Woodchucks Are Back, Be Prepared

Well, hibernation and the breeding season are back for our little underground furry friends the Woodchucks or Groundhogs. These cute little brown, bushy tail rodents have started their daily activities of extending their boroughs and are breeding under your lawn, flower beds or vegetable gardens.

A mature Woodchuck can be up to 32 inches long and weigh about 14 pounds. They have a lot of digging power whereas they can dig boroughs up to 30 feet long with multiple entrances and exits and may be up to five feet deep. They are actively digging eating and tending to their litters during the early morning and late afternoon around this time of year. They are clean animals and even have a separate chamber for their excretion(a bathroom)in their borough.

Woodchucks are solitary creatures, except during mating season. During the mating season a mael will visit the borough and after mating the male leaves. Most Woodchucks have one litter each year, with four or five pups in the litter. They are usually born in April or May. After the pups mature they are driven out of the borough and start their own lives.

Woodchucks are herbivores, but will sometimes eat snails, insects or baby birds for protein and fat. Before winter sets in in which the animal hibernates they consume a lot of fatty products for energy during their hibernation period. When they hibernate they are somewhat like bears whereas their respiratory system slows down and their heartbeat drops and their body temperature is lowered. They are attractive to predators such as foxes, hawks and even the family dog. Unfortunately many are hit by cars.

The Woodchuck has its advantages in the scheme of things. Its boroughs provide aeration of the soil, and of course they keep the population of insects down. But to the suburban or rural home dweller they can be a nuisance whereby they eat the root systems of lawns, flower beds and vegetable gardens. When a wood chuck dies or is killed another interesting fact that may be a nuisance for suburban dwellers is that when a borough is abandon other small creatures like skunks, foxes or snakes may take over the borough.

For the suburban dweller if you detect a woodchuck on your property and want to dispose of it humanely find a professional animal removal company that help you get rid of woodchuck as well as performs wildlife exclusion or prevention.