Wood chucking woodchuck! (Updated)

I've never seen this from a wood chuck. Customer has watched it doing it so no way it's something else (I asked if he was sure it's not a beaver, he said it didn't have a flat tail)

Did this on his shed last year


Did this in the last two days on the house



I also noticed this mud spot that has a trail of mud going on the grass to the deck (I did the sniff test and it just smells like the pine trees)




Anybody else ever see this?

I can't imagine they'd confuse woodchuck with porcupine but having seen a few hundred deer blinds eaten
by porcupines in northern lower MI plus the odor you mentioned, I'd be asking them again, maybe with pics!

We don't have porcupines this far south in michigan, Yet!

Will see when it gets caught (if it does)

Sorry the pine tree smell is from all the pine needles around it, it's under some pine trees






Would be Intresting if it ends up being a porky though

Where are you located? I keep a file of pictures of animals on my smart phone. But you just do not know

This customer is just south of Battle Creek

So what should I use for bait if it is a porky. Never had to even consider it before

I use salted apples and some hemlock bough place on the inside fasten to the side.

Slice the apples into fourth.

I'd say porky also. I got one off of Coon Candy. Maybe he was transitioning.

woodchucks will chew from time to time to keep their teeth worn down.Just like a beaver who can chew for a multitude of reasons: building construction,food and tooth maintenance..this animal 'should' not be hard to catch.

Just got off the phone with the customer

I asked him what color the woodchuck was....

"Gray" he said

Looks like it may be a porcupine

Had a discussion with a local DNR biologist about the possibility of it being a porky

He said sometimes people catch them up north and bring them down here and release them, thinking that it is funny. He said when I catch it, please dispatch it

He did however also say that for some reason the glue in some manufactured wood is attractive to some woodchucks and it could be a woodchuck especially if it is concentrating it's knawing to one piece of wood (which last years damage was)

Thanks for all you help

Did download a couple of pictures for the customer to look at

Showed him pictures. He picked woodchuck out of the lineup

This is the gray woodchuck

Lol!!! Thanks for sharing MI Trappin! Priceless!!

The two best mid identified I've had in the last few years were:

1) "it was an armadillo I am 100% confident in what I saw"

Showed up at her house to do a site visit and she says "there it goes across
my driveway!"

'"Ma'am, that is a porcupine."

2) "I just drove by the high school on Coors and there are ostriches on the athletic field,
someone needs to get down there and catch them!"

My city counterpart was in the area so he did a quick drive by just for laughs.

A dozen sand hill cranes common to our area during winter standing there!

Lol!

Folks love wildlife often but just as often or more so can't identify even the most routine of
species we all take for granted.

----

To the woodchuck chewing I certainly know they will, they gnawed on barn wood in upstate Ny
where I grew up. Have several skulls in my collection that display "malocclusion" where one tooth
misses the bottom set and ultimately grows out of control! Can't imagine that way out of the world!

I've got one for you.
My MIL has been seeing some scat around her flowers, and just Knew it was an opossum. (she had been watching them for a few days).
So, I put some caned cat food in the live trap, and the next morning, I had a juvenile ground hog.
She asked me, "I wonder who put that in there..."
Come on mom, really???

Now guess what

Just got a call. Wrong one, it's out there chewing on the house again

I'm really leaning towards the porcupine now. Good grief

If its a porky blend some apples, add about 2 cups salt and some cumin and you should have it the next day.

I wonder why they find the cumin attractive?

Couldnt tell you just know it works well on rabbits.

They love the salt, etc in pressure treated wood too!!!!!!

set a camera. place some salted apples on the ground under the chewed spot. if it is porky you will see it if it is hog you will see if it will take the baits or if it is only coming to the spot for paint / glue or teeth. setting you up for your next move.

do you rub that on the Porcupine? that sounds like a recipe for
Smokin pork

I'm going with porky. Check out the height of the chewing first, pretty high. If was a chuck he would have to be on stilts. Think I saw where a chuck had chewed on a door casing a little bit a couple of times, but not so extensive as pictured. Bet you could drift him into a large double door trap along where he has been chewing. Love to catch some here, but the ones I was called on either left or got run over. Used to shake them out of trees as kids. Kept one in the Nature lodge when I was a boy scout. They sure do smell.

Jim
I hav your double door trap set with wood and brush stacked on it with woodchuck lure. But no takers yet. I'm considering the fencing with your trap up against the house

I have seen rockchucks do this here. Fence that sucker and get it caught! Lol
Good luck

Michigan Trappin, I don't use lure or bait on chucks. Set dens with positive sets, trails, tight spots of any kind, crawl under fences, all with double door cages. Just did 5 for 5 in a few hours at dens, no bait as usually. I haven't used bait or lure for chucks in at least 10 years. A variety of ways to set it up, personal preference, flush mount, nose cones etc.

Camera shows he has.........

And rabbits, fox, lots of raccoons and cats




He only cares about the woodchuck

did this today hope to get it soon. Have no idea where it's den is. Somewhere in the woods or neighbors property

Make sure to pam or silicone the slides on positive set trap so it doesn't hang up on the secondary top lock

Received a call from a lady once complaining about beaver in her barn. Looked it over, set it up & took 13 groundhogs & 6 or 7 coon.

Bb wolf you do any porky work for timber companies out there in the nw ?

Im to far out for most timber companies but I have experience in a lot of animals.

I've seen that type of siding damage by a g-hog. ONCE. The damage I saw looked like somebody had swung a hammer and hit it once. Homeowner was acting like the critter was tearing down her house.