Not hibernating yet (too early), and not drowned (tunnelers dig so that they don't drown in heavy rain.). Also not pregnant since young are born in the spring, but it is putting on fat so it can hibernate.

Perhaps it wants a better winter den site or perhaps it found a preferred food souce high in calories, or perhaps it was killed by a car or predator. You would know if it were eating your garden as they are not neat eaters, shredding plants as they go. Personally, I would be celebrating if a woodchuck disappeared from my locale!

Woodchuck follow-up almost 2 years later:

Now there's a family of the critters, 2 adults and a baby, lounging around and munching on the grass 150 ft. downhill of my veg. garden. PLUS, there's another 'chuck I see inside my garden which is wire-fenced and gated, and it's already eaten most of my cherished lettuce!

I am trying to find a local woodchuck killer but so far no luck. One lives too far to want to do it, another is too busy, the 3rd just had surgery. Someone suggested I buy a gallon of coyote urine online and pour it down the tunnels (if I can find all the tunnels).

So I don't know what to do. I do know that the longer I wait, the more ruined my garden will be, and by next Spring there will be more woodchucks out there.

If you are in Mass there are lots of laws about what you are legally allowed to do. You may not trap and release UNLESS it's on private property with permission of the owner. You may not kill it unless it is actively damaging your home.

They will eat everything in sight and are not deterred by fencing. They can climb trees and dig under nearly anything you can build (other than concrete). We are in our 3rd year of battling woodchucks and the only reprieve I get is by planting a garden of their very favorites as far away from the things I don't want it to touch as a decoy food source. And hope the hawks, coyotes, fisher cats and other wildlife eventually get them. It's very, very frustrating. I commiserate!

Thanks! I'm in Rhode Island (my garden is; I'm there only on weekends). I found a local chuck-trapper and 2 or 3 others but except for the one, the others were too busy or lived too far away to want to do it. I'm happy to coexist with the bunnies, skunks, foxes, and opossums. Even with the fisher cat we saw one year. But this gets me where I live: my salads!

I'm driving down tomorrow to point out exactly where I spotted those vandals. Clever idea, planting a decoy garden for them. We don't have enough acreage to do that.

Carol, we use Critter Control and I believe they have locations in Rhode Island. Chucks are the only thing we call them in for. They bait the traps with lettuce, apples, etc. but they also scent the trap with some sort of pheromone. Have to say it doesn't smell too pleasant but better luck than just food. They will also set a kill trap if necessary. You have to make sure no neighborhood pets can get at it though. Not pretty, but effective.

I have learned a bit about woodchucks since we've had them visiting just about every year. The trapper told me that they are a bit nomadic and will just take off sometimes to find another spot to hang out. We had one earlier this year, set a trap and it was not interested. I kept messing with the trap right in front of the burrow. Banging it around every day, adding bait, etc......i think it got fed up with all the racket going on around its home and it vacated. First year I've had hollyhocks!! LOL! Hoping it won't come back for its winter nap though.

We had 2 last year. One was small, but our neighbors got the other one. It weighed 42 pounds! It seriously looked like a huge beaver in my cottage garden. Dreadful sight when I know how much that pig must have to eat!

Good luck!

42 lbs.! What a monster! I'm amazed it fit in the trap. I just phoned the trapper and it turned out he was already down there at my cottage and said he was actually looking right at one of the woodchucks when I phoned. So he is setting up traps this evening. How I found the trapper: I phoned the guy who mows our lawn and he knew someone, gave him my number right away. The advantage of going local.

I'm still thinking about your 42-pounder. That's an awful lot of lettuce and carrots....

Um......let's just say our neighbor used another means to "get" the woodchuck. Surely a member of the NRA. When our guy came to set up the traps I told him there was no way my big guy would even fit into the trap. I seriously don't think he would have. I'm telling you, this guy was as big as a medium-sized dog! Yikes!