Okay, so as many people know - my partner has quite the green thumb. However, an unexpected guest has started to enjoy the greenery:

 

 

He's particularly fond of the hyacinth bean and morning glory vines. I hadn't seen him, but my partner did a few times over the past week or so. This morning, I just about had a heart attack when the little sh!t bolted out across the yard right under the porch where I was standing. As adorable as the little b@stard is - he's gotta either pay rent and help out with the gardening or hit the road. Soooo... does anyone have experience with the "deterrents" like Shake-Away? Apparently they're made from "predator urine" which is all well and good but umm, we don't get many coyotes or foxes in inner-city Cleveland - so I'm not sure how convinced he'd be that said deterrent would mean anything. A friend offered to let us borrow some humane cage traps but I'm picturing the little beast getting caught and proceeding to go ten shades of batsh!t while we're trying to figure out a nice patch of wilderness to drop him off. I'm picturing Linda Blair from the Exorcist meets cutesy-wutesy groundhog.

 

So - any suggestions?!? 

 

 

Have you called the city?  I thought they would come out with a trap and then remove the animal for you.

 

 

EDIT:  My mom says use shake away and it works on the baby groundhog and chipmonks.  She says during September/October/November, they are relentless as they are trying to get to your root veggies in order to fatten up for winter. 

 

She suggest finding the burrow and stuffing a sponge soaked in ammonia (at night) or two boxes of mouthballs into it (day).  That should deter him.  Do that for about a week to 10 days then cover/seal the entrance.  You won't see him again.

Call a pest control service to have it trapped. I had about 20 wild cats trapped and removed from a former property as they were breeding like rabbits.

^That's probably a last resort - it's obscene what they want to charge.

 

MTS, the city doesn't handle that unless it's a stray cat/dog.

^That's probably a last resort - it's obscene what they want to charge.

 

MTS, the city doesn't handle that unless it's a stray cat/dog.

 

I didn't know.  Since over here we call shaker lakes or cleveland hts when we have skunks, rodents, etc.

The cage isn't that bad. When I was growing up, my parents trapped a groundhog. They aren't that bad to trap and take out to set free. you just have to be careful since they are afraid of you, they're more likely to try to bite.

Cookout at MayDay's this weekend!!

 

Woodchuck Recipes

 

 

 

Surprisingly there are many recipes for Woodchuck (A.K.A. Ground Hog, Whistle Pigs, Pasture Pigs, etc.).  Woodchucks are fatty, however it is claimed the fat does not have a bad taste but is still is generally removed. The meat is dark with a mild flavor and will work in any squirrel or rabbit recipe. Woodchucks have scent glands in the small of the back and on the inside of the forelegs which must be removed. If the Woodchuck is old (look how worn teeth and claws are,) it should be parboiled or soaked before cooking, some cooks always soak woodchucks in cold salted water for 6 to 12 hours. The Older Woodchucks will also benefit parboiling in water with a 1/2 teaspoon or more of baking soda.

 

Oriental Groundhog

Recipe By: Hunters Information Service       

 

1 Ground hog

 

2 quarts Water

 

¼  cup  Salt

 

½  cup  Soy sauce

 

2  cloves  Garlic  whole

 

3 Hot chili peppers  whole

 

¼ Onion

 

¼ teaspoon  Paprika

 

¼  bunch  Parsley  whole

 

4 Beef bouillon cubes

 

¼ teaspoon Freshly-ground white pepper

 

1 cup Beef or chicken broth

 

Teriyaki glaze

 

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.    Cut meat into pieces and soak in 1 quart water and salt for 3 hours.  Transfer meat to 1 quart clear water and soak another 4 hours.  Drain and then dry meat.  Place meat in a baking pan with broth, soy sauce, garlic cloves, chili pepper, onion, paprika, parsley, bouillon cubes and white pepper.  Cover and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees .  Baste frequently and brush with teriyaki glaze while cooking. 

 

 

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!  :oops:

My mom has a shotgun with birdshot in it that she uses on them. 74 year old grandma chasin' woodchucks with a loaded weapon. And she wonders why I don't come home more often!

Haha... sounds like we's gots ourselves some DEElicious Grawndhawg!

My mom has a shotgun with birdshot in it that she uses on them. 74 year old grandma chasin' woodchucks with a loaded weapon. And she wonders why I don't come home more often!

 

Well at least she isn't killing them in their sleep like my mom.

My mom has a shotgun with birdshot in it that she uses on them. 74 year old grandma chasin' woodchucks with a loaded weapon. And she wonders why I don't come home more often!

 

Well at least she isn't killing them in their sleep like my mom.

 

no, but in her pre-Ma Kettle days she told me about how one came out into her garden and she tried to scare it away with a hoe, by swinging it back and forth. Well, she got a little too close and clipped it in the jaw, knocking it out. So I asked, "what did you do then?". Her response was "Well, what else could I do? I decapitated it".

 

Why do I even ask? :?

My mom has a shotgun with birdshot in it that she uses on them. 74 year old grandma chasin' woodchucks with a loaded weapon. And she wonders why I don't come home more often!

 

Well at least she isn't killing them in their sleep like my mom.

 

no, but in her pre-Ma Kettle days she told me about how one came out into her garden and she tried to scare it away with a hoe, by swinging it back and forth. Well, she got a little too close and clipped it in the jaw, knocking it out. So I asked, "what did you do then?". Her response was "Well, what else could I do? I decapitated it".

 

Why do I even ask? :?

Well as my moms says....Don't mess with her garden! 

 

Your mom is probably like my mom and says gardening is "therapy".

Sounds more like gardening is a contact sport with your moms!

groundskeeper carl spackler might inspire a few creative ideas.... :laugh:

 

 

Sandy: I want you to kill every gophers on the golf course!

Carl Spackler: Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key...

Sandy: Not golfers, you great fool! Gophers! The *little* *brown*, *furry* *rodents* -!

Carl Spackler: We can do that; we don't even have to have a reason. All right, let's do the same thing, but with gophers -!

 

 

Carl Spackler: License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote.

 

Carl Spackler: I have to laugh, because I've outsmarted even myself. My enemy, my foe, is an animal. In order to conquer the animal, I have to learn to think like an animal. And, whenever possible, to look like one. I got to get into this dude's pelt and crawl around for a few days. Who's the gopher's ally? His friends. The harmless squirrel and the friendly rabbit.

 

 

I'm not sure how the cages work, I've seen them but never used them. Maybe you could catch him then take the cage out to the wilderness then place the cage next to the side of your car with a string attached that you could pull from inside to lift open the gate? Even if the cage gate opens from the side it could probably still work that way. Then once he runs away, just put the cage back in your car and go back home.

 

I guess you can always put a fence up around your garden but it probably looks tacky.

 

Edit: nevermind, the gate to the trap would probably be locked and you'd have to unlock it. I say just fling him in lake Erie while you're holding the cage. They can swim but if he tried to attack you, you'd at least have enough time to run back in your car before he makes it to shore lol

He won't attack, he'll run before attack. The only reason he'd bite is when he is the cage he can't go anywhere.

Unless he has rabies.  Then watch out, brother!

 

I suggest you borrow someone's pit bull for a weekend.

Yeah, our two pugs can get pretty "vicious", but only if it's over a treat. :lol:

Okay - so we bought a trap. Folks - especially those of you in the desktop publishing business, if there's a relevant illustration to go with a certain step - PUT IT ON THE SAME D@MN PAGE AS THAT STEP! Otherwise, people (aka ME) have to hold the trap door open with one hand, hold the latch open with the other hand, and then try to flip past the French/Spanish translations to make sure we're making it "look just like the picture". If the person who "designed" the Havahart Large Animal Trap is reading this - for your safety - DON'T introduce yourself to me. :x

The cage isn't that bad. When I was growing up, my parents trapped a groundhog. They aren't that bad to trap and take out to set free. you just have to be careful since they are afraid of you, they're more likely to try to bite.

 

no, take the cage and throw it in lake erie.

I'm working with a neighborhood group that has a major problem with groundhogs.  They've taken over an abandoned house with gaping holes in the foundation, but have been all over the neighborhood. 

 

Anyone have any humane, low-cost ways of getting these things to move on? 

I'm working with a neighborhood group that has a major problem with groundhogs. They've taken over an abandoned house with gaping holes in the foundation, but have been all over the neighborhood.

 

Anyone have any humane, low-cost ways of getting these things to move on?

 

Groundhougs in the city?  Where in the world are they coming from.  I'll send my Mom right over!  She'll kill them.

I'm working with a neighborhood group that has a major problem with groundhogs.  They've taken over an abandoned house with gaping holes in the foundation, but have been all over the neighborhood. 

 

Anyone have any humane, low-cost ways of getting these things to move on? 

 

I'm happy to report that (knock on wood) the little b@stard didn't like this stuff: http://www.critter-repellent.com/cart/catalog/Small_Critter_Products-6-1.html

 

MTS, I think a lot of them find refuge in the wooded nooks and crannies in the neighborhoods. In Tremont, they recently ripped out a bunch of underbrush to clear a lot for some new townhomes - I'm guessing that's where Gus the Groundhog used to live.

I'm working with a neighborhood group that has a major problem with groundhogs. They've taken over an abandoned house with gaping holes in the foundation, but have been all over the neighborhood.

 

Anyone have any humane, low-cost ways of getting these things to move on?

 

Groundhougs in the city? Where in the world are they coming from. I'll send my Mom right over! She'll kill them.

 

Yep, in the Kinsman neighborhood.  There's actually a lot of wildlife down by the Kingsbury Run, so they might be coming from there or from the buffers around the rapid tracks.

d@mn!  Those are probably some big ol' groundhogs!