The other key is stopping groundhogs from climbing up and over. For being such fat, dumpy critters with short legs, they’re surprisingly nimble and gymnastic. They can easily scale a well-supported
3-foot-tall
fence.
Can groundhogs climb over a fence?
Even though
woodchucks are good climbers
, you can protect your gardens with fencing. Fences work best when protecting relatively small areas. To be a successful barrier, a perimeter garden fence should at minimum: Be made of a chicken or welded wire with mesh size no bigger than three by three inches.
How high does a fence have to be to keep a groundhog out of your garden?
Fencing. Woodchuck barriers are not difficult to construct using traditional fencing. The fencing should be
at least 3 feet tall
and made of tight wire mesh, such as chicken wire. It should be buried in the ground a minimum of 1 foot.
Can groundhogs climb?
Though they are usually seen on the ground,
groundhogs can climb trees
and are also capable swimmers. These rodents frequent the areas where woodlands meet open spaces, like fields, roads, or streams. Here they eat grasses and plants as well as fruits and tree bark. Groundhogs are the bane of many a gardener.
How do you groundhog proof a garden?
Surround your garden or yard with wire fencing that is at least 3 feet tall and goes at least 12 inches underground
. Groundhogs won’t be able to climb it, and if they run into it underground, they’ll be forced to stop tunneling and to go elsewhere to set up camp.
What are the benefits of having a groundhog in your yard?
Soil Aeration
When digging, groundhogs help aerate soil. Roots, like all other parts of the plant, have to respire, taking in oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide. In unturned soil, roots deplete their limited oxygen while CO2accumulates, making it hard for them to ‘breathe.
What plants do groundhogs hate?
Lavender – Try planting some lavender around the garden. While it smells lovely to us, groundhogs find it offensive and avoid the areas where it is. They also dislike the smell of these herbs:
basil, chives, lemon balm, mint, sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano
.
How do I get rid of a groundhog under my shed?
- Pour ammonia around your shed and in any holes they’ve dug. …
- Place lawn windmills, windchimes, or a vibrating sonic device near your shed. …
- Adopt a dog or cat and encourage them to spend time sniffing around the shed.
- Spread human scent around your yard with hair clippings.
What is the best repellent for groundhogs?
3. Plants as deterrents.
Plants with strong fragrances, such as lavender
, will keep groundhogs out of your garden. The Farmers’ Almanac says groundhogs also dislike the smell of these herbs: mint, sage, basil, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, chives and oregano.
Does Irish Spring repel groundhogs?
Irish Spring is an effective repellent against groundhogs
. A bar of soap should be hung from a post or fence to scare off groundhogs and prevent them from digging up the lawn or eating the plants.
Will chicken wire keep out groundhogs?
Fence Them Out: Groundhogs can jump short fences and tunnel under others, so it’s important to do this right.
Buy chicken wire (at least six feet tall) and five-foot posts. Bury the wire twelve inches deep to prevent tunneling
. Attach the fencing to the posts except for the top foot.
Can groundhogs climb chicken wire?
Groundhogs are good climbers, but they don’t like wobbly fences.
The top foot of the chicken wire is not connected to anything and it tends to flop backwards toward the outside
.
Do groundhogs have two holes?
Groundhogs often have two separate burrows, one for summer (grassy field area) and one for winter (wooded area)
. During the approximately three month hibernation period, groundhogs enter their winter burrows which have only one entrance.
Do groundhogs abandon their burrows?
Fall and Winter:
From mid-October through February, groundhogs remain in their burrows as they hibernate
.
Will mothballs keep groundhogs away?
For whatever reason,
groundhogs don’t care about mothballs
. When poured down a burrow, they just dig them out and they get buried in the dirt. In a garden, the animals continue to eat crops right next to mothballs. They just don’t care.
Do marigolds repel groundhogs?
Groundhogs do not like noxious smells.
They particularilly do not like certain flowers like marigolds
, snapdragons, dianthus, ageratum, nicotiana, sweet alyssum, and annual poppies. You should consider planting these types of flowers around the perimeter that you want protected.
Can groundhogs jump?
Groundhogs can jump over or burrow under an ordinary fence
. If you feel ambitious, install a chicken-wire fence that is at least three to four feet high with the bottom buried about one foot underground.
How small of a hole can a groundhog fit through?
They can damage trees with their persistent gnawing. They do this to keep their ever-growing teeth at a manageable length. They can fit through holes that are
3-inch x 4-inch
and enjoy denning under porches and decks.
What month do groundhogs have babies?
Groundhog mating season is in the
early spring
and, after only a month-long pregnancy, mother groundhogs typically give birth to a litter of two to six blind, hairless babies. Young groundhogs are called kits, pups, or sometimes chucklings.
Do groundhogs come out at night?
Groundhog Behavior
Activity: Groundhogs are diurnal (active during the day) from spring to fall.
Most activity occurs during the early morning and early evening hours
, at which groundhogs emerge from their burrows to gather food.
Do groundhogs live alone?
Groundhog burrows are large and elaborate, measuring up to 66 feet long and containing multiple chambers, exits, and levels. This is where groundhogs spend the majority of their lives! Unlike other marmots,
groundhogs are solitary creatures, meaning they live alone in their burrows
and only seek each other out to mate.
Will Epsom salts deter groundhogs?
Epsom salts can be sprinkled around the perimeter of gardens to repel groundhogs
. You can also sprinkle the salts near the burrow. 3 Ammonia-soaked rags strewn along the garden perimeter form a stinky barrier, but rain washes away both these smells, necessitating reapplication.
Will vinegar get rid of groundhogs?
Mix ammonia with washing detergent, vinegar, hot pepper and soap and pour the mixture down each hole. This may have to be repeated for a few days until the groundhogs go away
. Always wear gloves before handling the mixture as it may cause an allergic reaction, itchiness or skins rash.
Do groundhogs eat hostas?
Groundhogs can devastate a garden very quickly. In the wild, they eat grasses, clover, and dandelions. In your garden,
they eat freshly planted annuals and returning perennials, hostas
, and just about every leafy herb and vegetable in the veggie patch.
How do you get a groundhog to leave?
Deter With Garlic and Pepper
To deter them from ever returning to your garden, crush some garlic and pepper and throw it into their burrows. Do this day after day until they flee. You can also make a garlic and pepper spray to spray your vegetables. Woodchucks will not touch a single thing that smells pungent or spicy.
How do you scare away groundhogs?
Lavender and other plants with strong odors
can keep groundhogs away. Groundhogs dislike the smell of herbs such as mint, sage, basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, and oregano.
How do you fill a groundhog hole?
One option for filling groundhog holes or tunnel openings is a product called
tunnel fill
. This product, which resembles pellets, is an absorbing material that expands to many times the original size when it’s combined with water.
