Groundhogs Need Not Apply

I had no idea, when we bought this place in 2002, about the destructive potential of groundhogs.  One determined groundhog can tunnel and undermine just about anything.  The damage can be catastrophic.  The old well in our backyard is a good example.

The stone part of the well is from the 1960s renovation of our house.  The brick-lined hand-dug well underneath this is original.

The upper stone part of the well is at this cock-eyed angle because former owners of our property allowed a groundhog to burrow and live underneath it.  Over time, the ground shifted because of the voids of the tunnels and den spaces, and this was the result.  We filled the burrow to the best of our ability, and the well is mostly stable now, but it will never be right again.

Because of the potential for destruction of structures, I do not allow groundhogs to set up housekeeping on our property.  When I see one, I catch it with my trusty live-capture trap (baited with apple), then I give the trap to my neighbor and I don't ask questions.

Representative groundhog photo.

Every year, an enterprising groundhog tries to live under our pavilion.  I trap the groundhogs when I see them, and do what I can to refill in the hole.  Because of its awkward location, complete abatement has been difficult.  (The pavilion is only about one to two feet off the ground, on its sloping site.  Not enough space to get underneath to work, and can't completely reach the groundhog hole to fill it.)  It's not long before another groundhog comes along, does the necessary renovations, and moves on in.

Ruby keeps watch.  See the groundhog?

Last week, my husband and I began a project to (hopefully) get rid the pavilion of the groundhog excavations forever.  It's a multi-stage plan, all of which was difficult and dirty work.

Step One:  Trap current groundhog.  Done.

Step Two:  Fill in the groundhog crater.  This particular spot under the pavilion is where there was once a brick-lined septic tank.  It was filled by prior owners, and topped by this handy make-shift cover.  We filled again when we built the pavilion, and put the cover back into place.

Photo of the septic tank from 2008, during pavilion construction.

This was covering the septic tank hole when we moved here.   

See how the groundhogs dug underneath the sign and into the septic tank space?

Here is a 'before' photo from my files, showing what the pavilion looks like with its steps.  The groundhog hole is to the left of the steps, about three feet in.

2011

I had hoped that we could remove some of the pavilion floor to access this spot.  This proved to be pretty impossible because the deck boards are screwed down, and at least half of the screws are rounded out and won't budge.  Next idea was to remove part of the steps.  Not great access, but it's more than we had before.

We shoveled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow load of fill dirt, by hand, into the hole.

Progress photo.

When the hole was filled, we scattered broken concrete chunks over the area, pushing them into place with a rake.  Keep in mind, all of this is being done while we are laying on our bellies in the dirt.  Definitely not glamorous work.

Step Three:  Keep the groundhogs out of this space forever!  

The part of the plan was to lay welded wire fencing over the entire 12 x 24-foot area underneath the pavilion.  A quick trip to a local fencing company yielded a big roll of used 4-foot fence that was perfect for the job.  We cut three 24-foot lengths and attached them together to make one piece that was the right size.

It took forever to pull the fencing under the pavilion.  We used rope attached to the corners of the fencing, and a lot of fiddling and cursing, to tug and fiddle to and get it laid into place.  Then, we did our best to weight the wire down with larger chunks of broken concrete.

The edges of the wire are held down with concrete blocks.

Step Four:  (Day Two)  More wire and a new lattice skirt.

Since groundhogs tend to start their excavations beside structures, then tunnel underneath, we added some extra protection by covering the ground around the pavilion with more wire. 

The lattice we chose to cover all of this is pressure-treated "Severe Weather Privacy Lattice" with 3/4" openings.  I am very thankful for my pneumatic stapler, which made short work of securing the lattice to the pavilion. 

South side, finished!

Here is the Before and After of the right half of the west side.  

Here is the entire west side, all finished:

The east side was difficult, because it's really low and I had to carefully maneuver around the plantings there.  Hostas, Hydrangeas, Hellebores, etc., are thickly planted on that side.  It was like working in a jungle.

Only about 18" of clear space to work in between the Hydrangeas and the pavilion.

Day Two ended with three of the four sides of the pavilion all buttoned up with wire and lattice.  The north side, the most difficult one because it's (a) incredibly low to the ground and (b) more heavily planted than the east side, is all that we still have  left to do.  I plan to do this early next week. (Too much to do till then to even think of it now.)

View of the pavilion from the deck, as I grilled salmon for supper at the end of Day Two.  Look carefully and you can see the shiny new lattice skirt on the east side.

I liked the original lattice with larger openings, installed behind the posts, a lot more than the new lattice.  Perhaps it's bothering me because the new lattice is so new and sparkly.  Once it weathers a bit, I know I'll like it better.  I have to keep remembering that this new lattice is a contributing feature to the groundhog deterrent system ... that's the most important thing.

Catching Up on the Week That Was

It's been a really good, very productive week in Hartwood.  Settle in and I will tell you about it.

Monday.  This was our first day of sunshine since the middle of the week before ... five straight days of rainy gloomy weather.  Monday morning, I was sitting on the sofa, working on my laptop with Dorothy snuggled beside me as usual.  All of the sudden, a sunbeam came through the window behind us, and it startled us both ... the unfamiliar object that it was.  I am so glad that I had my iPad on hand to capture Dorothy's reaction.

Tuesday.  With an end to the rain, it was a good day to set the trap to see if I could nab the groundhog that had taken up residence underneath our pavilion.  This was a wary one ... not so wary as to resist the lure of my best bait, APPLE.  Within two hours after I set the trap, I was victorious!!  (yes, Folks, this is a war ... with winners and losers.)  I can't get to the hole under the pavilion to fill it in with dirt, so I've been lobbing rocks and chunks of concrete into it to make it unsuitable for another groundhog to come in and take up residence.

If you're keeping score, this is Groundhog #9.

Wednesday.  All the rain made for perfect weed-pulling conditions.  I spent a good part of the day on Wednesday (and Tuesday) sitting on the seat of my pants pulling bushels of weeds in my garden of English roses.  It was tough, physical work, but the results are keeping me optimistic ... perhaps I really CAN conquer the weeds at this place.  (there we go again, with the winners and losers analogy.)  This photo is what the garden looked like before I removed any of the weeds.  I will show you some comprehensive After photos soon, I hope.

Thursday.  It was another nice day, and I worked outside ... big surprise, huh?  My hands and shoulders were sore from pulling weeds, so I worked to continue to tidy the place up a bit in preparation for my Garden Social tomorrow.  The Rose Field is still on the brink of ruin, but everything else is coming along very, very nicely.  In the midst of all the work, I always take some time to appreciate the beauty that is around me ... like this flower on 'Kathleen'.  This rose blooms mostly in the spring, so fall flowers are not to be expected, but she puts out a killer crop of beautiful orange hips that practically glow in the sunlight.

Today.  I have a few final preparations for tomorrow's party.  Most of these things need to be done anyway ... moving potted roses to a single location, clearing the driveway beside the house of the accumulated crap, wiping down yard furniture, a trip to the grocery store, etc.  I like having the motivation of invited guests to keep the process moving. 

I haven't decided what I will wear for the party, but I do know that I will certainly wear my new boots.  They were a to-me-from-me present for my birthday two weeks ago, found at Class and Trash (one of my very favorite stores!).  As far as I can tell, they were probably custom made for someone, because there is no label or size info on them anywhere, and they are superbly well made.  (The only marking on them at all is a molded name of the company that made the heel.)  These babies are so comfortable, and I love them!!!

Photo taken earlier this week, as I sat on the back porch with Ruby and a cold, long-necked beverage.

Now it's your turn ... how has your week been? 

Can You Stand Another Post About Groundhogs?

My recent success with trapping groundhogs has fueled my motivation to keep at it until I rid this place of the lousy varmints.   (not that this is really possible, but everyone has to have a goal in life.)  Yesterday morning, bright and early, Ruby and I headed toward the barn with some chunks of cantaloupe and apple to bait and set the traps. 

Ruby has become very reliable when she's off lead.  I still put her orange collar and long training lead on her whenever she is outside the fence, though, just to remind her to listen and not get too far ahead of me.

As we went through the gate you see in the photo above, there was this little bunny in the rose field.  It has become fairly accustomed to our presence, and we can actually get pretty close to it before it bolts and heads for the 'briar patch' ... get it ... briar patch ... ha ha.

Just like I did the previous day, I baited and set two traps.  Look at the game camera photo below, and you can see that the door on the trap on the left is tripped, and you can sort of see a shadow of a groundhog inside of it.  Oh, look, there's another groundhog coming to check out the situation.

Less than one minute later, according to the photo's time stamp, we now have two trapped groundhogs.  Even now, I get all giddy about nabbing myself a groundhog "two-fer".

As has been my habit since I caught the first groundhog earlier this summer, each 'convict' has to stand to be photographed for his mug shot.  Groundhog #7 was average size, healthy looking, and was not at all hissy or mean.

Groundhog #8 was the biggest one yet.  He had a very bad attitude, and he hissed and showed us his teeth more than once.

The Husband and I put both of these guys into the truck and drove them down the road to our release place.  They each raced out of their traps when I opened the doors, and they ran down the path and were quickly out of sight.

A Groundhog Story in Photos

Groundhog #6, one of the fig eaters, was trapped and relocated yesterday afternoon.

 

 

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!