Safely Removing a Groundhog from Underneath a Deck in Holmdel, NJ
Challenge
As this homeowner in Holmdel, NJ was pruning her garden, she saw a groundhog run across her yard and burrow underneath her deck. She immediately called our office and I was dispatched to safely remove it. Groundhogs are herbivores that eat approximately 1/3 of their weight in vegetation each day. They are mainly active during the early morning and emerge from their burrows to gather food. If not properly controlled, groundhogs can cause serious structural damage when burrowing. Their tunnels break apart building foundations and they will often chew through electrical wires and irrigation systems that may be in their way.
When I arrived and inspected the area I found the main opening of the groundhogs burrow almost immediately. The main opening of a groundhog burrow is 10 to 12 inches with a mound of dirt in front. They are also as deep as 5 feet and range in length from 8 to 66 feet. They tend to burrow near a building's foundation, fence, or a tree (anything that provides shelter for them).
Solution
In order to safely remove the groundhog, I set up a positive set right in front of the main burrow. A positive set consists of a nose and a two-gaited, heavy-duty device. The purpose of the nose cone is to guide the groundhog safely into the attached device. It’s called a positive set because we are positive that the groundhog will no other way to exit the deck except through our device.
We also set up several placement traps nearby. Once we safely and successfully retrieve the groundhog, we will relocate it to a new, humane environment.
