How to Get Rid of Groundhogs Fast Using Home Remedies

It’s never a good thing to have a family of groundhogs getting comfortable in your yard as they can cause long-term structural damages to your house if they aren’t controlled properly. Here are our top suggestions for getting rid of groundhogs using natural home remedies.

1. Set Up a Quick-Kill Trap

Trap-and-release humane traps are popular options for getting rid of groundhogs if you prefer to do it in a humane way but please note there are some major considerations to be had with this. First, groundhogs are considered to be rabies vector species in some states. This might make it illegal to release the trapped groundhogs. The Humane Society also suggests other concerns of trap-and-release despite your good intentions.

We suggest using quick-kill traps to get rid of the groundhogs in the yard. These traps use a non-toxic mechanism to catch rodents like groundhogs, voles, and gophers.

2. Sprinkle Black Pepper Around the Yard

This won’t do much for groundhogs that have already made your yard their home but sprinkling ground black pepper around the perimeter of the yard may discourage more groundhogs from entering. You could also try other foods like crushed garlic and cayenne pepper. Try sprinkling this in the groundhog burrows as well. The rodents won’t be able to stand the smell of the pepper and garlic and may decide to seek shelter elsewhere.

3. Keep Grass and Shrub Cover Low

Groundhogs are unlikely to venture into new spaces that are open and provide very little shelter. We suggest keeping the grass height low and avoid having too many shrubs in the yard. Woodpiles and large yard debris should also be removed as they may be used as shelter by groundhogs.

4. Set Up Fencing for Long-Term Protection

Unfortunately, the most effective way of keeping groundhogs out is by setting up fencing around the perimeter of the yard. Groundhogs are territorial animals. If you remove one then it’s likely that another groundhog will find its way into the yard and take over the burrows. One suggestion is to use chicken wire that’s at least six feet tall and to bury the wire so that at least ten inches of it is in the ground.

As cute as these animals are, it’s best to not leave the groundhogs around for too long unless you don’t mind the damage that they may potentially cause in the yard. The same applies to other critters like moles, voles, and shrews. Try to stick with a prevention method first before you consider anything more lethal (assuming it’s allowed legally).