The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is a large rodent common across much of North America. These animals are powerful excavators, creating complex burrow systems that can extend over 30 feet long and up to five feet deep. This burrowing causes property damage, prompting homeowners to consider removal. Many people initially consider live-trapping the animal and releasing it in a different area. While this seems like a humane solution, relocating a groundhog is complex and often results in a poor outcome for the animal.
Survival Rates After Relocation
Relocating a groundhog to an unfamiliar environment dramatically reduces its chances of long-term survival, often resulting in a high mortality rate. The primary immediate threat is severe physiological stress from the capture process, known as capture myopathy. This stress response causes muscle damage and metabolic imbalances that can lead to death hours or days after release. The physical exertion of struggling in a trap and the psychological shock of being handled are often too much for the animal to overcome.
Once released, the groundhog is deprived of its “cognitive map”—the detailed knowledge of its home territory, including food sources, water, and predator escape routes. Without this map, the animal wastes precious energy searching for a new den and resources, making it vulnerable to starvation and dehydration. The relocated animal must also compete with established, territorial groundhogs and other burrowing species familiar with the best sites, forcing the newcomer into marginal, high-risk habitats. Furthermore, a mother groundhog moved during the spring or early summer almost certainly leaves behind her dependent young, who are left to starve in the original burrow.
Legal Restrictions and Disease Transmission Risks
Relocating groundhogs is frequently restricted or prohibited by state and local regulations, primarily due to public health concerns. Groundhogs are classified as a rabies vector species in many jurisdictions, along with raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Moving a potentially infected animal poses a direct risk of introducing the rabies virus into a previously uninfected wildlife population. This risk of spreading zoonotic diseases is a major rationale for wildlife agencies mandating that trapped animals be released on-site or humanely euthanized.
To prevent the animal’s return, the release site often needs to be 10 or more miles away from the capture site, which is often illegal for rabies vectors. Even when permitted, relocation is typically limited to a very short distance, such as within the same township or a five-mile radius, as is the case in some state policies. The required distance to prevent a return, combined with the legal prohibition on moving rabies vector species, makes live-trapping and relocation a non-viable option for most homeowners. Long-distance transport, even if legal, further compounds the animal’s poor survival prognosis.
Exclusion and Deterrence Methods
Since relocation is ineffective and often illegal, homeowners should focus on non-lethal exclusion and deterrence methods to resolve groundhog nuisance problems. Exclusion is the most reliable long-term solution, involving installing a physical barrier to block access to vulnerable areas, such as under decks, sheds, or porches. This barrier must use heavy-gauge galvanized wire mesh, like hardware cloth, which groundhogs cannot chew through. The mesh size should be no larger than two by three inches.
The most effective physical barrier is the L-foot wire mesh barrier, which prevents the groundhog from digging under the structure. To install this, a trench must be dug around the perimeter, typically 12 to 18 inches deep. The wire mesh is then attached securely to the base of the structure and extended vertically down the trench. At the bottom, the mesh is bent outward at a 90-degree angle, extending horizontally away from the structure for at least 12 to 24 inches to form the “L-foot.”
Once the mesh is in place, the trench is backfilled with soil, creating a subterranean horizontal apron that the groundhog will encounter when it attempts to dig. Because the animal is conditioned to dig down along a vertical surface, it will be immediately thwarted by the wire mesh apron and will eventually abandon the area for easier digging elsewhere. Before implementing exclusion, confirm that the groundhog has vacated the burrow or use a one-way door mechanism to ensure the animal can exit but not re-enter.
Deterrence techniques can also protect specific garden areas or lawns, often working best when combined with physical exclusion. Motion-activated sprinklers are highly effective because they use an infrared sensor to detect the groundhog’s heat and movement, releasing a sudden, startling burst of water. This humane shock conditions the animal to avoid the protected area. Commercial or homemade odor deterrents, such as those with strong smells like castor oil, can be applied near burrows or feeding areas. However, these require frequent reapplication and are less reliable than exclusion barriers.