Has anyone successfully evicted a groundhog (woodchuck)? How?

Has anyone successfully evicted a groundhog (woodchuck)? How?

Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 708 votes

I have been battling a groundhog in the backyard of one of my rental properties for quite some time now and I'm running out of things to try (very persistent groundhog...).  The fellow lives in a fairly overgrown buffer space behind my fenced backyard.  For some reason, it has decided that it wants to get into my backyard in spite of the fact that there is only grass, and not, say a vegetable garden...  The fence is a 6-foot wooden privacy fence, and the groundhog has taken to digging under the fence into the backyard.  I have been playing the game of blocking the holes with rocks, rebar, wire mesh, etc but the groundhog's patience is endless.... just digs a new hole right next to the blocked one.  While my local Lowes does seem to have a nearly endless supply of rebar, it has become apparent that a better solution to the problem is probably to evict the fellow once and for all.  Does anyone here have experience with this?  Obviously, trapping it is one option, but what do I do with him once he's trapped?  I don;t have the heart to kill him, and I assume there probably aren't any groundhog shelters where I can drop him off....  Any thoughts?

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Lawyer/Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 34 votes
8y

Options: 

(1) Ask a second amendment lawyer for advice about whether you can use "self help" in your jurisdiction. 

(2) Post a notice to vacate at the entrance of this groundhog's burrow, and then proceed to eviction.

(3) Sue him for trespass. 

(4) Get an injunction. 

(5) Build a wall and make the groundhog pay for it.

Incidentally, does anyone know how many lawyers it takes to remove a woodchuck?

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  • Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2013 · 292 posts · 280 votes
    8y
  • Rental Property Investor · Chapel Hill, NC · Member since 2017 · 144 posts · 89 votes
    8y

    Hi Andrew -

    We've had groundhogs in our neighborhood in downtown Chapel Hill for a while. A few years ago one moved under our deck and we had to take ahem immediate action. They can do a lot of damage to residential footings and foundations - one neighbor's deck collapsed from the tunneling underneath. When they have broods it even harder to eliminate them so it would be valuable to jump on this. I would suggest calling a critter control company to remove the pests, as they'll know the local ordinances and you just have to pay the bill - no mess, no bites etc.

  • Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    My parents used to trap the squirrels that would make home in our attic space, then release them elsewhere. Once my Dad got a little lazy and released one in a parking lot that bordered up against some woodland. The squirrel made a beeline for the treeline but was picked up by a red-tailed hawk before he made it there.... the cycle of life.

  • Depew, NY · Member since 2017 · 44 posts · 40 votes
    8y
    Check with your local DEC. Here in NY if you're caught relocating wildlife it's a $500 fine because you could be spreading disease to new habitats. I had one that kept burrowing under my porch a couple years ago. We live in a village so I can't discharge a firearm. The DEC officer told me the only legal way to dispatch it is to use a humane trap, catch him, place trap in a garbage can and fill with water. When I told him that wasn't humane he "didn't" suggest trapping it and dispatching it in the garage while running my compressor..luckily someone else got to him first because he stopped coming around shortly after. oh and we also had the hole filling battle with him for several summers before that. Good luck!
  • Alpena, MI · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 6 votes
    8y

    I have used mothballs, smoke bombs like the ones for the 4th of July, and poison pellet. The best was the poison pellets, after a few days of not seeing them fill in the hole and no smell and then they become worm food. The first two just get them out for a bit but they come back.

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