Burrowing Groundhog Disrupts Home in Adelphia, NJ

Challenge

With this particular nuisance wildlife job, I was sent to a home in Adelphia, NJ  to help a homeowner who was suffering from a groundhog problem in his yard. Groundhogs, which are members of the ground squirrel family, are chunky, burrowing rodents with short tails that weigh up to ten pounds. Its head and body are about a foot and one-half long, and its tail adds another six inches. They are also known as woodchucks and whistle pigs because, when alarmed, they emit a high-pitched whistle to warn the rest of the colony.

Groundhogs are a nuisance pest when they take up residence near a home because of their extensive burrowing activity. These guys are natural-born excavators, and a groundhog infestation can cause extensive damage to home gardens and other landscaping. They are found throughout New Jersey, even taking up residence in communities along the Jersey Shore. Groundhogs are a rabies vector species along with raccoons, skunks, and foxes. As such, there are restrictions as to their relocation. A nuisance wildlife specialist will ensure compliance with all applicable state laws and municipal ordinances.

Sometimes it's difficult to “encourage” wildlife to enter into a trap so that the animals can be humanely relocated away from human habitats. There are many reasons why animals are trap-shy. Sometimes, the animals have had a close call with a trap, but managed to escape, and now they won’t be fooled again.

Other times, there is not enough of an incentive for the animal to enter a trap. There are already enough “goodies” around for the animal without venturing into a trap, so why take any chances? That was the case here. A groundhog was burrowing under an AC condenser that was situated in a landscaped bed of flowers. Groundhogs are strict herbivores and, for them, flowers are one of their favorite delicacies. With a groundhog buffet of good stuff to eat, I felt that it would be difficult to get the groundhog into the trap, but not impossible, especially with the right set-up.

Solution

I created a funnel with a nose cone trap that went from the burrow opening right into the trap. Nose cones are used as an extension of a trap to guide animals directly from an exit/entry hole into the trap. With this set-up, the groundhog, upon leaving the burrow hole, would have no choice but to enter the trap. A lot of good trapping techniques involve reducing animal options, preferably to no options! When trapping wildlife, the best option is giving them no options by “forcing” them into the trap. Out of an abundance of caution, I set a separate back-up trap right outside of the nose cone trap, just in case the groundhog was outside of the burrow when I set it up. I baited that secondary trap with very strong scented bait.

My strategy worked. The groundhog was trapped the second day after my traps were set. This job showed the importance of a “Plan B.” I was fully expecting the groundhog to be trapped in the nose cone, but instead, he was in the trap that was set outside of the burrow. Now, this homeowner won’t be bothered anymore by this particular groundhog that, for whatever reason, took a liking to his garden.