The Bad Thing: This is one honkin' big woodchuck.The Good Thing: He's in our back wood working area and not the garden.
And he shouldn't be able to get into the garden because of the fence entirely encircling it.
Oh please, don't let him get in the garden.
(Hmmm, do woodchucks eat crows?? Just askin'.)
22 comments:
We have a woodchuck that lives on the property next to ours and I hope he doesn't venture on up to our garden either!
You better call in some reinforcements. It could get ugly up there. Maybe they are starved from last years off season?
He won't help with your crow problem, but I'm sure he'd like to help you with that pesky garden problem.....you know, all those dang vegetables popping up everywhere.......
:(
Dangit! You are just getting them all this year aren't you?
now look what you did -you remolded the house and now you have them coming out of the woodwork---lol & if a wood chuck could chuck wood.....,she's full of it today ,i am
Forget the garden-open a wildlife sanctuary. :))
Hmmm, I'm think it's time to break out the Havahart trap. Perhaps your neighbor would like to have a woodchuck on his property? :) Stevie@ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com
Shannon - I know a woodchuck can devastate a garden in short order. I'm hoping this guy has plenty to eat outside of our enclosed garden area!
APG - Yeah, right! This guy looked so rotund I don't think he missed a meal because of me not gardening last year!
Sue - Daughter said I should let her corgi, Tucker, take care of him. Tucker has effectively done in more than one on her acreage. I don't want to see it come to that, of course, but a trap MAY have to come out.
Stephanie - There are so many critters around here . . . we just don't see them all the time.
judy - This guy did run into one of our wood sheds last night so maybe he is chucking wood. Hahahaha!
odiie - We have a slug of deer on the property. All we need is a mama and papa moose and a couple of babies!
Stevie Taylor - Yep, we will resort to a trap and relocation if we have to. Hey, Mr. Woodchuck, wanna go for a ride??
Forward scout for the crows. I think he's laughing too!
Spiderjohn - Okay, now I'm starting to feel paranoid. ;o}
Hi Mama Pea ~ I have what is probably a dumb question.... but is a woodchuck the same as a groundhog? Your photo looks like what we have, what we call, groundhogs here and.... I hate groundhogs. Those guys are incredibly destructive. I used to live on larger acreage and owned horses, and a groundhog decided to aim his tunnel and end it in one of my horse's stall... in one night. The next morning, I could not believe my sweet mare had not broken a leg in that huge hole. I lugged and rolled a heavy rock/boulder over the hole, thinking that should do the trick and I'd out-smarted him.... and that very night, he rolled the rock away and re-dug the hole. Needless to say, he had to go. Got rid of him, then the skunks moved into the groundhog's tunnel system and THAT'S a whole 'nuther different story. :) Thank you for letting me go down 'memory lane'!!! And hope your woodchuck/groundhog(?) leaves your garden alone!
Have you considered Woodchuck stew? Hmmm, maybe not! Sorry, best I could do!
Lisa - Yes, the way I understand it, woodchucks and groundhogs are the very same animal . . . just called by the two different names according to where in the country you live. (Maybe I should say where the *&%^#! little creature lives!) I have been very nervous since we spotted him. I know he could dig right under our fencing around the garden if he wanted to. A couple of years ago, we spotted a half grown woodchuck INSIDE our fencing and caught him in a trap and took him for a looooong ride never to be bothered by one again . . . until now.
Your groundhog story is a good one. Frustrating, I'm sure it was, but good!
Karen L. - I've never heard of anyone eating the critters . . . but I suppose if you were hungry enough. I think I'd opt for some other technique for getting rid of him if necessary though. Thanks for the suggestion. ;o}
Looks like you and I have something in common! It's true they can be eaten. I think the older version of Joy of Cooking has instructions. Like you say, if one is hungry enough .....
I do know that woodchucks can climb a fence. Last year, I planted scarlet runner beans to climb our garden fence, and they grew so prolifically that they were bearing the fence over. I thought, I need to get out there are prune that growth back before they tear the fence down. Then the next night, the greenery on the top of the fence started dissapearing. The next night, as we were eating dinner, the groundhog came out from under the woodpile, humped over to the garden fence, walked up the side like it was walking up a stairs, and casually strolled along the top of the fence, clipping off the leaves and neatly trimming the bean vines. The fence straightened up and each evening "Woody" worked to trim our excessive vines while we ate dinner and watched. He never ate one bean, just neatly trimmed the excess greenery and corrected the fence lean. Somehow we got really lucky with that one. We'll see what he does this year.
Leigh - Well, they say "Joy of Cooking" has everything in it, so I don't doubt what you say! (All the same, I think I'll pass on the Woodchuck Stew!)
Trailshome - Glad to hear you had a good experience with your woodchuck! May we be so lucky.
....don't woodchucks dig holes? Like under your fence? LOL...just sayin'
I'm thinking what dr. momi just asked LOL!!!
okay on second thought knowing you and Papa Pea, you sunk that fence in deep I bet!
dr momi - Funny thing. I just two minutes ago say him/her scamper across the back wood working area and zip under our storage building. So I'm thinking we have a permanent squatter on the land. And . . . dum-da-dum-dum! They do indeed dig holes and could go under our fence jiffy-quick. I'm thinking we need to get out the big Havaheart trap and take one certain woodchuck for a ride.
Erin - Feel free to knock us down a peg or two on the Be Prepared chart. The fence is NOT sunk into the ground. We were (not very brightly) thinking only of keeping the deer and rabbits out of the garden area. Holy cwap, could a rabbit dig under the fence?? None have in 16 years but now I'm getting really paranoid. Geesh, I've got crows coming in from above, woodchucks and rabbits burrowing under . . . what next? A moose with an extension ladder?
I don't blame you one bit, the thought of digging trenches in rocky soil is not good! I too would probably take my chances and just keep a trap around LOL
Erin - We set our largest trap out last night baited with apple. He/she apparently liked the apple . . . but also managed to avoid getting stuck in the trap! I'm wondering if we need a BIGGER trap?
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