Before you do anything to discourage woodchuck presence on your property, decide whether and where you can tolerate at least some woodchucks. Remember that woodchucks (also called groundhogs, or whistle pigs) play an important role in the ecosystem. They provide natural prey for predators like eagles and coyotes and their foraging and digging activities help to shape the composition of the soil and plant community around them. They are relatively asocial animals, produce no more than one litter of young per year, and only about half of all juveniles will survive to adulthood, so it's rare for them to live at high densities.
But if woodchucks are damaging a garden or crop, you may want to fence them out of that area. And if you are concerned that people or animals may hurt themselves by stepping in a woodchuck burrow, non-lethal harassment to reduce the abundance of woodchucks on your property may be the best choice. You may be able to encourage all of the woodchucks to leave, or you may be left with only one or two burrows to watch out for.
Fencing Out Woodchucks
Woodchucks are able to climb as well as burrow, and this should be taken into account when deciding on a fence design meant to exclude woodchucks.
If the area to protect is small, woodchucks can be excluded using a 4-foot high hardware cloth fence with a mesh size smaller than 2 by 2 inches. Do not use chicken wire, as it will rust and weaken quickly. To prevent digging, bury the bottom of the fence 10–12 inches below ground or bend the lower 12 inches of the fence outward in an L shape about 1–2 inches below ground. The height of the fence above ground should be at least 3 feet. To prevent woodchucks from scaling the fence, you can add an electrified wire 4–5 inches off the ground and 4–5 inches from the outside of the fence. Bend the top 15 inches of the fence out at a 45-degree angle for extra protection from climbing chucks. Be sure to reinforce the gate as well so that woodchucks cannot dig under it.
If you must protect a larger area, it may be more practical to use a 2-strand electric fence with wires 4 inches and 8–9 inches above the ground. Any electric fence must be kept clear of vegetation to avoid shorting it out. Be sure to put up warning signs any time you install a new electric fence.
Non-Lethal Harassment: Timing is Everything
The timing of harassment is an important consideration , both for the welfare of the woodchucks themselves and for the effectiveness of your efforts. In late winter and spring, young woodchucks will still be in the burrows, nursing, and utterly dependent upon their mother and the protection offered by the burrow. When young first emerge above ground in late spring or early summer, they will be very vulnerable to predation and, though no longer nursing, tend to stay close to mom, eating where she eats and running when she runs.
So, for intensive harassment efforts, it's best to wait until you have seen baby woodchucks running around above ground for a few weeks. (In Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia this means late June or early July; if you live further north or at high elevation, you should wait a bit longer.) At this time the young are weaned and preparing to disperse, and their mothers may be more willing to move on as well.
Don't wait until fall weather hits, because once a woodchuck has found a good burrow in which to hibernate—a valuable commodity—he or she will be especially unwilling to move. In addition, it is at this time that woodchucks become much more focused on fattening up for the winter and may be more willing to tolerate harassment. If you do force a woodchuck out of its home during fall weather, it will be forced to use up valuable energy stores finding or digging a new burrow; ultimately the animal may have to settle for a low-quality hibernaculum, which could mean death for the chuck.
Harassment and Habitat Modification Techniques
The kinds of frightening devices that are sometimes effective with deer, birds, and other animals are typically not effective with woodchucks. Perhaps woodchucks, who must put on enough fat during the summer to survive winter hibernation, simply can't afford to be too easily distracted from eating. Therefore, evicting a woodchuck from your property requires that you modify habitat so that it is less appealing to woodchucks and apply aversive stimuli that mimic predator activity.
If you have decided to allow at least some woodchucks to stay on your land but want to discourage new ones from moving in, keep up a moderate level of disturbance throughout their active season (approximately February through October in the mid-Atlantic states) by frequently walking near their burrows during their peak foraging times, generally sunrise to 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to sunset. You may also want to walk a leashed dog through the area because a dog is likely to evoke a stronger "predator" response from the chucks. Keep the vegetation height to a minimum around burrows, buildings, and woodpiles and consider removing brush piles (though this will remove habitat for other wildlife as well). Woodchucks like to forage near tall grasses and other cover, so reducing the availability of cover will make the area less desirable to them. This should force woodchucks to increase their alertness and decrease foraging, and may be enough to make many woodchucks look elsewhere for a homestead.
To evict individual woodchucks from your property, first consider the timing of your efforts as suggested above. Then start by clearing vegetation from burrow entrances, buildings, and woodpiles. Next, find all woodchuck burrow entrances and partially dig them out with a trowel. Finally, place used (soiled) cat litter just inside burrow entrances. One application of used cat litter per burrow can be sufficient in some cases, but 2 or 3 applications may be necessary.
To verify that a burrow has been abandoned, put loosely packed hay across each entrance (almost all burrows will have at least two entrances, so make sure you find them all). If the hay is not disturbed within a few days, you can safely assume that no one is home. Fill in the burrow with dirt. To reduce the chances that the burrow will be reopened later, bury a 3-square-foot section of heavy-gauge welded wire (3-inch square mesh) about 1 foot deep around the burrow entrance before covering with dirt; alternatively, you could completely excavate the burrow using shovels or a back hoe. Visit the site whenever possible and reapply used cat litter if you notice new digging activity.
If harassment doesn't work, you may need to reevaluate the situation and determine whether you could protect valuable plants via fencing and tolerate any woodchucks that remain on your property.
Be aware that other wildlife species often use woodchuck burrows and may be injured, killed, or displaced from the burrow when you fill it in. Please do all you can to avoid harming any wildlife, including reptiles and amphibians, that may be using woodchuck burrows. Also be aware that federal or state laws may protect some of the wildlife species that use woodchuck burrows.
Preventing Problems
The HSUS strongly opposes the lethal control of wildlife. Non-lethal alternatives are nearly always available and effective for the reduction of wildlife damage. However, we realize that, despite our objections, some people may resort to killing wildlife on their property. If you remove woodchucks or other wildlife from your property—whether lethally or non-lethally—we urge you to take steps to prevent these animals from simply moving into the same vacated burrows months later or the next year by making the habitat unsuitable for them. Taking the time now to prevent future reoccupation of the same site will spare woodchucks and will save you time the next year.
When you have removed woodchucks, first be certain that burrows are no longer occupied (as described above for non-lethal harassment). When you are certain no adult or juvenile woodchucks or other animals are using the burrows, fill in the burrows and apply used cat litter, as described above. You may find it necessary to thoroughly excavate some burrows with shovels or a backhoe, especially the most "popular" ones that seem to be occupied every year. Keep vegetation as short as practical in the area previously used by woodchucks and make human and dog activity in that area a regular occurrence, especially in the early morning hours during spring and summer.
Again, please take care not to remove woodchucks—lethally or non-lethally—at a time of year that will result in the orphaning of unweaned juvenile woodchucks. The time of weaning varies geographically, but mid to late summer should be a safe bet.
For a list of products useful in non-lethal harassment and exclusion of deer and other wildlife, please see our list of vendors and products.
If you have questions, comments, or would like to suggest additional non-lethal wildlife damage control techniques, please call the Wildlife Section of The HSUS at 202-452-1100 or send an e-mail to wildlife@hsus.org.
The above suggestions do not constitute endorsement of any products or methods by The HSUS. Local, state, and federal laws—such as any laws regulating the use of repellents, electric fencing, noise-making devices, etc.; or laws protecting migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, or other wildlife—may affect the non-lethal wildlife damage control methods available to you. It is your responsibility to use repellents, electric fencing, or other methods in a safe manner that is in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws.
