A round burrow
One main hole, sometimes a second back door hidden in the hostas. Fresh dirt means it is active.
Groundhog removal in Fort Wayne, IN A hole under the porch is bigger than it looks.
A groundhog does not want your attic. It wants the dirt under the porch, the shed, or the steps. The hole is round, about the size of a dinner plate, and the dirt is piled to one side.
How do you know it is a groundhog?
A sinking step
Burrows take the support out from under slabs, stoops, and shed floors. The dip shows up after the digging.
Daytime grazing
Groundhogs are out in the day, often early. A low, waddling animal by the garden is a fair hint.
The porch is the problem, not the attic
Woodchucks, which is the other name for the same animal, dig. They are after a burrow with a roof, and your deck makes a nice roof. Fort Wayne yards that back up to a field, a ditch, or a weedy fence line see them every summer.
They also eat gardens down to the stem and then look surprised. The garden is annoying. The burrow under the concrete is the part that costs real money if it keeps growing.
Fill the hole only after it is empty
Dumping gravel into 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 is a bad idea.
Skunks and opossums will borrow an empty groundhog hole. If the smell changed, tell us. The digger and the current resident are not always the same animal.
What should you do tonight?
- Do not crawl under the shed to look. Dens are tight, and something may be home.
- Keep pets from sticking a face in the hole.
- Skip the loose fill dirt. It will be on the lawn by morning if the burrow is active.
- Tell us what is 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 the footing and keeps going. Many holes are just a nuisance. Some are not. We look at where it goes before anyone talks about concrete.
Is a groundhog the same as a woodchuck?
Yes. Same animal, two names. Around here you will hear both. Whistle-pig, if your uncle is telling the story. We answer to all three.
Can I gas the burrow or use poison?
Please do not. Gas can seep into a crawl space, and a poisoned animal often dies where you cannot reach it. Exclusion, then a buried barrier, is the repair that holds.
The longer explanation, with sources, is in the guide Groundhogs under structures.
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