.  This eliminates the use of smoke bombs because you
> need access to clog-up each hole.  That's hard to do with a barbed
> wire fence. Those battery-powered noisemaking stakes don't work
> either.  Instead of being driven away by the noise, the 'hogs attack
> and destroy them.  The best solution the past 32 years has been a 12
> gauge shotgun, but 'hogs ain't easy to hunt.  They are wary, and enjoy
> excellent eyesight, hearing, and olfaction.
> 
> Had a guest who suffered a sprained ankle by inadvertently stepping
> into a hole.  On another occasion a tractor wheel got stuck and it was
> hell trying to free it.  Last year a 'hog ignored the vacant burrows
> along the east side and started a new one under the house foundation.
> But the worst problem are the piles of dirt and rocks outside the
> burrows.  You have two options on mowing day: rake the debris back
> into the hole, or carefully mow around the piles.  The second option
> is better because if you continually rake the debris back into the
> hole, the 'hog gets pissed-off and starts a new hole.  Don't need any
> new burrows.
> 
> On the bright side, I wounded one today, looked like a big alpha male.
> A wound is as good as an outright kill because the infection will
> finish him shortly.  But the news spread fast.  Not a half hour later,
> a smaller one scampered along the row apparently to claim the more
> desirable burrow where the big guy lived and which features both a
> white and black mulberry tree within a few feet of it.

I remember seeing a story of a fellow modifying a parking
lot vacuum cleaner truck with a large diameter hose to pull
prairie dogs out of their burrows. I'm sure something like
that would do the same for woodchucks.

http://tinyurl.com/muej9s

TDD

Jack wrote:
> The east side property line is a paradise for woodchucks -- which are
> called groundhogs here -- because it is defined by a line of about 50
> mulberry and black cherry trees.

You have a woodchuck population only because you have all those mulberry and 
cherry trees, they play a major part of their food supply.  Even if you do 
away with some woodchucks new ones will arrive so long as those trees are 
there. You cannot have those trees if you don't want those woodchucks.  The 
only reasonable solution is to make that area a woodchuck sanctuary, pile in 
lots of big rocks and build lots brush piles under all those trees... the 
woodchucks will be happy, you won't need to mow there, and the woodchucks 
will not encroach to where there is no food supply.  I have some woodchucks 
but they stay near the brush piles I made way out in my woods alongside some 
old rock walls... wood chucks like to burrow under large rocks.  Of course I 
don't have 50 fruit trees there either.  Your fruit trees are what's known 
as an attractive nuisance... if you harvested all that fruit most of the 
woodchucks would leave.  Most mulberry trees produce fruit all summer, how 
can you in good conscience complain about woodchucks when it's you who are 
feeding them.