Woodchuck Removal
Woodchuck Removal Westchester
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Woodchuck Biology
Groundhog (Marmota Monax)
Also known as woodchucks in Westchester, they are large rodents, with adults weighing between 5 and 10 pounds. Woodchucks have heavy, short legs with long claws for digging burrows. Being herbivores, they eat a variety of plant life, including vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees. This makes woodchucks a nuisance to both regular and avid gardeners. They will also burrow under structures, porches, decks, and outbuildings. The average life span of a groundhog is two to three years. Their reproductive period is a short one, spanning from early March to late April. The average litter can have from two to six young. After about five to six weeks, the young will move out and find their own dens.
Woodchuck Damage
In Westchester, woodchucks can damage numerous areas around your home. From embankments to foundations, decks & porches to the vegetables and flowers in your gardens. No matter how cute groundhogs look, don’t be fooled by these digging machines. Woodchucks' incessant digging can create a void under decks and porches. Areas around pools, both in-ground and above, are fair game. Groundhogs found digging and making dens under aboveground pools have been found and removed. In some cases, woodchucks will burrow into the dams of ponds or levees, causing the soil to become weak and erode, potentially collapsing. Older homes with a fieldstone or block foundation can be compromised by woodchucks digging next to the foundation and excavating the soil.
In one case, a woman called to tell me a woodchuck was in her basement. When we arrived and inspected the basement, we found that part of the old stone foundation had fallen in. The woodchuck had made a hole big enough to gain access to the basement. After a heavy rain, the compromised area partially collapsed. Upon setting up multiple live traps, several woodchucks were removed, and the foundation was repaired. We have even seen stone walls and rock barriers collapse as a result of woodchucks burrowing and undermining the soil, creating a weak area.
Caddyshack got it right! Golf courses and horse farms are enticing homes to woodchucks as well. Unfortunately, they are no friend to horses, golfers, or golf carts. Woodchucks continuously dig holes and burrow under the ground. These tunnels make the ground surface very weak. Horses and people walking can step on these inconspicuous weak spots, causing injuries to the leg. Golf carts driving over the holes can become damaged as well. Call us today for woodchuck removal in Westchester.
Health Concerns
Although they can be considered for rabies, it is very rarely seen in Groundhogs.
Woodchuck Removal
Intrepid Wildlife Services provides woodchuck removal in Westchester County through a humane live trapping program. Woodchucks can be difficult; as a result, often times we will have to set up traps near their burrows in order to capture them.
Woodchuck Prevention
We can also make barriers, which will prevent woodchucks from entering decks, porches, and foundations. These are customized specifically to the structure. We have a variety of techniques and equipment for this service, which vary depending on the property.