groundhogs in the pasture

Veterinary, horse care, and training issues.

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xfactor fan
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Postby xfactor fan » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:26 pm

Anyone tried Dachshunds? Not the cute little mini guys, but the bigger ones. These dogs were bred to hunt badgers in their own dens. Can't imagine a groundhog is tougher than a badger. The other breed that might work is Otterhounds. Again a breed of dog that is tough and bred to go after really tough prey. Otters are not the cute little animals from the Disney movies.

Anyway good luck.

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Postby mightyhijames » Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:30 am

no comments regarding the groundhog bombs? i lease property so don't live there w/a dog. and i can't shoot. obviously can't put body traps in the field. these things need to go!

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Postby xfactor fan » Mon Jun 13, 2011 4:53 pm

You might see if there is a local earth dog hunt club in your area and offer them the chance to go after Groundhogs with their dogs.

With Bark Parks, once the park is up and running the ground dwelling critters go elsewhere.

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Postby horse » Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:49 am

A farmer's paradox. Persistence and due diligence is applied using a 10x on a 30.06 out to 500 yards. They boil nicely and provide protein. Also, a good shovel is needed to fill in the burrow, level the surface and to bury the bones.

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Postby Shammy Davis » Sat Jun 18, 2011 11:27 am

horse wrote:
A farmer's paradox. Persistence and due diligence is applied using a 10x on a 30.06 out to 500 yards. They boil nicely and provide protein. Also, a good shovel is needed to fill in the burrow, level the surface and to bury the bones.


Ahhh. Another intelligent thinker with a "shoot to kill" mentality.

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Groundhogs

Postby horse » Sat Jun 18, 2011 11:50 am

Shammy,
What a refreshing liberal approach you have!
It is noted that you spend an inordinate amount of time grazing all the blogs, then launch an attack on the poster. Your MO is to forget the topic and make it personal. So, as a rebuttal because you did not follow the posting rules, you shall be banned forever in the land of the aristocracy.
I was kind to say this, but feel so sorry for you.
Horse

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Postby Shammy Davis » Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:38 am

I wrote on the second page of this thread.

I carry a 12 gauge shotgun with me. I've learned that ground hogs get pretty cocky and it doesn't take long for me to get close enough to get off a shot. 00 Buck shot will do a trick on them. When it comes to the safety of my horses and my youngest daughter riding through the pastures, I don't think any where close to being humane to ground hogs. They are destructive and dangerous and putting them in someone else's backyard is not good game control. If they start to become extinct, which is unlikely, I might support a habitat program. Hell, they've re-introduced cayotes in our area and it is a mess. The state bounty program is normally depleted in the first month of each year. Animals like wolves, cayotes, and ground hogs are dangerous to domesticated farm animals especially horses.


Horse wrote:
Shammy,
What a refreshing liberal approach you have!
It is noted that you spend an inordinate amount of time grazing all the blogs, then launch an attack on the poster. Your MO is to forget the topic and make it personal. So, as a rebuttal because you did not follow the posting rules, you shall be banned forever in the land of the aristocracy.
I was kind to say this, but feel so sorry for you.
Horse


You are either being cute or unaware of my conservative nature or you can't read. I'm sorry if you took my last post as being sarcasm or ridicule. My comment was meant to be a compliment to you for suggesting that the only control for groundhogs is to kill them. The idea of trap/relocate or chasing them with dogs doesn't work. Shooting them is the only practical way of ridding land of the problem.

Now that you've made me fully aware of what you think of me and my posts please save your pity for someone who wants it from you.

AMF. :wink:

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Postby Shammy Davis » Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:09 pm

Mightyhijames wrote:
no comments regarding the groundhog bombs? i lease property so don't live there w/a dog. and i can't shoot. obviously can't put body traps in the field. these things need to go!


Do you mean you don't know how to use a firearm or that state and local laws prevent you from shooting?

I'm not familiar with groundhog bombs. What are they? If explosive and it collapses the tunnel network, that might work. The problem is that if you don't kill the groundhogs, they just burrow a new tunnel. I know of one instance where a neighbor of mine flooded the tunnels, but he had to locate all the entrances and block them and fortunately the network was near a water source. This is impractical if there is no water source.

Have you contacted your local VA Tech extension service for suggestions?

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Postby mightyhijames » Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:37 pm

Shammy Davis wrote:Mightyhijames wrote:
no comments regarding the groundhog bombs? i lease property so don't live there w/a dog. and i can't shoot. obviously can't put body traps in the field. these things need to go!


Do you mean you don't know how to use a firearm or that state and local laws prevent you from shooting?

I'm not familiar with groundhog bombs. What are they? If explosive and it collapses the tunnel network, that might work. The problem is that if you don't kill the groundhogs, they just burrow a new tunnel. I know of one instance where a neighbor of mine flooded the tunnels, but he had to locate all the entrances and block them and fortunately the network was near a water source. This is impractical if there is no water source.

Have you contacted your local VA Tech extension service for suggestions?


no, i don't know how to shoot so i don't own a firearm. groundhog bombs (for lack of a better word) are gas sticks enabled via a fuse that (supposedly) asphyixiates and kills the groundhogs as they sleep. same premise, put the lighted gas stick down the hole and cover so that the gas stays in. they aren't actually a bomb that blows them up. they were recommended by another land owner w/a similar problem.

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Postby Bast » Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:46 pm

I live in the middle of a large city. Something has burrow holes leading under my front porch, something large. I've seen ground hogs in the neighborhood before.

I cannot use the methods available to those without neighbors (and heavy traffic all day long--bus routes go past my house, as do 18 wheelers and everything else) but how can I get rid of these things without attracting the local SWAT team?

Everything lives in the city now. I have plenty of deer, raccoons (they have looked into my 2nd floor windows), possums, red tail hawks, and reportedly coyotes by report of people I know less than a quarter mile off. This is a 100 year old neighborhood with small lots and lots of people and cars.
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Postby xfactor fan » Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:27 pm

Any one think Dry Ice would work? Down the hole block the exits, and let the CO2 do the work. Being heavier than air, it should sink to the bottom of the burrow. This has the advantage of being cheap and no bullets.

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Postby Shammy Davis » Sun Jun 19, 2011 7:53 pm

Xfactor & Bast: Personally, I think it is possible that water, dry ice, toxic gas, poison bait, or groundhog bombs might work if, and only if, you plug all the entrance and exit holes. There are usually a number of holes that connect to the tunnel. That's the trick. Miss one exit hole and you will see another burrow hole in less than week.

Xfactor: Your idea about using dogs is dangerous for the canine. If a person is willing to have their dog torn to shreds as it attacks the groundhog in the tunnel it might be worth a try. Terriers and other small dogs just don't have the instinct for that kind of hunting anymore. Domestication has pretty much wiped the slate clean for them. Fox Hounds are too big. Beagles are small game dogs like rabbits and squirrels.

Bast in your case, I think traps are your only option. I'm sure animal control will pick the groundhog or rhodent up once you've trapped it. Tractor Supply Stores normally stock the size trap you'll need.

Mightyhijames: I suffer with ground hog problem every year. I feel for you. I kill about two or three each summer and for some reason the next summer there are five or six running around.

If you haven't checked w/the VA Tech Extension Service in your area, you should. They might surprise you and have a solution. Honestly, I use a shotgun because it is cheap and somewhat effective. I know I will never be rid of them. No farmland will be free of them.

I've learned a great deal on this thread. I thought I was a tractor driving conservative who carried a 12 gauge shotgun and now it appears that some see me as tractor driving liberal with a 12 gauge shotgun. :shock: Well, I'm sure of one thing, I've got a redneck and in some ways I'm like my shotgun. Every once in a while I can get loaded and my wife wants to shoot me. :lol:

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Postby Bast » Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:14 pm

Shammy Davis wrote:Bast in your case, I think traps are your only option. I'm sure animal control will pick the groundhog or rhodent up once you've trapped it. Tractor Supply Stores normally stock the size trap you'll need.


I'll have to check with the city to be sure I am doing something legal.

My chief concern is rabid animals. I did once find a croaked raccoon in my yard with not a mark on it--I picked it up wearing latex gloves and put it in a trash bag. Animals are not afraid of people anymore. I've approached a grazing doe with twin fawns within 20 feet before she moved on. Robins and other birds sometimes drop down within in 5-6 feet of me when I am in my front yard flower/veggie beds.
May 2013: Plan ahead now for the Phalaris/Teddy Centennial!

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A horse gallops with his lungs

Perseveres with his heart

And wins with his character. --Tesio

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Postby griff » Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:02 am

my experience with City governments is it is easier and more effecient to ask for forgiveness than to get premission

Peters Law # 15: "Bureaucracy is a challenge to be conquered with a righteous attitude, a tolerance for stupiidity and a bulldozer when necessary"

g
"We has met the enemy and he is us" [Pogo]

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Postby kezeli » Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:21 am

Try calling animal control or the humane soc. in your area, they may have "hav-a-heart" traps in the right size. Hope it's not a skunk under your porch!!! If it may be the trap MUST be covered with a heavy blanket before the animal is in it. Makes it den like and if they don't see you they don't spray.........so I've been told. Don't want to test it but what else is there??? Also there are "critter control" companys in most areas for a fee.