I have heard the neighbors with gardens complaining about a groundhog who lives on my block. I'm going to name him Chuck for the sake of this blog. Well, Chuck kept eating my lettuce to the ground as soon as it came up, until eventually (in desparation) I planted something else in its spot. I thought he subsequently found a new mealtime locale. My next door neighbor, who has a large kitchen garden, patrols his garden daily. He has been making frequent groundhog sightings and has updated me a few times on the groundhog's most recent reported "meals". Well, I'm reporting now that Chuck LOVES cucumbers.
Just on Sunday I took pictures of baby cucumbers growing on my seven plants. I probably counted 50 babies. Well, today I counted 5. Every other tiny cucumber had been eaten right off the vine, flower and all! Occasionally Chuck had the audacity to leave about half of the cuke on the vine.
Today I spent my lunch break researching groundhog prevention tactics. Recommended strategies included
- Scare tactics: scarecrows, owl statues, pinwheels, automatic lights, etc.
- Fences: which need to be 1 foot deep and 3 foot tall to prevent digging and jumping
- Smelly stuff: one recommendation was combining 1 tsp hot sauce with 1 gallon water and spraying it all over the plants. Someone else suggested planting mint at the perimeter because groundhogs don't like the smell. I'm certainly not planting mint at the perimeter, it will take over the garden!
- Moving groundhog's home: trapping, blocking his tunnel, etc.
I may try the hot sauce technique to preserve my few remaining cukes and perhaps my sweet peppers in case he might be interested in those too. I did happen upon this article from the Humane Society: Getting Groundhogs Out of Gardens.
Burrows
Groundhogs hibernate from October through February, and their breeding season begins soon after they wake up. If you must evict a groundhog from a burrow under your house, porch, or other building, do so shortly after they've emerged from hibernation or wait until late summer, after the young have been weaned and are living on their own.
These humane harassment techniques will encourage groundhogs to move along:
* Partially dig out the entrances to the burrow (there are usually several) and clear away surrounding vegetation.
* Put urine-soaked kitty litter (the clumping kind works well) inside all burrow entrances. The strong odor often causes them to vacate the premises.
* Place a one-way door at the main entrance to the burrow. This lets the groundhog safely exit but not return.
After the animal has left the burrow, loosely pack the entrances with grass or similar material. If it remains undisturbed for three to five days, you can assume the burrow is unoccupied. Permanently close it by excavating the areas around the entrances and burying square sections of heavy gauge welded wire at least 1 foot deep across all entrances.
Is "humane harrassment technique" an oxymoron?
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