Killing Ground Hog With CO

Noticed a ground hog burrow beneath new (2012) pole barn today. New burrow, last 2 or 3 days, and spring chicken hog.

Normally, I take care of ground hogs with patience and either Ruger 1022 with stingers or 12 Ga Remington 1187. I'm very far from being an expert but can kill ground hogs with either within reasonable range. I usually get one or two spring chickens each spring, usually in May. Haven't seen any around buildings for a couple of years.

Schedule does not allow patience at this time and do not like where hog choose to dig so am trying alternative means.

Drove 52 8N to burrow, stuck vacuum cleaner hose (no little lady, so no need to worry) over tail pipe and into burrow. Adjusted idle to around 400 RPM and allowed to run for about 30 minutes.

I believe this works whether hog is in burrow or not because CO displaces air in deepest part of burrow and stays there for some time. Hog comes back, goes to sleep and never comes out.

Shoveled dirt over burrow after removing hose to see if burrow is subsequently opened.

Anyone know if 30 minutes is enough time for new, small burrow? I found no other entrances.

Dean

5 minutes always worked for me.

Sounds good.

I expect I've got him but will watch for sounds of life for a few days.

Dean

Keep in mind that they often have another entrance/exit to the den.

An older engine like your 8N works good, maybe help it a bit more by pulling the choke half way.

New cars with catalytic converters aren't nearly as effective.

Look at gopherheavendotcom. Pretty slick unit, I bought one and use it around both of my properties, works great.

New den, good chance it worked. They can't build the complete den with the back-up hole overnight. I've soaked a good size rag with gasoline and closed the hole up, worked 3 out of 3 times on new dens.

These critters are a lot smarter then most would think, and they have a pretty decent will to survive from what I have seen of them.

Established dens, you have to find all the holes, some have more then one back up exit and they can rotate to other dens from what I have observed. I caught 2 by hand in June and after taming a young one,(had that one for a month) the other never liked me much, both were relocated to old dens that were not in use along an embankment, no bother to me any more. I do have 1 or 2 more young ones to deal with, they may not be so fortunate, population has to be culled or they get out of control in a years time.

Young ones are easy to catch by hand in the right situation, I've been doing it for years knowing how to get an advantage over them where they will stand their ground and not run. Just wear thick gloves, they can deliver a nasty bite, something I have not experienced and do not want to LOL !

I tried bleach, a funnel and a hose on my woodchucks that decided my pole barn was a good home. I would fill the hole with a 50/50 mix when I saw them go in and then seal the hole. Took a few times, but no chucks in the last 10 days...there were over 20 to start with. We can't shoot guns here. I was going to do the CO with my smoky Perkins diesel, but someone said a gas engine was better???

Does the gasoline scent cause them to abandon the den?

Three or four years ago, I saw a young ground hog run toward my house when I was leaving for work. It decided to climb an elm tree in my yard (yes, ground hogs can climb trees) but stopped about 4' from the ground in plain sight. I do not allow burrowing animals around my buildings.

On the way to work, I had no time to open the safe, load a gun, shoot the critter, clean the gun and restore it to the safe.

I drove my car outside of the building telling myself that I would do something about the hog if it was still there when I drove past the tree. It was.

Not wanting to go through the trouble of safe/gun/cleaning, etc., I returned to the garage and retrieved a 12" ratchet, telling myself that I would attack the hog if it was still on the tree after approaching it, though hoping that it would not be. It was.

Making a long story short, it took several strikes with the Craftsman ratchet to dispatch the ground hog, and I will probably not forget the sounds of the strikes.

Upon, arriving at work, I noticed that I had blood on my shirt. Not one of my prideful moments.

Dean

I have gotten two so far this year with my wife's 22. I thought that I had one a few weeks earlier with a smoke bomb. I saw it run towards a hole, so I lit a bomb and pushed it in and shoveled dirt along with couple big rocks over the hole. I kept watch for smoke from another hole but never saw any. Two days later the hole was still plugged. Third day it was open again, but the strange thing was that not an ounce of dirt had been pushed out. The hole was moved over a little, no doubt due to the rocks, but it was opened from the inside. Little sucker apparently had a gas mask.

There is a good chance gasoline would deter them from a den. They have an incredible sense of smell and use it constantly in everything they do.

They are built to climb, and most people do not know that. Handle one and you'll learn why, their hind feet can turn to grapple. I have been up in a tree with a fully grown one and have photos of this.

I don't particularly like dispatching woodchucks for some reason, yet I cannot stand raccoons, coyotes and some other varmints, and usually will not hesitate anytime I have an opportunity to take one out. They are nasty, dangerous and carry all kinds of diseases compared to other critters.

Your account of dispatching one in a tree, that is something you will live with all of your days, same as I do when it did not go humanely or as humanely as I would like.

This is one of the reasons I try to be fair and consider having the roles reversed. I don't care what anyone thinks about it either. People can do some very inhumane things to critters and varmints. I won't stand for any of that no matter what,it makes me very angry. All kinds of videos out there, slow tortuous painful, terrifying death, say when they let a dog grab one by the hind end. Rats die quicker than a marmot when dogs are used. Even predators know enough to break its neck. Either shoot it in the head or vitals effectively, gas or smoke poison them, or live trap, catch by hand and do what you must, release where it's not going to create a problem for someone else, or put them down in a quick humane manner.

When around ones place, outbuildings and such, you must have a firearm ready to go. As much as I appreciate the ones I have, and like to take good care of them there's always one hidden and ready when I need it.

The story of the one in the tree reminds me of an experience I have shared here many times. I had the same thing happen, but instead of killing this one, we just had a staring contest. That previous fall I had the awful experience of having to put down the best and most unique dog I have ever had and or experienced. He just got old and the health problems were beyond helping him anymore. He had a seizure and I knew what I had to do, but it was one of the absolute worst most rotten things I have ever had to do. This woodchuck was in the tree that "Biggie" used to sit in front of every morning at sunrise and was buried under its canopy. That woodchuck was a welcome friend for 8 years of my life and I would not trade the experience of it for anything. Still reeling from the loss, this guy was incredible. He was a trusted friend like my dog and you could set your watch by his arrivals on a daily basis and particularly on Saturdays.
Being a territorial male, he kept all the other woodchucks out and away from the house, and even fought one under the porch losing a finger ! That is how I knew it was him for all those years. He enjoyed the snacks I gave him and you know I did not have a fence up around my garden for most of the time he was around. He would take a tomato once in awhile, but amazingly, just never became a nuisance. It's hard to believe, but then again I have seen them eat more weeds than not. I've got photos and not so good video to remember "Woody" by. He would climb up on your lap, he was something else and I swear my dog came back as a woodchuck LOL ! It helped a lot with dealing with what I had to do. I've never seen one even remotely like this one since and there have been dozens and dozens.

Some places and situations you just cannot have them around, holes and livestock, crops, buildings, so you do what you must, hopefully in the most humane manner you can.

The gasoline fumes are heavier than air so it displaces the oxygen in the hole. It doesn't support life so yes they die. You have to cover the hole where you put the gas soaked rag or the natural draft that is created by the air moving across the dirt mound at the main entrance will suck fresh air into the den and suck all the gas fumes right on thru. This is why only one hole has the dirt mound around it. It acts as a venturi in a carburetor.

My beagle will "call me" to come with a shovel. One smack and the chuck is a goner.

The first groundhog we had ended up being must like a distant pet. She stayed out of our areas, and we made sure we stayed out of hers. We'd talk to her from a distance. Then she had a litter, and they were OK for the most part. But by the time THEY had litters, the newest younguns were totally out of control!! Ended up having to shoot all the brat ones. Yet she was never afraid of us.

I feel about like you do Billy, the least you can do is be humane about it. That is a responsibility you have by being a superior creature that can think for itself.

I have real good luck using a road flare. Just shove it down the hole and cover with dirt look for other holes with smoke and cover them as well.

http://m.rodentblaster.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rodentblaster.com%2F&utm_referrer=#2735

5 minutes with the atv on high idle.

Few weeks back, I discovered one had decided to burrow alongside the garage foundation of a second home behind some stuff I had stacked to get rid of. Only noticed it because it had piled up the diggings (sand) up to and behind the air conditioner. The sucker was real busy. He dug a sloping trench and just kicked the sand backwards. The trench was about 8 ft long and sloped down to the "tunnel" entrance which was about 3' below grade. I collapsed the tunnel roof for a few feet and filled it back up. Came back a week later and he had dug it out again. Since it was so deep, I figured that I hadn't collapsed all of the tunnel so I dug down along the wall with a trenching shovel for about 10' in length. As I got down to the tunnel roof in a section, I'd collapse it. Kept checking with a rod to ensure I got all the "voids". After I got the tunnel covered, I ran out of time to back fill it entirely so I covered it with some wire mesh. Last time I checked, he hadn't been back. Will finish the backfill when I get back there next week.

agreed that 3 min just about killed me each time I had to change implements and tractor running with that tailpipe right there!!!!!!