groundhogs in garden

It is April 1st, and I have already seen groundhogs eating the new emerging plants! Is there NOTHING I can do to stop this destruction? The one thing I will NEVER do is harm them in any way!! Is there anything else that will keep them away, or will I have as frustrating a summer as last summer? They totally destroy my two favorite perennials..... Echinaceas and Rudbeckias!! (obviously their's too)
I have tried everything from human hair, to garlic/cayenne sprays, to individual fencing of my prized plants, to purchased repellants, etc. NOTHING WORKS!!!! One year, I even tried a Have a Heart Trap, but will never do that again. I caught a parent in the trap, and the baby was outside the trap crying, with the mother frantically attempting to dig her way out. HELP!!!!

Hello Semajrn welcome to the forum

There are several manners to try to get rid of them without hurting them, I'll mention a few: noise devices, nasty smells for groundhogs, or live-trapping and releasing them somewhere else.

Strange though, I always thought they liked wood only

Get a good invisible dog fence and a Jack Russell Terrier The invisible fence will keep the terrier in and if the groundhog is smart, it will stay out. Otherwise, if you are in a suburban area, call animal control. They should remove the creature, especially if there are small children in the neighborhood.

Sakura,
Thank you for your suggestions, but, what are some "nasty smells for groundhogs and noise devices?

Ammonia they really don't like, semajrn Also I heard mothballs can be pretty effective...

I have tried sprays, with NO success. Now, I will give ammonia a try. Do you have any suggestions on how to apply it?

Julie wrote:

Get a good invisible dog fence and a Jack Russell Terrier :ohmy: The invisible fence will keep the terrier in and if the groundhog is smart, it will stay out. :ohmy: Otherwise, if you are in a suburban area, call animal control. They should remove the creature, especially if there are small children in the neighborhood.

hi julie. i was just wondering why groundhogs should be removed if there are small children in the area?

semajrn wrote:

I have tried sprays, with NO success. Now, I will give ammonia a try. Do you have any suggestions on how to apply it?

Take approximately two and a half cups of cloudy ammonia and pour it into the hole/burrow the animal lives in


They will run away (or so they say)

Kids are curious and don't know their limitations. Nor do they know warning signals of any animals. Groundhogs are very large rodents and also have very large attitudes. If kids, especially young ones, corner a large adult groundhog, they are in danger.

Don't get me wrong, groundhogs do a huge service for the earth's other creatures by digging holes and abandening them. Smaller cave dwellers will then move into the holes and set up housekeeping. But groundhogs can also be aggressive and should be given a good deal of respect.

oh, i thought you meant that groundhogs had a thing for kids.

I was told to use ammonia we soak 5 sponges with it 3sponges went missing, and we also try helium balloons with no success Seems like it likes ammonia.