Save your flowers - - plant some veggies for them!!! We had a groundhog family move in 2 years ago and my husband has tried everything to get rid of them - - bubble gum (suppose to clog them up till they die - didn't), smoke bombs in their nest, even took a few shots with a bb gun (can't miss these guys, they are chubby as puppies). They have terrorized his veggie garden to the point that he is saying with certainty that he is not going to bother planting one this year - - we'll support the local farm stands. This makes me a little nervous though because they did not bother my flowers when there were veggies around and maybe now they will!!!

Ground hogs are a common "crazy making" complaint. DH spent hours on the internet looking for the answer and I was amazed at how many sites promote really wacky tactics for their demise. You have lots of company newbie in NJ!!!

I've read about the bubble gum "solution" and was very tempted to try it but was afraid they'd die under the shed without me being able to retrieve them and make it stink more than they already do...LOL.

Nan, if I had any sunny spot that would support veggies I'd plant something there. I'd give my eye teeth to have a REAL tomato.

Trouble is I'm "sun challenged" at my father's place and those spots are reserved for whatever butterfly/hummer plants I can cram in there...even loads of containers since the ground is water pooling clay except 3 small beds I was able to raise so roots/bulbs don't rot.

A guy I met last summer at Home Depot while buying repellant said he was buying Havahart traps because he'd just seen groundhogs scaling his 5' fence around HIS veggie garden.

Suspect you'd better convince your husband to plant something for these miserable herbivores to eat besides your plants/flowers. It would be worse to have lovely gardens, years in the making, eaten away.

Thanks for the commiseration...LOL.

Your spot of gardening earth sounds like mine. I have a nice dog though, she handles everything bigger than a mole. She also poops in my beds buries raccoons and randomly digs through them. So it's a difficult situation so far. Check my latest posts and we can commiserate about clay and water whenever you like.

Get a Doberman or two! My girls take care of any groundhogs, rabbits, moles, etc. including the cursed black snakes that scare the crap outta me. The snakes don't eat the veggies, of course, but they hang out in the shade of my raised beds and, worse, climb up the trees and into the birdhouses! A few years ago, a big one climbed in the birdhouse and knocked off four new sparrow hatchlings.

Oh that reallt **cks!! How heart breaking!! Get the traps and some poison make him a nice veggie dish!!

Annette

Floodthelast, are you the one who posted pics of the flooded backyard? I was so upset to see those plants under water. I feel for you. You must cringe when reading the old recommendation to test whether or not you have clay by seeing if water's still pooling after 5-6 hours. I get kick out of that one.

Your dog actually gets raccoons?? Holy cannoli!

The only "pets" I have are my yard birds and I spoil them rotten. I even have a soft spot for the 6 squirrels who frequent the area for some food and water from the makeshift birdbaths.

One neighbor down the street has 2 Golden Labs that her husband always thinks will "stay in the yard" when he lets them out at night. She could rap him over the head. They end up roaming the neighborhood but are totally worthless in the "critter control" arena. They just slobber all over anyone they come across.

My father has offered to try a trap but there are more than just one...at least 3 I've seen traveling together. We'd have to transport them under cover of darkness since it's illegal to trap and/or relocate in NJ. Besides, a friend has people relocating them in woods near his property and he has a heck of a time from their "gifts".