We've had them a couple of times. I can't remember exactly if they ate hostas, or just dug them up and dug up and ate everything else and generally made a mess of the gardens.

I killed them - didn't eat them.

In the past they ate my vegetable garden, burrowed next to it to live where the food is, and also lived under the deck. They also ate my campanulas. I do not remember that they ate any of the hostas then, which were then all mature. But now I have some tender baby hosta plants, and they might find those appealing to eat. Luckily there are no deer around.

Anyway, I read in one posting that hosta leaves being eaten one year will lead to bushier plants the following year.
Thanks for your reply!
Bernd

They ate (tasted) everything in my veggie garden when I lived in Illinois next to a creek. Didn't get to the hostas, because the corn tomatoes and beans were more tasty. Even a bear trap didn't stop them, just left a chunk of fur behind. I was ready to stand guard out there with a baseball bat. He would sit on the other side of a fence and just look at me, not moving after I threw a clod of clay at him.

Then we got transferred to California. Good thing.

-Babka

Woodchucks in Massachusetts seem to love kale and broccoli. The big cure is a .22 caliber rifle.

My husband and I sat in a country restaurant one late afternoon. As we were eating, out came a groundhog stood on his back legs and started to nibble on a large hosta. He moved down the row and seemed to prefer certain ones (and other vegetation) over others.

On the other hand we have groundhogs along a couple fence rows and they have never bothered my hostas. I know they would be in my veggie garden if it wasn't fenced.

Thank you very much for your replies. It seems, generally when there is a vegetable garden around they will leave the hostas standing. So far no damage here, but daily checking of the yard is required to catch that one in the very beginning.
Bernd

I have tons of woodchucks (sigh), hostas, vegetables, perennials, etc... I think Woodchucks may like hostas, but they definitely aren't the choice meal. Frankly, I'm not sure what they like so much that's out in my grass and the neighbor's Christmas Tree lot... I see them out there more than in my garden. This year, I have a new hole along my garage wall where there are lots of hosta and perennials...they have not touched any of them. If they have, it's so minimal that I can't tell. I think I'm lucky that there's something on this property that they like more than my plants. Oh, I do believe they like arborvitae, as do rabbits.
Right now, we have 5 live traps set up to get the critters out of here. In 10 days, we've caught 3 raccoons and only 2 of the woodchuck. We had at least 6 baby woodchucks running around 3 weeks ago and now I don't see them. Maybe some have not made it, or they've gone off to make their own home.
Man, those raccoons are not easy to get out of a live trap!!!

I know this is an old post, but I found it for the same reason. I have tons of hosta and a groundhog/woodchuck living under a deck. I see him/her out in the garden all the time, he is big and fat, but I have no idea what he is eating, I do not see any real damage, but I have so many hosta, and a variety so maybe his nibbling is not really a problem. He ignores my trellises with our gourds, and has not bothered the onions or tomatoes ... I am just trying to figure out what the heck he is eating!! Thanks for the posts

I'm just winding up this years woodchuck battle. They were destroying the veggie garden. I finally got shots at 2 with the .22. Now just one more to dispatch in the hosta beds. That one likes the clover in the yard.

now it's catchup time for the veggies, water fertilize weed. There is still time to get veggies this year.

Hope you connected. Good Job! 2 down, one to go.

-Babka

/i am on a couple of acres but the buzzards have ate entire hosta garden one year. They love all my hostas.

Just saw a woodchuck slowly checking out my yard last evening. He appears to be very interested in the birdseed and peanuts that fall from my feeders. Haven't seen any damage but who knows what else he was eating?

MIles10612, the the woodchuck in our yard seems to hang around the seed that has fallen from our birdfeeders too. I have noticed the more activity outside, kids playing or leaf blowers (or whatever) the less we see of him, in fact we are wondering if he moved on after a particularly busy time in the back.

I've never seen one before in the yard but we also had a opossum who used to visit to clean up the ground under the feeders--that guy was standing outside the french patio doors looking inside at our cat. The cat was quite nervous since the opossum had his face pressed to the window and showed off quite a few sharp teeth. I also put some coffee and tea grounds into the soil which he cleaned up too--quite efficient little guy.