A round burrow
One main hole, sometimes a second door hidden in the plants. Fresh dirt means it is active.
Groundhog removal in Columbus, OH The burrow under the shed runs farther than the hole.
A groundhog does not want the attic. It wants the dirt under the porch, the shed, or the steps. The entrance is round, about the size of a dinner plate, with dirt piled to one side.
How do you know it is a groundhog?
A step that dips
Burrows take the support out from under slabs, stoops, and shed floors. The sag shows up after the digging.
Out in daylight
Groundhogs graze during the day, often early. A low, waddling animal by the garden is a fair hint.
The deck is the roof they wanted
Woodchucks, same animal, dig a burrow and borrow your deck as a roof. Columbus-area yards that back up to a field, a ditch, or a weedy fence see them every summer. Pickerington, Hilliard, and the edges of Delaware County hear this call a lot.
They will also eat a garden down to the stems. The garden is annoying. The burrow under the concrete is the part that costs real money if it keeps going.
Fill it only after it is empty
Gravel in an active burrow either wastes a Saturday or traps the animal under the house. Groundhogs often have more than one entrance. We find the doors, make sure the tenant has moved on, and then close it so digging in the same spot fails.
Skunks and opossums borrow an empty groundhog hole. If the smell changed, tell us. The digger and the current resident are not always the same animal. Poison and gas under a house can seep into a crawl space. We do not use them.
What should you do tonight?
- Do not crawl under the shed to look. Dens are tight, and something may be home.
- Keep pets from putting a face in the hole.
- Skip the loose fill. It will be back on the lawn by morning if the burrow is active.
- Tell us what sits above the hole: steps, a slab, a shed, or open yard. That changes the repair.
Common questions
Will this wreck the porch?
It can, if the burrow runs under a footing and keeps going. Many holes are only a nuisance. Some are not. We see where it goes before anyone talks about concrete.
Is a groundhog the same as a woodchuck?
Yes. Same animal, two names. You will hear both around Columbus. We answer to either.
Can I gas the hole?
Please do not. Gas can drift into a crawl space, and a poisoned animal often dies where you cannot reach it. An empty den plus a buried barrier is the repair that holds.
The longer explanation, with sources, is in the guide Groundhogs under structures.
Ready to sleep through the night again?
Tell us what you're hearing and when. You don't have to know what it is.
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