Bay 12 Games Forum
Finally... => Life Advice => Topic started by: femmelf on June 30, 2022, 10:50:31 am
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Jerk Groundhog:
There is a groundhog under my old broken down back shed. He comes out to sun himself and eat anything anyone grows. I would like to fix this broken down shed, but before I can, I thought I should get rid of him, because he is probably digging around and messing up the foundation. Also, he is eating everyone's vegetables, etc.
Exterminator:
I hired an exterminator. $175 for the trap, and $95 per animal.
So far we have set the trap twice and gotten 2 raccoons, which have to be killed by state law (there was a rabies incident about 8-10 years ago).
1.) This is a fairly wooded area, and I bet there are raccons galore. I can't keep setting this trap and paying $95 per animal, because there are probably who knows how many raccoons around here.
2.) How do I get the groundhog?
I was told he could be released into the woods far away from everyone if he was caught in a trap (unlike the raccoons).
At this point, I don't care anymore. He does not seem to care about the trap and is not falling for it. I would almost shoot him if I could.
What do I do?
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Are you allowed to buy and fire some sort of firearm?
The cheapest firearms + sufficient ammo should cost the same as two traps.
You can shoot him the next time he comes out to sun himself. You can also hopefully avoid shooting any racoons.
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Groundhogs are not stupid and as soon as they consider you to be a threat, they will start hiding from you. When they are in their burrow they have a keen awareness of nearby seismic vibrations. It really is a matter of how far you want to take it, because they know where the loot is and their biology demands it. But like any animal, if they are in a state of terror and not crippled and not protecting their young, they may move out.
Read this article about groundhog frustration (https://www.dirt-mag.com/from-the-editor/i-am-mr-mcgregor-NQDM20130708130709993) before you buy farmer's overall and a gun.
Also, if you have groundhogs, you might get rabbits too or even deer. How you protect the veggies will vary according to your opponent's method of attack. As mentioned in the article, animals may wait for some plants to bear fruit before they snack on them.
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Bad luck with this huge problems, i understand you. My home is full of cockroaches, ants, rats, but they don't break my basement and usually i feel good having companions so i feel okay, but a groundhog can break through your basement destroying all the work of the builders. I even give names to cockroaches, try naming the groundhog and calling it few times, and if he comes out TAKE OUT A SHOTGUN.
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Sometimes dead is better when it comes to this kind of thing, and a gun is the best way to make them dead.
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I have a groundhog (I think?) or rabbits digging holes right next to my house along the cement foundation. I'm astonished at how much dirt they can excavate.
Do I need to fill it with gravel? Can I scare them off with nasty chemicals? I don't have firearms.
I have considered trying to flood them out with a hose, but I don't want to eat dirt away from my foundation.
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You could turn the hose on low and slowly fill the holes with water, shouldn't damage the foundation anymore that the critters have.
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Also: Get Cats. They like killing other things.
Do you need cats? I have plenty. Please take my cats...
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Also: Get Cats. They like killing other things.
Do you need cats? I have plenty. Please take my cats...
+1 To cats, they're natures exterminators.
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Nothing gets your attention like the screaming of a young rabbit when a cat catches it... horrifying.
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Young possums too. My cat turned them into a socket puppet.
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For some reason, there are cats hanging around and they could care less about the groundhog. They'll get bunnies and birds, but for whatever reason, they don't seem to pay attention to the groundhogs. $500 later, the exterminator caught three racoon, but no groundhogs. I have half a mind to buy one of those stupid big traps like he used. The groundhog runs whenever it sees me, because it knows I'm not happy with it. At this point, I'd consider using poison or something, because nothing else has worked. I tried to pay to have him humanely relocated.... Apparently, no dice.
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For that much money you could have bought several live traps.
Also why don't you take a hose and flood the holes the groundhog goes into?
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It works but it can also damage your yard and create subsidence areas. And it can displace them but it won't necessarily stop them from coming back unless their burrows and the entrances to them were collapsed. Which, again, can lead to subsidence.
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Hm, the cats probably don't like hunting the groundhogs because the cats don't want to go into the tunnels to kill the groundhogs.
Essentially, the groundhogs are the Viet Cong.
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Bury the trap so only the groundhog can get to it and no one else.
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Not sure how to bury the trap. Odd thing, the exterminator repeatedly laid traps, and I saw the groundhog sniff at it once. He knew there's an apple with peanut butter on it in there. Passed.... The coons were all about it though. Racoons really don't get it for whatever reason.
I agree that the cats are probably full and happy off a diet of birds and bunnies, and sometimes garbage when they manage that. They just don't want to go outside their comfort zones and the person who said they don't want to follow groundhogs underground is probably right.
I agree that flooding is also probably a less advisable idea, because I'm pretty sure he's tunneled under the shed and yeah. That could wash away soil and stuff. No good solution there really.
I looked at traps and the ones he had probably cost about $150 a piece. So, yes, in hindsight I could have bought some for that much. Although, I know I would have had to kill whatever I trapped in there, which is kinda meh. Not a huge fan of that idea, but I don't know. I could probably do it, but that's another not so great thing. I don't have time, energy or ability to find a place to live relocate trapped animals myself, and in some cases it is illegal to do that. Sometimes, depending on the animal, (racoon) you have to kill them if you trap them.
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Just release the critter at night then on the side of some random road then no one can say it's illegal. Also you don't have to kill it if you catch it in a live trap, especially if no one knows you've caught it.
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Now that the groundhog knows you humans have evil intent towards it, it is going to avoid those smells. But, like all animals, if you put enough stress on it, it will decide somewhere else is better than 'here'.
Groundhogs make multiple exits from their burrow. Find them.
Instead of putting water into the hole, use smoke, miasma, noise... when you do this, the groundhog may block off that hole on the inside and make another exit hole, so you'll need to watch for those.
- miasma: rotten-moldy-slimy veggies that makes you want to vomit, dumped just inside the hole entrance, then cover the hole with something heavy
- run an extension cord near the hole entrance, plug in a bluetooth speaker that has decent bass, put something heavy over it to, play rammstein on loop
- put about 5 sheets of paper into the hole, light them on fire, cover it. Or, burn an incense stick instead.
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I'm still thinking the buried-trap idea may work. Change out the bait to throw the groundhog off. Maybe make it bountiful so it's worth the digging. It might be some work but dig out someplace to put it, preferably near a groundhog tunnel exit, then put the trap in there, cover it with a plywood sheet, then put the dirt back on top of it.
Maybe even put it directly in the groundhog hole.
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Dynamite
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You could also start stomping all the tunnels and stabbing them with something, but blowing them up would probably be the fastest way.
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Maybe -- gas the tunnels with nitrogen gas. It'll asphyxiate what's inside but won't pollute the environment. You could do it by pouring liquid nitrogen down a hole.
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Maybe -- gas the tunnels with nitrogen gas. It'll asphyxiate what's inside but won't pollute the environment. You could do it by pouring liquid nitrogen down a hole.
Who's got Nitrogen gas lying around?
Now, Chorine Gas is easily created with everyday household items, and qualifies as a War Crime!
Disclaimer: May kill the homeowners also
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Maybe -- gas the tunnels with nitrogen gas. It'll asphyxiate what's inside but won't pollute the environment. You could do it by pouring liquid nitrogen down a hole.
Who's got Nitrogen gas lying around?
Now, Chorine Gas is easily created with everyday household items, and qualifies as a War Crime!
Disclaimer: May kill the homeowners also
A gasmask and filters can easily be gotten from an army surplus store, then once equipped you can commit war crimes against the groundhogs with out fear of becoming a victim of your actions!
Also you will need to make sure the filters are newer than the 70s so they don't have asbestos in them.
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My mom had a similar groundhog problem. She got a pair of barn cats (adorable but keep 3-4 feet away from all humans) but she still had to put out a trap. I think she caught and released a groundhog twice, and that seemed to work! Also the deer stopped nomming her garden too - I'm convinced the cats are responsible for that.
Sorry cats and traps don't seem to be working for you yet ): And those poor raccoons ): It is what it is though. Seems like the trap should work eventually, but I have no idea how to make it stop catching raccoons instead. Good luck.
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Presumably, after all the racoons are caught and released somewhere else, they might start catching groundhogs.
Racoon vs. groundhog going for food = Racoon "wins"
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I think the OP said something about the racoons having to be killed because of some crap about them potentially having rabies.
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Maybe -- gas the tunnels with nitrogen gas. It'll asphyxiate what's inside but won't pollute the environment. You could do it by pouring liquid nitrogen down a hole.
Who's got Nitrogen gas lying around?
Now, Chorine Gas is easily created with everyday household items, and qualifies as a War Crime!
Disclaimer: May kill the homeowners also
Knowing my luck, that'd probably kill me off....
Yeah, the exterminator guy said it was a law that if he catches a racoon he has to kill it for rabies no matter what. Has to turn in the body for "rabies testing analysis." Turns out to be a licensed exterminator, there are a lot of rules he has to follow. I guess it kinda makes sense that someone with access to a ton of poisons, traps, and lethal things along with all the vermin they are lethal to, might be someone the government could keep an eye on. He said there's an license class and exam about all the poisons, and how to tell of someone is impacted by them, and what to do. Same deal with venomous snakes and things. He has to keep lists of every customer and what poison he used when in case someone gets sick and he has to tell whatever doctor treats them about it. Also he can get in deep trouble if he poisons someone. He also has to do a whole thing with any animal that might be diseased, and all that. They also track certain insect, and rat populations.
He actually showed me the logbooks he has to keep. So I actually feel slightly better about paying him. Ideally the government would pay and employ someone to do crap like keep track of diseases in animals like rabies but here we are.
While I have not seen the groundhog in a couple days, and the cats have free reign of the yards, I bet it is still down there.