Groundhog: Friend or foe??

[HappyMommy2]

We have a mama groundhog and her two kids wandering around our backyard and under our porch. They are cute and interesting to watch.

But are they actually a nuisance? Could their burrows be hurting our house?

Also - do they smell like old urine? I thought the pee-smell in the backyard was due to our dog or the fact that our 3.5 yo gets to run around naked in the warm weather and Daddy let him go behind the garage one day. But quickly after a rain it still smells nasty, so now I am wondering if it is the groundhogs.

This pee-smell is a deal breaker for me - it makes our awesome backyard totally unenjoyable. (I have an extra sensitive nose - but my hubby smells it too)

My husband wants to try to get rid of them (using fox urine) but I have been asking him to leave them alone! It is fun to watch them waddle around.

Help!

[SleeplessMommy]

At the very least, try to keep them from burrowing near your house - it can create water problems with your foundation. We have trapped them several times (to protect foundation) and found they come with their own swarm of flies.

Some lattice work AND hardware cloth might do the trick to protect the porch, make a temporary one-way flap to get them out.

[sothisislove]

I agree with the burrowing trouble. They're causing issues around my septic tank over here. Troublesome!! I don't seem to smell them though. I can't imagine them smelling nice however!

[HappyMommy2]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

.... and found they come with their own swarm of flies.
....

Interesting! We have been trying to clean up dog poop ASAP because we thought that was what was bringing the flies!!!

[hibana]

Groundhogs are a foe!!! We live on top of a hill that is riddled with groundhog burrows. They've probably been here longer than the 100-year-old house. There are so many of the little beasties that they breed faster than we can trap them and the burrow system is too complex to effectively use a deterrent like fox urine. The foundation has been damaged and parts of the house are settling faster than others. : Dh has resorted to using them for target practice, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to cook one yet.

How big is your dog? A medium to large dog is the best deterrent I know of. Unfortunately our lease forbids pets.