Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Encouraging Groundhogs

It used to be that you could run out north of downtown Cincinnati in the summer, sit down at the edge of beanfield and pick off some nice fat groundhogs before the sun went down. I knew people that made a study of it and a few guys could fill the back of a pickup with them. One fellow I knew had 100 in a summer off his parents' back porch.

I always looked forward to the day I could have a farm of my own and shoot groundhogs.

I've had the farm now for nearly 2 decades and to date I've shot exactly 1 groundhog. They have been so scarce at my farm that I have normally let them alone in hopes they would breed. Nope. Finally one day, I was sighting in a 25-06 and a groundhog came out and camped out at my 100 yard target stand. I couldn't resist. I have not seen one since-- it's been 5 years.

I see page after page of Google entries of how to exterminate groundhogs, but nary a one on how to encourage them. I've got 40 acres of pasture, and a chuckhole here and there would not be an issue.

How does one encourage a population of groundhogs?

Go get some turn, turn them loose on your place!

I think it was coyotes that caused the groundhog population here to change. I was a groundhog hunter at one time, and loved nothing better in the spring of the year than to ride the back roads and shoot them, as well as walking several miles after I got home in the afternoon from school. Every soybean field around always had a few, and they'd eat the crap out of beans.

The coming of the coyote changed that, as those groundhogs became easy prey. About the only places I see them now are around old buildings. I have an old abandoned stable that is a groundhog haven. I always kill several a year there, and could probably kill more If I'd just do it. I also see them in the woods, especially if there is a good food source nearby. The key is that they need to be where the coyotes aren't.

The coyotes kill them faster than they breed.

Yep. I used to kill 100 plus every year. Since the coyotes moved in if I see 10 its a good year.

Was overlooking a bean field last year and lined up on a small one at about 200 yards. Before I could squeeze the shot off a coyote that had snuck down between the rows of beans grabbed it and ran off into the woods.

There can be too much of a good thing. The rock chuck, aka yellow bellied marmot, is the western version of the groundhog. They're very common here. A friend has a neighbor who's a farmer and his place is overrun with them, Last year, he shot 600 of them on his farm, many from his bedroom window where he's actually set up a shooting bench on the window sill.

Sounds like it was as likely all the groundhog shooters as much as the coyotes.

Coyotes own the fields, whistle pigs have moved into the barns. Maybe grow a garden, that seems to get their attention.

Yeah, I guess I should look at controlling the coyotes before worrying about anything else.

(Sigh!)

Build some sheds with a dirt floor.

Count your blessings. They burrow under things and damage foundations. They will decimate your garden. Shoot sparrows or starlings or something.

City folk.........yowsa!

Encourage groundhogs?!?!

Go lay down! Go on, git!

Hey Jim you should be on the Bloomberg School of Agriculture thread. might learn something from a midget cityboy billionnaire.
LOL

Well, I at least have enough walkin' around sense to ask y'all if it is a good idea first.

I freely admit to being a complete neophyte at this, but then that was the whole idea in the first place. I was getting so bored with the whole suburban thing. There's only so much you can do with a lawn, and the neighbors would call the police if they caught me shooting chipmunks.

If it were me and I really wanted some woodchucks, I’d start with habitat like these guys are saying... even a good sized brush pile. Then I’d call the local pest control guys and offer them your property as a release point for live traps as I know they’re always looking for a place to let live trapped stuff go. I used to work with a pest company and we’d just take live trapped stuff to the next neighborhood and let it go LOL

If not groundhogs, perhaps woodchucks? I'd call GEICO, & see what kind of a deal they'd make ya.

FC

Hahaha!


Just teasing you some.


Thinking back to an experience as a young lad. We decided that we wanted to be able to shoot gophers on a river bend at a friends farm.


We trapped and released the gophers. We established a population.



We caught a LOT of hell for that little operation.


Fortunately for us the river flooded the next year and got us off the hook!





Its your 40 acres man. Do what you want.



If you have neighbors that use their property for agricultural purposes however......you might not make their Christmas Card list this year if you go and cover the country up with agricultural pests.

Shaman,
You've got several things working against you. Like said, Coyotes hurt them pretty bad. But Ky. fish & game told me that the Ground hogs contracted some sort of disease a decade or two back that hurt their numbers as well.
Then, they never seemed to favor especially hilly country such as Bracken Co.. Maybe they were there in numbers at one time & I just didn't know where to look .

They are coming back, but at a slow pace. And, they seem to live near good cover, heavy woods, old buildings, barns etc. more than they used to. Having adapted a bit to the coyotes I suppose.

Same all over. 20-30 years ago I’d do the same of an evening.

Now, the only place I see groundhogs is along the roadside right near the towns and villages.

No, actually I appreciate the feedback. I don't want to screw up. Y'all talked me out of my idea of transplanting beavers a few years ago. I hadn't thought that one out. I just figgered they might make some good whitetail habitat-- didn't see the downside.

As to the neighbors, AG is leaving the county in a fat hurry. Folks took the tobacco settlement money and ran. What's left are what the marketing folks call "Rural Empty Nesters" and a few dairy and beef farmers. With all these fallow fields, it's becoming a deer and turkey paradise.



GUNZO: From what I understand, groundhog used to be prevalent back when the farmers were self-supporting. In those days you had cows, pigs, corn, wheat-- the whole schmeer. Wheat production stopped after WWII and everyone went to tobacco. I've thought about planting a mixed bag of corn, beans, and whatever and just seeing what eats it.

What I really need to do is get on the coyotes. I wish they'd let me use a mortar. With a little trig, I could get them ranged to within 10 yards in the dark and drop a nice spread on their asses. With listening posts 100 meters apart and a surplus M2, I could clean up the county in no time. Those KDFWR boys are a bunch of killjoys! They only want you using shotguns after dark.