The game camera photos from last week showed at least two groundhogs at the barn eating figs, so I set and baited both of our traps in that spot ... one is on the left of the photo below, and one is on the right (but you can barely see it because it's in the shadows).
I must have set the trap on the left incorrectly ... probably forgot to release the safety hook that keeps the trap door from slamming on my arm while I put in the bait. When I went to the barn at around 3:00 to check the traps, I found that the trap on the left was upside down and a good distance from where I put it. ... and the trap on the right was full of groundhog! I am SO thankful that my camera was there, because it recorded the whole process.
Grab a beverage and settle in, and please enjoy this series of photos that shows the activity of a very determined groundhog attempting to get apple and cantaloupe from a closed trap. (The time shown on the date stamp at the bottom of the photos is correct ... the date is off by one day.)
Sniffing the trap on the left.
Checking out the one on the right.
In there somewhere.
Groundhog, where are you?
There you are!
Probably eating the apple I put in front of the trap.
This is the photo that proved to me that the trap wasn't set correctly ... the groundhog pushed it onto its side, and the trap door is still open.
Pushed it again, and still hasn't tripped the door.
Now it's closed.
Pushed it again.
"There's still stuff in there."
"oohh, figs!"
"What are you looking at?"
He's over by the right trap again.
Pushed the left one again.
and again.
He's scooting the trap now.
Pushed it again.
This was the last groundhog photo. He must have been taking a round-about way, under the fig tree out of the camera's range, toward captivity in the trap on the right. The next photo in the series showed mostly the seat of my pants as I bent over the trap, wondering why it was so far from where I put it earlier in the day. (Keeping that photo to myself.)
Both traps are baited and set again this morning (set correctly this time). Perhaps today will be another fruitful groundhog trapping day!