How to Get rid of Groundhogs | Top 6 Best Groundhog Repellents

Groundhogs are difficult to get rid of because they are considered to be aggressive animals. They are not known to cause harm to humans but carry fleas, ticks, and rabies.

Groundhogs create holes and burrows in your gardens and lawns that endanger the integrity of the soil and loosen the foundation of various plants as they feed on grass and cause damage to crops such as melons and alfalfa.

Additionally, they can chew through the electrical cords as well as water supply piping and tubing.

How to get rid of Groundhogs?

You can rid of Groundhogs with the various Groundhog Traps and Repellents available in the market. Below are the Best Groundhog Repellents.

Top 6 Best Groundhog Repellents : Review

You can rid of Groundhogs with the following Groundhog Traps available in the market:

1. Home Garden Humane Live Cage Trap

This groundhog trap is made up of metal and weighs 9.3 pounds, making it suitable to trap groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, possums, moles, gophers, skunks, chipmunks, and other nuisance rodents.

Home Garden Humane Live Cage Trap comes pre-assembled and can be used safely around children and other pets as the sensitive triggers and small mesh opening does not allow the trapped animal to escape.

It also includes a large handle to provide you protection while transporting the animal, and a back door for quickly releasing the animal, making it suitable for homes and farms.

Dimensions: 32 inches * 12.5 inches * 12 inches

How to Use: You need to set the release switch for the door very lightly and ensure that the hook is not angled to the side. Keep the hook straight and as centered as possible. Since the trap has a sensitive trigger and a short trigger rod, as soon as the pedal touches the rod, it would shut the door immediately and trap the animal.

2. Havahart 1045 Live Animal Two-Door Cage Trap

This Havahart groundhog trap includes two spring-loaded doors to provide extra security to animals, along with various other features such as sensitive trigger, galvanized steel, wire mesh, handle guard, and smooth edges, to allow safe, easy, and quick catches.

Havahart 1045 Live Animal Two-Door Cage Trapis suitable for trapping groundhogs, raccoons, opossums, stray cats, and similar-size nuisance animals.

How to Use: You can use the Havahart humane trap by following the steps mentioned below:

Placing the bait: Place the bait at the end of the trap so that the groundhog has to enter inside the trap completely before striding on the trigger plate.
Setting up the trap: Set the trap near the area where you’ve caught a glimpse of a groundhog or any other animal for several days to make the animal comfortable and ensure an easy catch.
Checking the trap on a regular basis: Extreme hot or cold weather conditions can serve as an obstacle in trapping groundhogs. So, make sure that you keep a regular check on the trap to assure humane treatment to the trapped animals.

3. Gingabu Live Collapsible Humane Animal Cage Trap

This groundhog trap is made up of heavy-duty, galvanized steel so that creatures can’t chew through the mesh and escape.

The trap is highly effective against groundhogs, small raccoons, armadillos, possums, rabbits, large squirrels, and other similar-size animals.

Its collapsible design and easy to fold feature saves space, and the highly sensitive trigger assures that the single door shuts down instantly.

Dimensions: 32 inches * 11 inches * 13 inches

Folded Dimensions: 32 inches * 11 inches * 2 inches

How to Use: The trap comes in a pre-assembled form and you just need to place the bait. Place the trap towards the end of the trap to ensure that the animal gets trapped completely.

4. Rabbit and Groundhog Repellent

This groundhog repellent is easy to use and effectively prevents groundhogs from ruining your vegetation, flowers, trees, plants, or any other important thing that you have placed in your garden or lawn. Also, the liquid repellent has a pleasant mint smell.

How to Use: You just need to either spray or spill some of the liquid repellent near your house or wherever the groundhogs have been creating trouble.

5. I Must Garden Repellent [all-weather granular formula]

This groundhog repellent is made up of natural ingredients and makes use of two different ways to keep animals away, that is, through its odor and a granular formula to create fear in the groundhogs.

It works effectively even in harsh weather conditions and does not produce any bad odor for humans.

How to Use: It is an easy to use product as you just have to spill some of it in the places where groundhogs are seen frequently.

6. I Must Garden Groundhog Natural Spray

I Must Garden Groundhog Natural Spray is eco-friendly as it is made-up of natural ingredients and botanical oils.

It is a long-lasting product as it can withstand rough weather conditions and does not require re-application even after rain. It is safe to use around children as it does not make use of any chemical.

How to Use: It is an easy to use product as you just have to spray it near the place where groundhogs have been creating trouble.

Buyer Guide to select the Best Groundhog Repellent

Before buying any repellent to get rid of Groundhogs, you should keep the following points in mind and make sure that it is suitable for your use:

It should be easy to use as you won’t need to worry about calling a professional every time you use it.

It should be long-lasting because some products require constant re-application which results in you spending more money that it is required.

It should have a good smell or no odor at all. Some repellents have a very bad odor which is not bearable and you would not want your yard to smell stinky which will ruin your mood.

It should be made up of natural ingredients so that it does not affect the environment and is safe to use around children.

Additional Factors to be considered while selecting the best Groundhog Trap:

Before buying any trap to get rid of Groundhogs, you should keep the following points in mind and make sure that it is suitable for your use:

Make sure that the size of the trap is large enough to trap the groundhog without harming it.

Safety: Usually, these traps are well-designed to avoid the chances of any injury as they include a safety handle for protection. But you should double-check its strength and durability before buying it so that the trapped animal is not able to escape and cause any harm to others.

Price: The price of any product normally depends on its quality. Expensive traps prove to be more efficient and vice-versa. Therefore, if you want to purchase a large number of traps, you might have to compromise either your budget or the quality of the trap.

Bait: Many traps come pre-baited and pre-scented in order to lure the groundhog in to the trap. If you want a trap for indoor use, you should opt for a non-scented trap that requires you to place the bait manually.

Trap Trigger: Sometimes, the trigger is not strong enough and keeps on shutting down. So, you need to buy a strong trigger that will trap the groundhog effectively and won’t let it go.

Make sure that the trap doesn’t kill them: Sometimes, the traps don’t have the good holding capacity and air circulation that suffocates the groundhog trapped inside and results in its death. So, it’s really important to make sure that the trap you’re buying doesn’t kill it, but instead humanely traps it so that you can displace it later.

Conclusion

The best way to get rid of any creature is not by harming them but by humanely trapping them and taking them to a safe place, far away from your home. There are various groundhog traps available in the market that don’t make use of any poison and safe to use around children.

They are made of galvanized steel to prevent it from corrosion, have a sensitive trigger, and include a safety handle and smooth inside edges to protect the trapped animal and you from any harm. There are spray repellents that make use of natural ingredients to get rid of groundhogs.