Hi all, I have been trapping groundhogs and am having trouble with the have a heart traps. I have the best ones they sell and two large groundhogs have tore the hell out of them. they seem to be made of light metal and the groundhogs bend them up so bad I have to spend hours straightening them out.. one even tore the floor up and got out.. I don't know if he bit through the wire cage or pulled so hard he broke the cage wire. but they bend the trap door. and the trigger plate so bad. it stopped working. they are usually only in the trap for less than 2 hours as I check them every 2 hours, and don't leave them set if I am not going to be there to check them.

So the question. do anyone know of a heavy duty box trap that can take a lot of animal abuse and not be damaged ? I have caught and destroyed 9 so far this July. I cannot poison them due to neighbor kids.

I've found a good solid 220 conibear reduces the fight in the critter almost instantly!!!

A 220 conibear is best. But if you have to use a cage type trap these are very good expensive but will last a lifetime.
https://www.fntpost.com/Products/Cage+Traps/Freedom+Brand+Professional+Series+Cage+Traps

Tomahawk Traps the oldest maker:

www.livetrap.com/

yes they have Ground Hog rated live traps

Lol, yup not much fight left after those bad boys snap..........

I've never been able to successfully trap groundhogs, and I've tried a bunch. The only success I've had has been with putting several leg hold traps around the hole, and then it's hard to pull them out if they get very far in the hole.

IMO the best way to kill a groundhog if you can't shoot it, is to pour gas in the hole, wait about 30 seconds, then toss a match in. Of course, that won't work around buildings.

The neighbors kids will eat rat poison?

WTF are they Mexican?


I can't even get my kids to eat a home-cooked meal n

Snare or conibear in den hole or where they are going under a fence.

Yes they are Mexicans.

Lmao

Maybe they'll take the chucks off yer hands. Groundhog tacos!

Got my 10th groundhog today for July.. shot him in the head with my Ruger single six with a 9 1/2 inch barrel. I have killed a lot of GH with it..

I have trapped them with #3 coil spring traps where they were going under a building. Once the others see a buddy they get trapshy though.

My old woodstream live trap caught a bunch. No damage.
Was US made one decades ago.

1.5 coil springs work good. Anchor, lay in depression inside hole a little ways. Use sticks to cover hole.....add dirt on top. Chucky comes to dig out and ya got him.


Note.

If you see the trap chain going intoba big pile of fresh dug earth.....dont pull on it to hard. Chances are a really pissed off critter will fly toward you

I bought a cheap Havahart copy at Tractor Supply. Caught a big feral tomcat that'd been giving us some grief. As soon as I picked up the trap to put into the back of the Jeep (so I could take the him for his lead injection), he slammed against the trap door with such force that he bent it, squeezed out and made his escape. Couldn't believe the strength of that varmint!

I'm going through some serious withdrawal here. I normally shoot anywhere from 8-11 'chucks every year. Last year was 10, this year, zero.

They must have circulated a memo.

Plenty of red squirrels though. They make 'em almost as fast as I can shoot them. Little bastards.

Correct answer.

I have largest one of these. Works great, 4 'coons so far. Then they get a LR between the eyes from a suppressed 22/45.
Neighbors don't know anything happened.

I feel your pain....3 years ago was 13, 2 years ago 9, last year 3, and this year shot the first and only one on Monday night.

If you just want to get rid of the ground hogs, you can go down and get about 10 - 15 lbs of dry ice. Put in the hole, cover up all the exits you can find. C02 is heavier than air, so it works pretty good even if you don't find all the exits. Lots cheaper than big live traps.

That is a cool idea!

I got one more for 11 total.. haven't seen or caught anymore, so may be out for now. got an exterminator for rats. they are in our camper and chewed through some wiring and the sliding extensions wont work.. going to be a fun time fixing that crap.

I have got 14 so far. I haven't seen any now in a week. maby got them all. I have two traps set all the time..

Over the years I've found that a 100 grain Speer out of a 25 - 06 does a fine job of settling ground hogs to a peaceable mind set.

My .17 Remington does a dang good job too...

There is a product called Methyl Bromide, a fumigant in the form of a gas used to kill many things, from insects to weed seeds in the soil. We used to use it in the preparation of tobacco plant beds.........which was where the tobacco seed would be planted, in order for the plants to grow to the size needed for transplanting. The average bed was about 100 yards square in sixe, and we would set off 9 one pound cans of the Methyl Bromide per bed, which was covered by a plastic cover that had it's edges buried in the ground, in order to seal the bed. The gas would then kill whatever was in the top few inches of the soil, allowing for a weed and disease free bed in which to plant the seeds a few days later.

Farmers who had a groundhog problem would seal off all the holes but one. throw in an open can of gas down the remaining hole, and then quickly seal the hole. I never heard of a groundhog surviving that. Haven't seen Methyl Bromide in years, as famers now grow tobacco plants in a greenhouse. But, if you knew how to use it, it would kill the snot of a groundhog, and probably you too if got a good sniff of it.