(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

I'm still losing the war

R

RobMD

Well-known Member
The radical militant terrorist groundhogs are still drilling all over my place. Nothing has worked, gassing, hunting, trapping, baiting, poisoning, and bulldozing their holes.

I'm convinced they've gotten smarter strategically, and are declaring Jihad against me.

I think the only way to tackle this terrorism is to clean up my property and level it, plant grass and keep it mowed.

They're fully armed and probably eating my tomato plants.

I'm going to build a pipe bomb and terrorize them for a change.
 
I have a friend that would take his 500 gal. water tank full of water unload it in their hole then pour 10 gal. of gas in on the water. wait a few min. and then lite it. He said the ground would rumble fire would come out of holes 1/8 mile away. But it done the job!
 
I rid my area of five of these critters last year: Two shot, and three trapped. Haven't seen any around yet this year. Yet.

If you haven't had any luck shooting them (or if you have close neighbors or some other reason that gunfire just isn't safe), the best way I've found is trapping them.

Go to the link below and look at the Bridger body traps. I think you'll want either the 6" (#160) or 7" (#220) traps. If groundhogs are that much of a problem on your spread, you'll want to buy *at least* a half-dozen traps.

First, attach the trap to something reasonably heavy so that it won't get dragged off; I use an old bush-hog flail and some worn-out tire chains. Now, set the trap -- but watch your fingers!

Next, place a trap over every burrow you can find. Some of them are woodchuck residences, and others are just places they dig so that they have somewhere to go hide if they sense danger.

Finally, camouflage the trap with a few handfuls of fresh-pulled blades of grass, but leave the opening visible.

With any luck, the traps will spring when the intended target either pokes its head out of its burrow to go and maraud your vegetable garden, or rushes back into it when fleeing danger. (O, the irony!) The traps usually catch them across the waist and chest, and the end comes rather quickly.

I then take the carcasses some distance away (onto a powerline that runs parallel to the property line) and leave them belly-up. The crows or coyotes/other scavengers do the rest.

I like using the traps, as they avoid the use of poisonous methods and are much more discreet than gunfire.

Good like with your campaign, and let us know how you make out.

-- Maine Fordson
Bridger Body Traps
 
Have you watched Caddyshack recently? Maybe you could come up with a few more ideas?

"Honest Mr. Gopher, I'm not a plastic explosive or anything."
 
[i:19e09fd37d]Carl Spackler[/i:19e09fd37d]: :License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote.

Sorry, another caddyshack reference:
 
When they brought coyotes to Aberdeen Proving Ground they made the ground hogs disappear. I trapped a lot and took them to APG. They probably got them too. Hal
 
Every once in a while when I would pull the trap out of the ground hog den hole I would have a stripped kitty looking at me and neither wanted anyting to do with the other.
 
Two mentions of "Caddyshack". "Groundhog Day" not bad either.
You still have a sense of humor about it.
Leave just one log lying on a slough bank around here & there will be a new woodchuck hole.
 
When I first built my house here the neighbor woman came over and said do you mind if I shoot groundhogs on the back of your property? Turns out I knew her and her family and I said Hell no help yourself she showed me her 222 and man! what a sweet whistlepig killer? She killed six in the first year but everytime my neighbor on the otherside would call me asking did I hear a gunshot and of course I said no, she was 6 for 6 so far no pigs. I could be her agent if you like LOL, my kind of woman.
 
Back in the '60's a local farmer had a corn crib that had 2 or3 year old corn and a lot of rats in it. When they decided to shell it they built a tin fence around the crib with a small chute at one. In the opening they put a weedcutter with the blade turning fast enough that the blade could not be seen. The govenor on that weedcutter was snapping all afternoon. A lot of rats "seen the light" that afternoon! Armand
 
Gophers are very easy to trap. You just use their tunnel defense system against them. One gopher can do an incredible amount of damage. Yes, I to have lots of funny efforts to use until I was told how to get them. When I was a lot younger an old fella got a kick out of watching me, THEN he showed me how.

It takes 5-15 minutes to have one.
 
bleach +ammonia=chlorine gas. then cover the hole. or if you can bleed the lines on an anhydrous ammonia tank into a hole that helps lower the population
 
With body traps--I'd use the 6 x 6 or 160 model, also available from Victor--just put a stake through each spring to stabalize it. Bend the triggers out a little into a wide V or you can bend each 90 degrees to form a T. Set the trap in the entrance hole. Don't forget to unhook the safety hooks. You can drape a few blades of grass over the trap to camouflage it, but it's not necessary. Another guy and I--he was shooting and I was trapping--took over 100 out of an 80-acre field. The farmers wife kept track.

Snares--if they're legal--work too. It's hard to pull the whistlepig out of the hole if he's still alive.

Larry in Michigan
 
I don't know if you can find it anymore, but get some lye (sodium hydroxide) and put it in all the holes you can find. Works to get rid of skunks too.
 
I had a tom cat that would go woodchuck hunting with me.He would check holes and sit back and watch me shoot them after they chased him out of the holes.A scoped 22 long rifle will take chucks out to 100 yards.Low velocity rounds are very quiet.I shot many on rolling fields just walking along with a shotgun.Remington and PMC make 22 lr subsonic cartridges.They can be hard to find because every one likes loud ammo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top