# Groundhogs and Live Traps



## mrurbplanner (Apr 24, 2010)

Does anyone here have any experience with live trapping ground hogs that could offer some tips and lessons learned? 

I have discovered one on my lot and am looking to live trap it and relocate it.  It looks as if the groundhog just set up the den within the past day as the sand pile down from the hole is fresh.

I live in an urban fringe / suburban area so am also curious as to how far I should relocate the ground hog once I trap it. I am considering a location in a wooded area about 6 kilometers away (10 minutes by car).

Thanks


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## benjamin (Apr 24, 2010)

it can work, but they eat anything green so they're not that easy to attract.  if you catch him in the den put the trap over the entrance and wait.  I'd go a lot further than 6km if I did catch him, or use lethal means.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 24, 2010)

I saw a TV article on a guy that turned an old septic sucking truck into a gopher catcher.  Called his business Dog Gone something or other.  Worked a charm... sucked them suckers right out of their hole.

They stuck a TV camera inside the truck and you could see them dogs fly.  The guy put in a big piece of foam cushion so the dogs had a soft landing.  It was hilarious watching the dogs bounce off the foam with a dazed look.

I doubt you could entice them into a live trap.


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## BrotherBart (Apr 24, 2010)

That was Gay Balfour. Invented it back in the early 90s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAWokZuszuU


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## LLigetfa (Apr 24, 2010)

Dog gone funny!  Cracks me up.


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## JustWood (Apr 25, 2010)

Bait with apple.


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## ChipTam (Apr 25, 2010)

I had a buddy who successfully trapped ground hogs near his vegetable garden with a live trap.  The suggestion to bait with apples sounds good........they love apples.  I asked my buddy what he did with the critters once caught.  He said he wanted them to live the good life and released them up in Barton Hills.....a super pricy, exclusive residential development in our little town.
ChipTam


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## Hunderliggur (Apr 25, 2010)

I find 30 minute road flares and a shovel work well.  You need to cover BOTH exits.  Oh - you said live trap - never mind.


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## LLigetfa (Apr 25, 2010)

Hunderliggur said:
			
		

> I find 30 minute road flares and a shovel work well...


Propane works well too... heavier than air.  No shovel needed.  Matches optional.


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## billb3 (Apr 26, 2010)

Males supposedly can have a 10 mile range, so you might want to go a little further.

I've gotten rid of young ones by  disturbing them, but apparently this only works until they've established a home.

I've read that it is important to fill the holes as best as possible and this does seem to help.

My father used to  live trap them all the time, but I don't remember what he used for bait - probably whatever they were eating in his garden.


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## Reggie Dunlap (Apr 26, 2010)

I'd drive a .22 bullet through his cranium and be done with it.


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## semipro (Apr 26, 2010)

Maybe peanut butter as bait?.  It works for a lot of other critters.  I think it works well because of the smell.


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## Jags (Apr 26, 2010)

Any kind of veggie will also work.  Carrots (with tops), lettuce, etc. in the raw.  No lima beans though - nothing eats them darn things. Yuck!


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## billb3 (Apr 26, 2010)

Reggie Dunlap said:
			
		

> I'd drive a .22 bullet through his cranium and be done with it.


I'm pretty sure they just bounce off.


Either that or there's plenty of room in their for some more lead.


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## benjamin (Apr 26, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> Hunderliggur said:
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> 
> 
> ...



An old Hmong guy recomended my cutting torch for that purpose, he couldn't tell me where to get the grenade to ignite it though, and for some reason he wasn't willing to throw the match either.


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## zzr7ky (Apr 27, 2010)

Hi - 

My kids catch them in a box trap using carrots.  Works pretty well.  I think the quickest was about an hour.  The .22 idea does have merit.


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## daveswoodhauler (Apr 27, 2010)

If you got a shop vac, put some cayanne pepper in the tub, and move the hose from suck to exhaust...stick it in the hole and see what happens


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## gpcollen1 (Apr 27, 2010)

Trap how you like but they are nothing more than large rats to me.  Just remember that those suckers don't live in the woods.  They need lots and lots of greens to survive.  Wherever you dump them, they will either die or become someones new problem.  You are not really 'setting them free"!!


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## kenny chaos (Apr 27, 2010)

There's a very successful old sniper dude who enters the local "biggest woodchuck" contest every summer.
He fattens them up ahead of time with cooked potatoes and walnuts.
The farmers all drop a few of them real big round gum balls near the holes.
See, they don't like gum and will move on. :coolsmile:


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## Dix (Apr 27, 2010)

A. Trap

B. CO 2

C. Snipe.

D. All of the above.

We're going with "D". Damned things are all over the pastures, going under run ins, and just creating havoc.

No one wants there horse to step in a hole.


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## Bobbin (Apr 27, 2010)

Last time one of them appeared in the vegetable garden I turned the dogs loose on him.  Lol.  He put up a good fight but was no match for the quick grap and shake.  

I prefer eliminating them rather than relocting them.  Solve the problem once and for all.


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## delaford321 (Apr 28, 2010)

Thanks for all the great tips, but does anyone know if these ideas would work for gophers and moles? We have a ton of them in our backyard and it is driving us nuts. 

Thanks in advance for your advice


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## Hunderliggur (Apr 28, 2010)

A mole would be a more challenging snipe ;-)


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## kenny chaos (Apr 28, 2010)

delaford321 said:
			
		

> does anyone know if these ideas would work for gophers and moles? We have a ton of them in our backyard and it is driving us nuts.






Some people choose New York.
Some choose the hurricane belt.
Some choose 'tornado alley.'
Some live on a fault line.
You chose gophers and moles.


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## firefighterjake (Apr 28, 2010)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
			
		

> A. Trap
> 
> B. CO 2
> 
> ...



OK, got to ask . . . how do you eliminate a woodchuck/gopher/prairie dog or other nuisance critter with carbon dioxide. Keep plying him with enough soda until he has too much of a gas build up and explodes . . . keep plying him with beer until he gets drunk and wanders off on to the near-by highway or decides to play chicken with the lawn mower . . . fire off a carbon dioxide extinguisher into the hole to convince him that it's winter time and he decides to go into hibernation again?


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## benjamin (Apr 28, 2010)

delaford321 said:
			
		

> Thanks for all the great tips, but does anyone know if these ideas would work for gophers and moles? We have a ton of them in our backyard and it is driving us nuts.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your advice



Poison for gophers.

For moles, bait a rat trap with bacon grease, place near hole in run, cover with bushel basket to keep it dark and tasty smelling. Repeat.  Compliments of Wisconsin Public Radio.


CO2 maybe should have been CO which is quite effective.  New thread idea convert your gasser to a lethal gasser.  Also, propane or acetylene are heavier than air and will displace enough oxygen to kill in a confined space, CO2 might do the same.


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## Jags (Apr 28, 2010)

benjamin said:
			
		

> For moles, bait a rat trap with bacon grease, place near hole in run, cover with bushel basket to keep it dark and tasty smelling. Repeat.  Compliments of Wisconsin Public Radio.



Huh, never heard this one, but it sounds logical.


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## BrotherBart (Apr 28, 2010)

Jags said:
			
		

> benjamin said:
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Or just a great reason to eat a lot of bacon.  :cheese:


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## Jags (Apr 28, 2010)

Bacon - the only reason for lettuce to exist.


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## basswidow (Apr 28, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> I saw a TV article on a guy that turned an old septic sucking truck into a gopher catcher.  Called his business Dog Gone something or other.  Worked a charm... sucked them suckers right out of their hole.
> 
> They stuck a TV camera inside the truck and you could see them dogs fly.  The guy put in a big piece of foam cushion so the dogs had a soft landing.  It was hilarious watching the dogs bounce off the foam with a dazed look.
> 
> I doubt you could entice them into a live trap.



This might fall into the category of you might be a redneck........  sounds halarious.  I can't wait to get home and watch the youtube.  It's blocked at work!


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## woodsmaster (Apr 30, 2010)

I've traped them using cabage.


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## Czech (Apr 30, 2010)

90% of mole diet is earth worms. That known, save your grub and whatever else money and buy one of the following....Talprid and/or spike traps. Or spend some cash on some beer and one of these! http://www.rodenator.com/


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## vvvv (Apr 30, 2010)

in maine its illegal to transport/relocate the vermins


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## Jags (Apr 30, 2010)

Czech said:
			
		

> 90% of mole diet is earth worms. That known, save your grub and whatever else money and buy one of the following....Talprid and/or spike traps. Or spend some cash on some beer and one of these! http://www.rodenator.com/



 :lol:  :lol:   Baahahaa that thing is FRICKEN AWESOME!


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## begreen (Apr 30, 2010)

Caddyshack anyone? Bill Murray would have loved this, but at $1500, you need to have a major problem or a major attitude.


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## BrotherBart (Apr 30, 2010)

OK Bubba. Hold my beer and watch THIS!


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## kenny chaos (Apr 30, 2010)

Rags soaked in diesel oil and smoldering inside a closed up hole
will also do the trick.
My one paying gig for the summer is mowing the lawn for the widow Jo
who at 91 decided she didn't want to mow her lawn anymore.
She uses clorine to remove vermin.
Last year she beat a full grown woodchuck to death with a broom
and live trapped another.


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## Dix (May 1, 2010)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> Rags soaked in diesel oil and smoldering inside a closed up hole
> will also do the trick.
> My one paying gig for the summer is mowing the lawn for the widow Jo
> who at 91 decided she didn't want to mow her lawn anymore.
> ...



Go Jo !!

 ;-P 

Pun intended


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## mrurbplanner (May 1, 2010)

Thanks for all of the advice.  The groundhog seems to have moved on over the past week as I have not seen him in the yard nor around the hole.   Maybe the neighbour's dog had some fun with him.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 1, 2010)

mrurbplanner said:
			
		

> Does anyone here have any experience with live trapping ground hogs that could offer some tips and lessons learned?
> 
> I have discovered one on my lot and am looking to live trap it and relocate it.  It looks as if the groundhog just set up the den within the past day as the sand pile down from the hole is fresh.
> 
> ...



I did not read the posts after the OP but....


Why would anyone live trap an animal and then relocate it to become a problem for someone else? To be very honest, it really ticks me off when I hear of this sort of thing being done. I know around our area people who live in towns like to live trap the animals, especially coons. Then they will bring them out in the country "where they won't be a problem." Excuse me! They are a problem out in the country. It makes no difference if it is coons, woodchucks, skunks or whatever. We don't want your problems. Take care of them yourself. 

Oh, but some folks don't want to kill an animal. What do you suppose happens to those animals that get live trapped and then let loose in the country?


Here is one good example:  A neighbor had gotten rid of over 20 coons last summer. He has a rental home across the road from his place and his renter called one afternoon to tell him that over 20 coons were in his yard! Are they a problem? Yes. Have you ever seen a corn field after 20 coons have had a night or two in them? An even bigger problem is that when the animals get so populated, disease then strikes and one of the worse seems to be that rabies become wide spread. Is that what the live trappers want?

Okay. Rant done. Carry on.


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## LLigetfa (May 1, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Okay. Rant done. Carry on.


The city folk are always turning their unwanted cats loose around here.  It feeds the foxes.  We get our retaliation by turning our unwanted kittens loose at a schoolyard in town. %-P


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## Hunderliggur (May 2, 2010)

mrurbplanner said:
			
		

> Thanks for all of the advice.  The groundhog seems to have moved on over the past week as I have not seen him in the yard nor around the hole.   Maybe the neighbour's dog had some fun with him.


Maybe he was reading the list over your shoulder and got the message!


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## Gooserider (May 3, 2010)

Worth pointing out that it is illegal in MOST places to relocate a trapped critter, for multiple reasons, and often with VERY hefty penalties...

Relocating is also counterproductive - the reason why the critter moved into your neighborhood to begin with is that his old digs were getting to crowded.  If you relocate him, you increase the crowding, and the odds that even if the original critter doesn't come back, that you will cause the one in your neighbor's yard to get "pushed" into yours - it is sort of like one of those tile games where you have to make room for the critter you are trying to move by pushing one into the space you are clearing...

OTOH, if you bump off the critter, you don't add to the pressure that made him try to move in on you...

Gooserider


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## bsa0021 (Jun 5, 2010)

How do you do the propane thing.....safely? Do I get a torch adapter from HF for my grill tank fill the hole for a few and throw a match in the hole?
Live trapping always concerned me in another way.......What if you catch a skunk??


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## Gooserider (Jun 5, 2010)

bsa0021 said:
			
		

> How do you do the propane thing.....safely? Do I get a torch adapter from HF for my grill tank fill the hole for a few and throw a match in the hole?
> Live trapping always concerned me in another way.......What if you catch a skunk??



My understanding of the propane thing from looking at their website, is that the torch is a special adapter w/ a lighter head built in, and a long hose.  The idea is to put the head in the hole, and run the hose out a long distance, then turn on the gas for a specified length of time, followed by hitting the spark head...

In terms of the skunk, supposedly they won't spray in the dark, especially in a confined space that doesn't offer a , so the advice I've seen is to cover the trap w/ blankets or other light blocking material, and then transport it to the point where you will be releasing it...  It is also best to be as gentle as possible while doing this.   Then set up the trap to release out one end, and flip the cover off that end while you get out of range in the opposite direction.  You will probably have a few seconds, possibly much longer (allow several hours) while the skunk is evaluating the situation before it comes out, and then it will be much more interested in making a break for the nearest cover than it will be in seeking revenge...  Remember they don't spray except as a last resort, so if you provide a clear and non-threatening escape route, they would far rather take that as opposed to giving you the spray bomb .

Gooserider


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## benjamin (Jun 6, 2010)

bsa0021 said:
			
		

> How do you do the propane thing.....safely?



safely???  this is the DIY forum, maybe you were looking for something else?  

The southeast asian tunnel elimination technique, (as I've been told, wasn't there), is to use an oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane cutting rig adjusted to a carburizing flame but extinguished to fill the hole with a mix of oxygen and heavier than air explosive gas, then light from a distance.  I assume the rodentenator uses propane and air or oxygen in the same manner, and is safe as long as the tunnels are small enough.  

Never tried it but small engine exhaust or maybe even a bucketful of hot coals (odorless carbon monoxide) might be effective if the tunnel entrances can be located and sealed up.


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