Question: Groundhogs have taken over my vegetable garden and eaten some crops almost entirely. How do I get rid of them and how do I prevent the problem from happening again?
By Carolyn Huyghe, Piedmont Master Gardener Intern
Gardeners work diligently to tend their vegetable gardens and eagerly anticipate a bountiful harvest of tasty produce. Unfortunately, they may find that groundhogs have eaten their prize produce and damaged other plants in their home landscape.
Groundhogs (Marmota monax), also known as woodchucks or whistle pigs, are found in most of the midwestern and eastern U.S., except for some parts of the South and Southeast. They have become a more common problem as land has been cleared for residential and commercial development. While they prefer open farmland and the edges of forests, they have also adapted well to suburban areas. Their burrows are found in fields, pastures, along fences, roads, and near buildings. They are sometimes called whistle pigs because of the high-pitched sound used to warn the colony of danger.
Description
As the largest species in the squirrel family (Sciuridae) in North America, they weigh up to 14 pounds and are between 16-27 inches long, including a six-to-seven inch tail. Their stocky bodies are covered in a thick brown and reddish cinnamon-colored fur with white tips. Their eyes, ears and nose are located near the top of their heads and they have incisor-like teeth. Their short, strong legs, feet and tail are a darker brown. Juveniles are a slate gray color. Their droppings are medium size, oval in shape and brown or black, easily confused with other mammals of their size.
Groundhog Burrows
Groundhogs live in burrows with chambers, including a room for sleeping and raising their young, a hibernation room and several rooms serving as latrines. The burrows are found in dry, well-drained soils. Their tunnels range from 25-100 ft. long and as deep as two to five feet. The main entrance is from 10-12 inches in diameter, usually near a boulder or log and the fan-shaped mound constantly grows as the groundhog clears debris from the tunnels. There are as many as three well-hidden secondary entrances, which serve as escape routes. Groundhogs may live in one burrow in an open area in the summer and another in a nearby forest in the winter and burrows may be used for successive generations.
Behavior
Typically, groundhogs don’t travel more than about 500 feet from their burrow, unless food resources in the vicinity are scarce. Except during mating season, there is usually no more than one groundhog per two acres of land. They typically forage during the day, but on hot summer days they are more likely to be seen at dawn and dusk. They often are seen standing on their hind legs to scan for predators. Their powerful claws and feet are used for digging tunnels and their teeth for cutting roots and moving stones. They are good climbers and sometimes can be spotted sitting high up in trees. Although they normally move slowly, they may run at speeds of 10 mph when threatened.
Groundhogs hibernate from late Oct to early March. Males generally emerge from hibernation a couple weeks earlier than the females. Mating occurs in March. Females have one litter per year with two to six pups about a month later. The young remain with the mother during the summer months and then leave to establish their own burrows nearby. They can live up to six years if they can avoid predators and humans. Predators include coyotes, raptors, foxes, bears, bobcats, and raccoons.
Groundhogs consume up to one and a half pounds of vegetation per day. Their diet consists mainly of lush, green leafy plants, including clovers, grasses, alfalfa; and vegetable crops such as corn, lettuce, peas, and beans. The buds and the bark of deciduous shrubs and trees are spring foods. Fruits, especially berries and apples, are summer favorites.
Groundhogs will typically avoid humans or large animals, unless sick or injured. However, they will fight with their claws if feel cornered and they cannot get to their burrow. In addition, if a groundhog shows signs of rabies (aggressive behavior, foaming of the mouth, etc.), do not approach it and notify local animal control, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or veterinary clinic. If bitten or scratched, seek immediate medical attention.
Damage Control Options
Groundhogs can cause costly and extensive damage to home vegetable gardens, orchards, and nurseries, as well as to agricultural crops. Mounds of earth and entrance holes from burrows can also be a hazard for farm equipment, livestock, humans and building foundations.
Before considering control options, be sure you’ve identified the culprit as a groundhog and decide whether there is enough damage to justify action. Can you live with some loss of your vegetable harvest? Though not a keystone species, there are some benefits to having groundhogs around your property. By tunnelling, they help aerate the soil, which improves its quality and ability to absorb water. In addition, lovers of all kinds of wildlife will appreciate that their abandoned burrows provide shelter for foxes, weasels, toads, mice, snakes, opossums and rabbits.
If the groundhog damage is not tolerable, there are a number of tactics to limit the damage or discourage groundhogs from visiting your garden for the short term. Unfortunately, there are no foolproof methods of keeping them out of the garden permanently.
Prevention
- Avoid planting food highly preferred by groundhogs in areas that are not fenced in. Remove fallen fruit from around fruit trees.
- Clean out brush piles and overgrown areas to reduce the amount of food and cover to make the area less attractive to groundhogs.
- Include plants in your garden with strong, pungent scents that groundhogs find unpleasant. These include marigolds, daffodils and many herbs, including basil, chives, garlic, lemon balm, mint, sage, thyme rosemary and oregano.
- Add visual, audio or motion-activated deterrents to scare away the groundhogs. A scarecrow, flashing lights, reflective materials, or loud noises can be effective for a short time. However, groundhogs will eventually become accustom to the scare tactics and ignore them.
- Use a repellent or fumigant registered by the Environmental Protection Agency and by your state for use on groundhogs. Virginia has a number of natural repellents (capsaicin, black pepper, coyote and fox urine) and two fumigants currently registered for use. Remember to apply them as directed by the label. Note also that though they are registered as safe for use, registration does not imply anything about their effectiveness and these products are not considered a permanent solution.
Exclusion
- Install a fence that discourages groundhogs from climbing over or burrowing underneath the fence. The finished fence should stand at least three to four feet high with an additional 8-10 inches bent outward from the garden at a 45 to 90-degree angle and one to two feet of fence buried underground. Use poultry wire, braided wire mesh or galvanized welded wire mesh with openings of no more than two inches. Electrified fencing is a more elaborate and costly option. Before installing an electric fence, check local ordinances and consider the safety hazards of this kind of fencing.
- Ensure that garages, porches, decks and sheds do not have openings that allow groundhogs to access and dig new burrows.
Trapping
Classified as a nuisance species under Virginia law, groundhogs are not subject to some protections afforded most other native wildlife. They can be trapped any time of the year by legal means. Virginia law lays out very specific limitations on the disposition of wildlife held in live capture traps. Local ordinances are often more restrictive than state regulations; check out county or city requirements before taking any action to trap these animals. The best option is often to hire a licensed trapper or wildlife control specialist, if trapping is needed.
Where gardens or agricultural crops are severely damaged by groundhogs, fencing or trapping are better options. However, if damage is limited, gardeners can apply other approaches to deter groundhogs.
Featured Image: A typical groundhog burrow by Lorianne DiSabato.
References
“Fun Facts About Groundhogs”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Groundhog”, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, 2025.
“Managing Human-Wildlife Interactions: Woodchuck (Marmota monax)”, Helling, Jackson M.C., Former Undergraduate Student, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, and Jim Parkhurst, Associate Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, CNRE-159P,8 Nov 2022.
“Woodchuck”, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 2025.
“Woodland Wildlife Spotlight”, King, Andrew, University of Maryland, University of Maryland Extension, 17, Aug 2021.
“Woodchucks”, Curtis, Paul D. and Sullivan, Kristi L., Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Wildlife Damage Management Program Fact Sheet Series, 2001.
“Woodchucks”, Thurston, Shannon N., Assistant Wildlife Extension Specialist, et. al., Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State Extension, 8 Dec 2006.