Would this be a moral dilemma to you??!
Answers: I raise a large garden for me and my family. I have a groundhog that has lived behind my house in the woods. I have tried to live trap him for the last 1 1/2 years to no avail. He has done considerable damage to the garden both years. I AM going to shoot him this year and any young ones that may be here. I will eat any that I kill. How would you folks handle it??
I would shoot him. I know that seems harsh but I work hard in my garden and have little sympathy for rodents.
with gloves. i don't want to get blood on my hands.
I'd get a trap from your local Animal Control, and catch him. They will most likely relocate the critter for you.
Don't do it! You need to find a better solution.
This is why you should not kill the ground hog.
1) This world does not beyond to you only. That ground hog just as much right as you to be there.
2) The groundhog is just trying to eat and live - like you are! hence you do not have the right to kill that animal.
3) Trap the groundhog and you can either keep it - as it seems you do have space, this way it is not causing damage regardless.
4) You can find a farm santuray (sp?), and see if they can take it.
edit:- Your survival does not depend on killing that animal. Instead, see if there is a way you can put up a fence to protect your garden
Well if that's what you choose to do...
The blood is on your hands, not mine.
That is a disgusting thing for you to do!!
Don't do it.
Real men don't kill innocent animals.
i heard putting a windmill in your yard will make them go away. my neighbor heard this and put a 5 foot windmill in her yard and she says she doesnt have a problem with them now.. i think its the sound or vibrations that go through the ground that make them go away
You can kill them, You can eat them, and the only person who has to pay for it is YOU, we have nothing to do with it.
You could go to the gardening section of yahoo answers and ask if there is a solution to this problem other than killing the groundhog. I'm not experienced in growing my own vegetables so I don't know what else you can do.
well sounds pretty harsh how you say it...but i understand your situation...but why don′t you call some profesional help for your case....and maybe they can do something about it without killing them.
on the other hand if I didnt have another choice but killing them i wouldn′t eat it....idk maybe is just me....and im not a vegetarian
Go check this page out. It has a bunch of solutions that will deter him from wanting to stick around without harming him. The windmill is there as are other options. I think you should excercise every available option before killing a defenseless animal that is just trying to live off the land that it's ancestors have been living off of long before you came along.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/s...
Good Luck!
It is somewhat amusing but sad to read the responses here. Many have idealism but their main source of actual knowledge seems to have come from a propaganda or youtube film clip. But very little actual life experience in these matters.
I too have had woodchuck problems and the only cure is to elimate them. My local conservation trapper says he has moved some as far as ten miles and many times within two weeks they are back at their home range.
I fry the small ones and bake large ones.
My uncle owns a large golf course and he used something called "Sudsy Ammonia" to solve the groundhog problem. He didn't mind these animals except for a particular area of the course, and that is the only area where he used it. It's pretty wicked stuff, so be careful if you decide to try it. For several days, my uncle kept putting a small amount around the surface and the animals just finally left and moved into the more jungle like areas of the golf course.
If you don't want to do this, then I would suggest a professional animal catcher like others have recommended.
Are you sure it is just the groundhog. Gardens often have rabbits and gophers as well. That is why so many larger farms end up unintentionally killing animals when they do harvests. It's difficult to be a vegan or vegetarian without doing some form of harm to animal life. Every time we walk on grass or go hiking we risk killing frogs and lizards and more. I recommend that you just do all you can to move the groundhog, I think the others here gave some good ideas. If none of that works, you need to think of your family's welfare. I don't like killing as I am vegan, but when police killed a pitbull that attacked my neighbor's wife, I cried no tears.
Why do you think that shooting the groundhog would be easier than trapping it? If he's as crafty as all that, don't you think it would be even harder to kill him?
In other words, DON'T kill the groundhog. That's the most inhumane way to deal with your problem. What did the poor animal do wrong? It was just looking for food and lo, it found a bountiful garden to snack on. The groundhog was there first.
A practical solution would be for you to put a groundhog-proof fence around your garden, one that extends well below ground surface. Or plant an indoor garden. Or buy your vegetables from a farmer's market. Or relocate your garden to a community center, where all could benefit from it.
Exactly what nature intended.....man to hunt, catch, kill, prepare and eat his own meat. I only have issues with people buying meat off the shelf, with o thought or concern as to what it has gone through, to get there.
I don't want to catch my own meat, therefore, I choose not to eat it. Simple.
Good on you.