Set 34 traps today and ran out of traps. Then flagged another 31 holes. I tend to set every hole I find some don't look used, but you never know.
I never saw a chuck today but with this heat I think they have gone nocturnal or they are out just at dawn. Saw 3 does with fawns and lots of turkeys.

Will try and get some pictures tomorrow.

I understand that their burrows are air conditioned, Beav. Next week might be especially difficult trying to get them to come out with the heat.

I don't know about air conditioned.....but they're obviously heated in the winter. Why else would they be chucking all that wood?

Groundhogs have been crazy here this year. Between shooting and trapping I usually kill 5-7 each year to stop their tunneling under my barns and woodshed. I have not trapped any this year but shot number 16 about an hour ago. That was the third young of the year this week. Before this past Tuesday I had gone 8 days without seeing any after killing the adults and young that were from burrows on my property. I think they have already begun the dispersal.

...and at about 5:00 this afternoon, number 17, a mature female. Hopefully fewer next year.

Populations are on the rise around here

Caves in ohio are a constant 55 degress. Warmer south. Cooler north.

Hey wood chucks Stop chuckin my wood lol

Double on chucks in a 220 yesterday and double of skunks in a 160 today.

I have been chasing rock chucks here in southern Oregon. Took 39 on one industrial complex, all trapped.
Been in the 90s a lot, and notice they hole up during the day when it gets hot.

The gophers (Richardson ground squirels) have been thick this year here on our little place Between me and the cat probably killed at least fifty. We are surrounded by a huge ranch so there is always more coming through the fence

We ran a camera down some chuck holes, and I couldn't believe how deep and how long some of those dens were. Most of them were 12' long and 2' to 4 feet deep. I don't know what they do with the dirt because all I ever see is a small mound of dirt at the den entrance. I'm betting it's pretty cool down that deep.

I appreciate the dimensions. If we get the heat that they are predicting, I may have to dig myself a groundhog hole to live in.

You are too big to be a hobbit!!

Yote, I intend to make the burrow rather large in diameter. Lol.

Dump a few buckets of old gasoline down the hole,wait 5 minutes then toss a fusee,
You will see the ground rise then collapse in showing the configuration of the tunnels and locations of the chambers.

We had a local guy do just that exact trick here last year. They buried him about a week after.. Be careful if you intend to try.. I'll set a trap and wait them out.

.

Any of you all eat ground hog? I wouldn't eat trapped ones unless I knew they were very fresh, but they are excellent eating. far better than rabbit or squirrel in my opinion.

Good information!Thanks for sharing

I harvest a big pile of small square bales of hay.....and store it in a pole barn on top of wooden pallets. The pallets provide an air break to keep bottom bales from picking up ground moister and going moldy. Back around first of May we pulled the last of last year's run from the barn, only to discovery an area about 20 x 20 riddled with groundhog runs. No deep runs I could see, just ground tunnels under the pallets. They pushed all the dirt up into the pallets, so now had soil contact with the hay. All bottom layer of bales......which amounted to about 40 or so ($300 or so)........wasted. Low value garden mulch or chicken litter. So cleaned all that up and started over. Two weeks later and they were back. Pushing dirt out the sides. Trapping started, which wasn't as easy as some let on. For a 16' x 20 section of hay, I found no less than 6 entrances where they were coming and going. Set those and they would stop using them. They would find an alternate route.

But.......so far, got ma, pa and 3 juveniles a bit bigger than barn cats. Some body grips set in holes under the barn edge sat empty for 8 days...........then one day when we were in the barn stacking more hay.......we must have spooked them out.........nabbed two. Waiting to see if any more activity shows up.

Those boys gotta go.

Groundhog tacos are pretty darn good. I shot that one so I knew it was fresh.