Posted: 7/5/2007 5:45:31 PM EDT
| A friend has a groundhog he wants gone.It lives under a corner of his barn.When I am down there, I have only seen it once,and not enough for a shot.Is there anything,like a faverite food,that I can put out in the open to get a shot? |
| This time of the year it's pretty tough to come up with a bait that is preferred over the lush greens available naturally. I would suggest trapping it near it's den, as "nuisance trapping" is legal (check) in most jurisdictions. It works full-time and is HIGHLY effective. |
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I have had a similar problem only mine was a skunk. I have tried in vain to shoot the bastard with my p22 suppressed with no luck. I got a trap and set it over the hole last night. I checked it at midnight and nothing I went to bed got up again at 4 am this morning and bingo I got the fucker. This is were you can purchase the traps just by one the appropriate size for the animal you need to dispose of. They are very in expensive make sure you get the grip trap setter along with the trap. I personaly did not get the saftey thing I do not see a need for it. They also kill instantly as you can see in the pic there was no thrashing it was instant death. Just make damn sure you know what your doing and don't kill a pet. http://www.animalcontrolproducts.com/cgi-bin/ez-catalog/cat_display.cgi?4X355890 This was my set up.  This was the result pic was taken this morning at 4am.  |
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I've used 160s and 220s, just be SURE there are no non-target critters around. Set at den holes. Used my first snares this year as well, but same advice as above. Have had a lot of luck with box traps,where I didn't feel comfortable using a lethal method. Groundhogs like cantaloupe, but have scored with watermelon as well. (then comes the .22CB cap) Heck, wife caught one using cat food last weekend! My preferrd method is rifle, but I can't be there all the time,so trapping works wonders. |
You need to adjust your trigger by bending it. It should be in an inverted curved "V" shape. If you leave it like that they will often go beside it, which ends up causing a gut grab rather than a neck grab. Not good. Edit: Here's a pic of a straight-V, which also works. Many prefer to make a nice curve also.  Another drawing: |
This was my first time ever useing a trap I prefer to shoot them it is a lot more fun. I will have to try that next time. |
| A dairy farmer I know uses a case of road flares and a partial load of top soil in his pickup to keep them out of his fields. He simply fills up all the holes in a particular burrow but one, in goes the flare in the last hole, he covers that with a big flat rock and thats all there is to it. He has some very large fields that I could hunt but its a waste of my time cause I never see any chucks there. Just be sure you don't start an underground fire. Most wouldn't think of that but I live in coal mining country. |
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RE: trapping groundhogs: Ragnar Benson (who is at least one survival writer) says that with some burrowing animals, this works: Place a dark cloth over the burrow. Wait till the SFA comes up to see why it went dark suddenly. Aim & fire (or beat it to death with a club). I read this in his (their?) book "Survival Poaching." Good read! \ ETA EDITED for spelling |