Groundhog Removal: How to Get Rid of Groundhogs Destroying Your Yard

Groundhogs (also called woodchucks) are deceptively destructive. What looks like a simple hole in the yard can be the entrance to a burrow system that extends 25–30 feet underground, with multiple chambers and exit tunnels. If you have groundhogs, here's what you're actually dealing with — and how to solve it.

Groundhogs are true hibernators, active from March through October. During this period, they eat aggressively — up to 1.5 pounds of vegetation per day — to build fat reserves for winter. A single groundhog can devastate a vegetable garden in days.

They are solitary animals except during breeding season (March–April). A female produces one litter per year of 2–6 young, born in April or May. Young groundhogs disperse by late summer and establish their own burrows — often nearby.

This is the most serious and underappreciated risk. Groundhog burrows:

• Undermine foundations — Burrows dug under concrete slabs, porches, decks, and building foundations remove the soil support beneath them. This can cause cracking, settling, and in severe cases, structural failure.
• Damage driveways and walkways — Subsurface tunneling causes concrete and asphalt to crack and sink
• Create tripping hazards — Burrow entrances in lawns are ankle-twisting hazards for people and leg-breaking hazards for horses and livestock
• Damage utility lines — Burrows can intersect with buried electrical, water, and gas lines

Groundhogs are voracious herbivores. They eat:

• Vegetables (beans, peas, lettuce, carrots, broccoli — virtually everything)
• Fruits (strawberries, melons)
• Ornamental plants and flowers
• Grass and clover
• Tree bark (particularly young fruit trees)

A family of groundhogs can eliminate an entire vegetable garden in a single season.

Groundhog burrows are taken over by foxes, coyotes, skunks, and raccoons after groundhogs vacate them. Solving a groundhog problem prevents a cascade of secondary wildlife issues.

• Burrow entrances — 10–12 inch diameter holes, usually with a mound of excavated soil at the entrance. Primary entrances have a large mound; secondary "plunge holes" have little or no mound and are harder to find.
• Gnawed vegetation — Clean, angled cuts on plant stems (unlike deer, which tear)
• Tracks — Four-toed front feet, five-toed rear feet, about 1.5 inches wide
• Sightings — Groundhogs are active during the day, especially in morning and late afternoon

Groundhogs have strong homing instincts. Studies show they can return from distances of up to 2 miles. Most homeowners release trapped groundhogs nearby — and they return within days.

A groundhog burrow typically has 2–5 entrances. Sealing or trapping at one entrance while others remain open accomplishes nothing.

Castor oil, predator urine, vibration stakes, and other repellents may temporarily deter groundhogs but do not solve an established burrow system. Groundhogs habituate to these deterrents quickly.

Gas cartridges and other fumigants are regulated pesticides. Their use is restricted in many states and requires a licensed applicator. Improper use is illegal and dangerous.

The most common professional method. Cage traps are placed at active burrow entrances and monitored daily. Trapped groundhogs are relocated a minimum of 5–10 miles away in appropriate habitat, per state wildlife regulations.

After removal, burrow entrances are filled and the area around foundations, decks, and sheds is protected with L-shaped hardware cloth barriers buried 12 inches deep. This prevents new groundhogs from establishing burrows in the same locations.

Our technicians identify and address the conditions that attracted groundhogs: food sources, brush piles, and structural gaps that provide shelter.

While professional removal addresses the animals themselves, these measures protect your garden:

• Hardware cloth fencing — Bury 12 inches deep, bend outward underground, extend 3 feet above ground. Groundhogs are good climbers, so bend the top outward as well.
• Remove brush piles and debris — Groundhogs need cover near their burrows
• Eliminate food sources — Harvest vegetables promptly; don't leave fallen fruit
• Motion-activated sprinklers — Effective short-term deterrent for garden areas

Call immediately if:

• You find burrow entrances near your foundation, deck, or shed
• Your garden is being destroyed
• You've tried trapping and the groundhogs keep returning
• You have multiple burrow entrances (indicating an established colony)

The longer groundhogs remain, the more extensive the burrow system becomes and the more structural damage accumulates.

Wildlife Removal Specialists provides professional groundhog removal throughout our 32+ service markets. Our technicians are licensed, insured, and experienced with the full range of removal and exclusion methods.

Call (800) 319-1556 for a free inspection. We'll assess the burrow system, identify all entry points, and provide a written quote for removal and exclusion.

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