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  Discussion on Large woodchucks? groundhogs? may prevent move back to New Jersey
Author Message
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Friday, Oct 13, 2006 - 11:01 am:

Hi all- my family is thinking about making a move from Florida to New Jersey (yeah no more hurricanes and outrageous insurance)but when we looked at a really wonderful farm, i noticed these large creatures, maybe 25 to 30 lbs., roaming the pastures. The owner said he had to shoot them to prevent large holes being dug. Is there anyone from New Jersey familiar with this type of animal? I grew up there but as a kid never worried about them. They look like beavers but without the flat tail. How big of a problem are they to the horse community? I doubt I will get a straight answer from sellers of property.....I am worried about horses hurting themselves in the holes. What is this animal, and can they be kept away? -Beth
Member:
Mzollars

Posted on Friday, Oct 13, 2006 - 11:25 am:

Those are what we here in Pennsylvania call a Ground Hog or AKA Whistle Pig, and yes, they can do serious damage. There holes can be very large and very deep, perfect for a broken leg. There are ways of getting rid of them, and filling in the holes. I personally never had a horse injured, but remember even as a kid being warned of the possibility. Most people shoot them or put deterrents down the holes to keep them out. I wouldn't let them keep you from buying your beautiful farm. Around here, we just learn to deal with them.
Member:
Tweeter

Posted on Friday, Oct 13, 2006 - 12:03 pm:

When we bought our farm in Bucks Cty PA it was over run with woodchucks. My husband shot 22 in one weekend. Sounds bad but we tried trapping and smoke bombs with no luck. After we made sure we had cleaned out the colony we backfilled the holes with concrete, big rocks and stone. It took quite a bit of work to do all 3 turnout areas but at least I knew the horses would not be stepping into any holes. Now we have a agreement with the groundhogs who still reside here "the hedgerow is your home" if you move into the pasture you are going to meet your maker! So far they have stayed in the hedgerows with no new holes in the pastures and we have been here 9 years. I think the activity of the horses in the pastures plus we keep our pastures mowed, keeps them away. The babies are soooo cute I hope we never have to kill anymore.
Kathy
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2006 - 2:04 am:

Yes, groundhogs, woodchucks....they do make large holes. We've trapped them ( and driven them under cover of the dark of night to far-away places ) and shot them ( hate to do that ), but like Kathy's, ours have retreated to the hedgerows. We rotate pasture, and mow after each rotation. There hasn't been a problem in the pastures, nor in our hayfields once we began mowing, feeding and grooming them.
Mmmmmmmm.....Except for Roscoe. Roscoe and "huge" are synonymous. He and I have engaged in a power struggle since the purchase of our land in 2001. He resides in an idilic copse of old oaks, maples, and dogwoods positioned at the front of my hayfield, near the road. I've taken the advice of old farmers and old windbags - I've poured mothballs and rotten onions down his hole. I bought and emptied old cheap perfume down his hole and stuffed it with scented dryer sheets....tried to fill it with water ( couldn't!!! )and finally, shoveled up some skunk roadkill and stuffed it down his hole. The next day, I found that skunk out in my hayfield....considerably puffier. I REshoveled that skunk and poked him down real far...then covered that hole with dirt, then quikrete. A week later as I was mowing under those trees ( congratulating myself on my ingenuity ), the rear wheel of my riding mower DrOpped suddenly, into Roscoe's new back door. A week and a half later, his new remodeled front door was revealed complete with a new cement stepping stone.....this...is...not....over..
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2006 - 9:13 am:

Love it, Lee! Just LOVE it! What a great story.

Have you actually seen Roscoe? I ask because I wonder if there is anything BIGGER than woodchucks that digs holes in that area?

What about badgers or fisher cats? Do you have them around?

Here, we have armadillos and skunks that dig holes in the pastures. Your methods of mowing, fertilizing, and rotating sound encouraging as I have been unsure how we were going to deal with the holes we've found as we've prepared our land for fencing. We also have two huge holes under a big, low-branched pine in our front yard. I, too, have almost lost the back end of my riding mower in drving over one of the holes, but I have never seen any animal out there. The dogs DO get going sometimes at night, though, and they rush out there like howling banshees in the dark.
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2006 - 8:13 pm:

Seen him? Holly, the bugger doesn't even run from me anymore. He's easily the size of a huge beaver, and probably twice as big around! I sunk wire down about a foot around my vegetable garden just so the critters couldn't get under it. Roscoe dug from under a yew bush about 6' outside the fence and came up under my squash vines ( where I couldn't see the hole ). He's so fat now, all he can do is waddle. It's getting humiliating. When I'm mowing up front in my beautiful little patch of trees, Roscoe squats in his front door and watches!

But I do have to say Beth, we had a few holes in the fields when we first purchased the land, but with regular activity...fertilizing, doing hay, checking fences in the pasture, etc...they've retreated to the treelines where there is more cover and less activity.
Member:
Canter

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2006 - 8:17 pm:

Lee, I'm picturing you out in the dead of night with your shovel in one hand, holding your nose with the other and PRAYING for dear life that nobody you know drives by to see you picking up road kill skunk...
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2006 - 9:09 pm:

Have you seen the RODENATOR, Lee? It "nukes" ground squirrels in their tunnels and blasts the tunnels right out of the ground.

I really think that you would miss Roscoe, though. He's a wise old soul and so entertaining . . . He deserves a children's story written about him . . . If it were me, I know I'd miss the little devil. As long as he isn't in the pasture endangering my horses, I'd just continue driving around the front and back doors, and I think I'd lay a zucchini down on his threshold as a peace offering every morning.
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 1:55 pm:

Lee, I made my whole family read your post, I was laughing so hard....I agree with Holly, a childrens' book is in order. Or, a kind of Cherry Hill's Guide to Horsekeeping with a Sense of Humor! I know I would buy it.
Here in S. Fla. we have burrowing owls and otters, both of which make large holes. They don't like high activity areas thank goodness so they aren't a problem, and the only one who has fallen in their holes has been me, weed whacking (otters like my fence line, near a canal) I am still hoping to stay in Fla. but may get outvoted by the rest of the clan, and so will have to battle these creatures. But I don't think I could shoot an animal that looked like Francis the Badger (my favorite childhood book).....
Member:
Savage

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - 8:48 pm:

Hey Lee, that sounds like Larry the Cable guy material to me! Git-er-dun!
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 9:09 pm:

Leave it to you guys to put things in perspective....I guess it is kinda funny, but, it's STILL NOT RIGHT. I swear that bugger thinks! He's probably a reincarnation of somebody I must have REALLY ticked off.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 9:53 pm:

Ah-HA! The plot thickens . . . a sub-plot, huh? The genre just evolved from "picture book" to "thriller."
New Member:
Ella

Posted on Thursday, Oct 19, 2006 - 10:29 am:

Make anyone think of CaddyShack?
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 11:09 pm:

Uh...ooohh...am I right in assuming that I'll never live this down?
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 11:28 pm:

Never assume, Lee . . . but, yeah . . . you're right.
Oh . . . when can we see some photos of Roscoe? There should be a Disney movie about him. No offense to you, Lee, but I can't help feel some admiration for Roscoe's ingenuity and perseverence . . . and it's tough imagining that he doesn't have a sense of humor (devilish as it may be) to compelement his cocky attitude.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Friday, Oct 20, 2006 - 11:31 pm:

Thuffering thuccotath . . . can't seem to spell worth beans tonight.
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