GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: WobblyHand on September 01, 2024, 05:15:36 PM
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My wife (and I) have been wondering what's been eating things this year. Thought maybe it was rabbits, but stuff was being eaten that bunnies don't like. And the bunnies seem to not be as plentiful as last year. Think I found out and confirmed it today. A groundhog. Not too big, but big enough to wipe out uncaged or unfenced plants. I was in my below grade shop this afternoon, and used a step ladder to look out the window, which is nearly ground level, and under the porch. A big furry lump. Wasn't sure, so I went to get a flashlight. I came back and saw the ghog was gone from that location, but saw it had left the porch and was outside. Went outside and the ghog basically ran up our granite steps and dove under the porch, nearly beneath my feet. Well, that's not going to go unanswered. I'd like to get this critter since this is next to the house.
Have a couple of questions. What can I use for a relatively cheap game cam so I can find out this critter's hours? Maybe then I can bait him with some ripe fruit and get a clean drop on him. The only thing with any power that I have is a GK1 in 0.22. Right now it's shooting at 38 FPE using a 28.4 gr BBT slug. Have a moderator on it, so a shot or two can be done discretely. I'm guessing that dawn and dusk are the best times, but I'd like to narrow down the time somewhat, so I'm not hanging around unnecessarily. Any advice? This is all close range stuff, like 5 yards and under, so really up close.
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Early am and late afternoon- sunset you may see it most often. Sit on the porch and wait ???
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Was up at 5:45am, 30 minutes before sunrise, came around from the back. Waited 30 minutes, nothing. Oh well, there's sunset, and maybe I'll put out some watermelon scraps then. Have to clean it up that evening, don't want to attract even more pests. Porch has screening, and a screen door. Not so great to shoot through - I've done it, but it's not much fun repairing.
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I found you don't need big power for ghogs. I read about what folks were using and initially was very uneasy about taking them with air. My preference is now about 18-20fpe or so w/JSB 18gr pellets if shots are within 30-35 yards. Basically, my .22 S510 unregulated with power dial at middle. Does the deed without major passthrough risk. Could even step down a notch in power if only shooting within 20 yards but use more if that's what you're comfortable with and behind target is clear/safe. Shot has to be to the fusebox with .177 or .22 for clean dispatch, can't say about larger calibers.
The ghogs I had would only come out at the most inconvenient times for me. One liked to snack in the afternoon, anywhere from 1:00 to 3:00. Lots of folks recommend trapping, using cantaloupe as bait (if I remember right). Seemed whatever I put out as bait they had no real interest. Also, they'd spook very easily to sound and movement.
Wish you the best luck. Be persistent and you'll bag it (or them) eventually.
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I use an inexpensive wireless doorcam to alert me of rat activity, got one off of amazon. Your GK1 .22 has more than enough power for a head shot. Good luck!
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Like the others have said,,, very early and very late in the afternoons are the usual times they emerge however that is not carved in stone. Over the years I've had some g-hogs come out in the middle of the day. I tried more than a few times to trap the g-hogs that burrow under my sheds. I used those "Hav-a Heart" spring door traps and baited them with everything from fruit to vegetables (even cantaloupe which they supposedly love) but I never did get one in the trap. They'd just walk right by it and head for my wifes flower garden or my vegetable garden. That left me no other option but to use one of my air rifles and a clean shot between the eye and ear is the sweet spot....... puts them down quickly, cleanly and humanely. As Randall said, an inexpensive wireless door camera or motion sensor available on Amazon will quickly give you your g-hogs routine. Be patient, you'll get him :)
Oh and BTW...... g-hog pot roast is absolutely fantastic :)
Jeff
Jeff
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At least it's not a skunk. I've had to deal with them under my porch.
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At least it's not a skunk. I've had to deal with them under my porch.
Accidentally caught one of them when trapping squirrels. Left the trap out at night. Bad idea! Yeah, the skunk went for the peanut butter. Double bagged in trash. Took a year for the trash can to not stink like heck. They were nesting under our tool shed. Guess the ground hogs evicted them.
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Bruce, a wireless driveway chime from Harbor Freight isfairly inexpensive.
Also, next time you shoot a skunk, a lung/heart shot will keep them from spraying.
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Bruce, a wireless driveway chime from Harbor Freight isfairly inexpensive.
Also, next time you shoot a skunk, a lung/heart shot will keep them from spraying.
Thanks. This one? https://www.harborfreight.com/wireless-security-alert-system-57937.html Seems cheap enough. I'll get one tomorrow.
I only shot the skunk to make sure it was dead, I found it head first in a tube trap meant for squirrels. It had already sprayed. It was, as you'd imagine, pretty darned stinky. A lot of gagging while trying to extract it from the trap.
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Yes, that would be the one.
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Bruce, make sure you practice with the correct holdover at 5-6 yards if you are using a scope. Be sure to aim for the brain behind the eye or halfway between eye and ear like Jeff said. "Between the eyes" is OK too on top of the skull if you are in an elevated position and he is staying still to check around. If you don't hit the brain your yard will stink for weeks from the Ghog decomposing if you don't drop him in his tracks and he makes it down the burrow to die later from his wound.
The majority of the G-hogs I have shot (hundreds) on my property came out between 6am and 7:30am, and again between Noon and 3pm. They also tend to tailor their schedule around the people living around them after a couple of weeks. So if you go to work at 7:30am they 'll make sure they are back down before then, or come out right after you leave. If you return at 4, 5 or 6pm, etc. they 'll be sure to fill their belly before that and not be around when you pull up.
When they put their head up and freeze, which is often while they feed to scan the area for movement, is the best time to shoot. You have a 4 to 5 second window. The trick is to stay very quiet and only move to get into position or bring the gun to your shoulder when he has his head down eating. Don't even move if he is facing away from you with his head up because their eyes are on the side of their head and they can see pretty close to 360 degrees around them. If he puts his head up you must freeze immediately, or pull the trigger if you have him in your sights. Nothing in between. Freeze if not ready, or shoot. It's going to be very challenging from only 5-6 yards away.
I recommend shooting from an (already) open window that has a view of your garden, and preferably higher off the ground like a 2nd floor window, or keep the porch door open and shoot through the doorway or leaning on the door frame if you can. You will not have a chance to shoot if you open a window or door that makes a sound while he is a few yards away. He will run when he hears the slightest sound other than birds chirping, so you must open a window or door ahead of time and cock the gun inside the house because they can hear that too if you are too close. Good luck and post the story and pic when you get him :)
Harry
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Unfortunately, I don't have a clear shot of this area from anywhere inside the house. Maybe if I was laying on the flat porch roof, hmm. Have to think about that.
After filling the hole the ghog made under the porch lattice, the ghog made another within the past two days. Put a bunch of bricks over it, but this is a losing battle so far. Bought the ding dong unit from HF, and set it up on a cinder block looking along the side of the lattice work and the stairs. Not so sure about how well this is going to work, but it's cheap.
The fact is I have to sneak out a different door and somehow set myself up without making noise, or having the wind blow the wrong direction. Dunno, the roof is sounding better, as long as I don't fall off!
I don't have a scope set up for my GK1. I have a green dot on it, and I installed a 1 degree wedge on it for short range shooting. Right now it's set up for 9 foot or so range. The shot I have to take isn't a lot longer than that, it's a crummy location for shooting, since I need to be sure of my back stop, and not shoot through my fixed basement window!
Anyways, hope the ding dong goes off, so at least I learn this critter's hours.
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@only1harry Thanks for the advice. Just got a shoulder stock for my GK1, which in someways will make it easier. But if I am hanging off the roof, maybe it won't be easier. The GK1 is auto cocking, but there's no sound, just a trigger pull, a bang and the cylinder auto-indexing to the next position. I'll be trying for a brain shot, but first I have to see the critter first! Been quite elusive, but the new burrow under the lattice work is fresh. I did see him two days ago, up close and personal. Pity I didn't have my GK1 near by.
Hoping the ding dong will at least give me a clue when he leaves the burrow, that is if he exits from under the porch. I will have to search the property to see if there are other exits. My wife has some bigger plants, and who knows, they may be hiding a burrow underneath them.
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Place the ding donger (that's the nickname we gave the HF driveway alert/motion detector 16 years ago) just 8" to 10" off the ground and point it at the burrow entrance 4 feet away at an angle or about 45 deg. in relation to the burrow, because the Ghog will either walk straight out or follow your home's foundation or wall to the end when coming out. Then test the sensor by putting your foot or hand in front of the burrow and move it back & forth a little. Make sure you plug in the receiver in an outlet near a window on that side of the house, put the volume on high, open the window, and listen for it when you simulate some movement in front of the burrow. See when the receiver goes off and adjust the position of the sensor accordingly if you have to.
Do you have the rifle stock add-on on your Huben GK1? Here is what I recommend since it sounds like you don't have a good spot to shoot from inside the house or the porch, etc. Once you have confirmed that the G-hog is using that burrow regularly, and you have given it a couple of days to learn the time(s) of day it comes out, set up a chair and small table with sand bag or rest outside 10 yards away on the lawn or wherever you get a clear line of sight to the burrow entrance, or where he comes out in the clear to start feeding. Take position 20 min. before his normal time to come out and stare at the burrow entrance or listen for the ding donger receiver that you have placed near a window within hearing range. You must try not to move much while waiting because sometimes they just stick out half their head or their eyes just above ground level before exposing their entire head or their body more. They usually sit at the burrow entrance for a few minutes with their head partially out, to make sure the coast is clear before fully coming out. That's the best time to take a shot because they sit perfectly still scanning the area. Just make sure you practice shooting at that distance so you can hit the brain and get a 1-shot kill. When you see his head out, move very slowly to get behind your red/green dot. Sometimes they don't react right away if you make very small and slow movements. If you get busted and he goes back under, it's OK. He 'll pop his head up 5 or so minutes later, 10min at the most. He is hungry and wants to come out. Just make sure you are behind the gun and ready when he attempts to come out again.
I have done this once successfully the first time a Ghog dug a burrow under my home's foundation directly under the porch/florida room which is on the 2nd floor and supported by 6 steel posts. Obviously I could not see or shoot through the porch floor and he kept eluding me for a while because we kept the porch windows closed that summer due to a lot of mosquitoes and there was a hornet's nest in a tree nearby, and when I tried to open one to shoot him when he was a few yards away on the lawn, he would hear it and run back to the burrow. So I set up in the backyard 10 yards away and got him when he popped his head out. I used a "weaker" gun - a Diana 36 .177 (14.3 fpe) because I didn't want to do any damage to the concrete foundation with my powerful PCP's, and although he pellet went through the Ghog's head, it didn't have energy to chip the paint or put a dent in it. If you have the rifle stock on your GK1 I would recommend you throw a cheap scope on it you may have laying around to make sure you are 100% successful with the shot placement since pistols are hard to shoot accurately. If you have a rifle with at least 12 FPE, that will do fine as well inside 15 yards with a head shot. You don't need a lot of power for a brain shot from that distance
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Ding dong went off at 2:44am and again at 6:03am. I got up at 6, since at least it was light. Went downstairs and looked out the window and saw the ghog. Even got a picture. Was feeding in a spot that would have a fine porch rooftop vantage. I could set up a chair there and wait it out. It's a further shot, but it's down and safe. Seems like he's back at 6:50am, back in the burrow. Lost sight around 6:10, must have circled around the house. Well, I need to pace out the lawn/roof shot and do some trig to figure the range. It was rare to get a head view, mostly it was facing away, presenting it's rump. But occasionally it showed it's head. From comparing with the bricks, it's body is between 12-14" long, maybe bigger, but I couldn't capture a full size view. Going to be interesting... A year or two ago I saw a considerably larger one, that one was over 18", got a good visual of it as it was alongside a stockade fence. I just counted pickets and later measured them.
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Here's the ghog this morning. Not a very good photo, through two window panes and a screen door. Did a walk around the yard, seems the ghog went after my wife's zinnias, last night, which was fenced with two foot chicken wire. The ghog had pulled down some of the fencing by about 6" to attack one of the zinnia stems. That would be tough to get a good shot there, much easier from the porch roof to the grass, like in the photo. Or I guess I could lie on the roof and shoot straight down, but not so keen about that.
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Following...
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Hi Bruce
If it were me and I wanted a highly controlled shot situation then I would set up a bait station.
Most commonly ground hogs forage at dawn & dusk. This can vary due to location though.
Primarily, groundhogs eat grasses, garden flowers, clover, alfalfa, and dandelions. In addition, groundhogs like to eat garden fruits and vegetables like berries, apples, lettuce, corn, and carrots.
A 5 footlong section of 24 inch high chicken wire suspended between two stakes would be what I would set up.
I would put it at a location that I had seen the groundhog feeding or would want it to feed at.
I would suspend some carrots, corn on the cob or even a bunch of grapes right at the top of the chicken wire..
This would require the groundhog to rise up on its haunches in order to feed.
By rising up in that way, it would likely expose the top of its head for an unobstructed shot.
Good Luck and Best Wishes - Tom
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Hi Bruce
If it were me and I wanted a highly controlled shot situation then I would set up a bait station.
Most commonly ground hogs forage at dawn & dusk. This can vary due to location though.
Primarily, groundhogs eat grasses, garden flowers, clover, alfalfa, and dandelions. In addition, groundhogs like to eat garden fruits and vegetables like berries, apples, lettuce, corn, and carrots.
A 5 footlong section of 24 inch high chicken wire suspended between two stakes would be what I would set up.
I would put it at a location that I had seen the groundhog feeding or would want it to feed at.
I would suspend some carrots, corn on the cob or even a bunch of grapes right at the top of the chicken wire..
This would require the groundhog to rise up on its haunches in order to feed.
By rising up in that way, it would likely expose the top of its head for an unobstructed shot.
Good Luck and Best Wishes - Tom
Thanks Tom. It would be best to get a clean shot at a known controlled range. Good idea on the baiting, not sure if someone else will get it, but I will find out. At first i thought this would be hard since it was a very close shot, like 3 yards. But at least this morning, it was more like 7 yards, if I could shoot from the porch roof downward. As you may know, its not that easy to change the range sight in by more than double. I had made a short range wedge for my sight, and its shooting about 6 inches high at 21 feet, about 1.5 degrees, but I did have to remove the sight this morning. I had it set up for 3 yards before. My sight only has +/- 50 minutes of elevation adjustment. So I'm working on a smaller wedge, so I might be able to span the two ranges without too much trouble.
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Bruce, I am thinking you will eliminate said ghog soon! Looking forward to that pic and story!
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Well, my 1/2 degree wedge was too high as well! Got it sighted in at about 21 feet, with no wedges, so all in the 9's and 10's. I was using the ring graticule on the Holosun, but it was hard to judge center, so switched it to just a dot. That seemed to slightly change the zero. Hoping this is good enough for a short range 20-25 foot shot. Not the best shooting, I'm afraid, but the Caldwell is hard to dial in, it wants to shift. So I get it close and tweak the grip and my shoulder to center it up. Probably messes with the shot, I need to work on that.
Hmm, I need to do some more casting. As it is a beautiful day, I will set it up and try to crank out some more slugs. Fortunately they are pretty easy to cast and have pretty good yield. A squirrel came by in the back, and was in range. Less than 25 feet. It was hard not to pop him. But the gun wasn't sighted in at the time He got a pass.
Oh the ding dong went off near noon, but I didn't see anything.
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Been casting. Takes a while to build up a stash, slowly getting there. Casting 28.4 grain, give or take, 0.22 cal slugs, also known as Bob's Boat Tails. Got to get back to it - times a wasting. Threw a bunch of sprues in the pot and am waiting for it to come to temperature again.
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Here's a few slugs I cast today. Need to sort through them now. Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them.
Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful. Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine. It landed on the crotch of my shorts! Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric. Body parts are safe, but that was too close. Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...
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Here's a few slugs I cast today. Need to sort through them now. Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them.
Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful. Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine. It landed on the crotch of my shorts! Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric. Body parts are safe, but that was too close. Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...
Heavy denim work apron might not be such a bad idea, and can be had for cheap if you look around... ;)
Jesse
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Nice cast bullets! That was a CLOSE CALL on the inadvertent splash...YIKES...😂👍! Glad nothing was burnt on you! Those look like ghog seeking slugs 👍
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Here's a few slugs I cast today. Need to sort through them now. Probably some light one's in there, have to cull them.
Had a minor accident while casting, but it's a reminder to be really careful. Had a lead splash, due to some inattention of mine. It landed on the crotch of my shorts! Synthetic fabric, the shorts are ruined, as the lead melted the fabric. Body parts are safe, but that was too close. Reminder to self - only cast lead wearing cotton...
Heavy denim work apron might not be such a bad idea, and can be had for cheap if you look around... ;)
Jesse
Had I thought about it, I could have worn my treated cotton welding jacket, would have been fine for this. Brain wasn't fully engaged today while casting, had a lot on my mind, it wasn't just a ground hog. Going to have to toss these shorts today, not going to put the lead laden shorts in the wash.
Anyways, netted a few hundred or so slugs. (Didn't count this time, just sorted them by weight.) I kept the ones between 28.25 and 28.55 grains, binned at 28.3, 28.4 and 28.5 grains. Anything below or above that will go back into the pot. More than ready to stalk this ground hog, umm, maybe. We shall see what tomorrow brings. If I don't get a good view of it tomorrow morning, I will make up some sort of ghog baiting thing, ala what Tom described. I ran out of chicken wire a few months ago, otherwise I would have made the feed station today.
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Nice cast bullets! That was a CLOSE CALL on the inadvertent splash...YIKES...😂👍! Glad nothing was burnt on you! Those look like ghog seeking slugs 👍
Thanks. They are ok, not great. But they will be good enough, now that I culled out the highs (not many) and lows. I'm keeping the ones 28.4 +/- 0.1 grains.
Yeah, a lot closer call than I would have liked. Lesson learned, had to sacrifice a pair of decent shorts. Dang, they were new looking too!
Hope these slugs are ghog seeking like you said ;D Maybe tomorrow. With that moderator, the loudest noise in the back yard was the slugs slapping the cardboard box full of rubber mulch. Next door neighbors didn't seem to mind the sound. Tonight, I saw that the ghog had dug another opening under the lattice, today, because I keep on blocking up the holes. Persistent critter.
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Bruce, your intruder is a 4-month old juvenile born in the spring. If you can't set up out in the middle of your lawn or garden before Noon (or before 6am) 20-21 feet away, then you definitely need to create a controlled environment so that you can position the Ghog where you want him, and shoot from a good vantage point when he freezes with his head up (to scan the area).
Ghogs like leafy greens like romaine lettuce for example and I have read that cucumber also works if some of the other suggested food doesn't work. They love flowers though! Many Ghogs have decimated my wife's zinnias, carnations, and many other flowers but they all paid with their life, so I think that was a fair trade :) If it wasn't for them eating all her flowers every year, I don't think she would have let me shoot over 300 Ghogs on our property the past 24 years.
BTW, it's not an issue sitting in a chair with a bipod or tripd or a table 20 feet away from its burrow entrance or the bait site, as long as you don't move (much) but make very slow movements. I 've had Ghogs come within 6-7 feet and walking straight at me because I was frozen like a statue :) They only take off when they see movement nearby or hear a loud or unnatural sound/noise. One summer in '96 or '97 I looked at the window and saw an adult Ghog with 2 little ones feeding 3-4 feet away from my wife and 2-3yr old son who had fallen asleep on a blanket on the lawn. Even when my wife moved her arm while still sleeping they ran 10 feet and stopped, saw no more movement and started eating the grass again a minute later. But those Ghogs back then were used to us and I wasn't going after them then, because she had not started planting flowers yet, not for another ~3 years. They learn not to run or hide with people around a lot after a while as long as they keep a certain distance away that makes them feel they are not threatened.
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Bruce, your intruder is a 4-month old juvenile born in the spring. If you can't set up out in the middle of your lawn or garden before Noon (or before 6am) 20-21 feet away, then you definitely need to create a controlled environment so that you can position the Ghog where you want him, and shoot from a good vantage point when he freezes with his head up (to scan the area).
Ghogs like leafy greens like romaine lettuce for example and I have read that cucumber also works if some of the other suggested food doesn't work. They love flowers though! Many Ghogs have decimated my wife's zinnias, carnations, and many other flowers but they all paid with their life, so I think that was a fair trade :) If it wasn't for them eating all her flowers every year, I don't think she would have let me shoot over 300 Ghogs on our property the past 24 years.
BTW, it's not an issue sitting in a chair with a bipod or tripd or a table 20 feet away from its burrow entrance or the bait site, as long as you don't move (much) but make very slow movements. I 've had Ghogs come within 6-7 feet and walking straight at me because I was frozen like a statue :) They only take off when they see movement nearby or hear a loud or unnatural sound/noise. One summer in '96 or '97 I looked at the window and saw an adult Ghog with 2 little ones feeding 3-4 feet away from my wife and 2-3yr old son who had fallen asleep on a blanket on the lawn. Even when my wife moved her arm while still sleeping they ran 10 feet and stopped, saw no more movement and started eating the grass again a minute later. But those Ghogs back then were used to us and I wasn't going after them then, because she had not started planting flowers yet, not for another ~3 years. They learn not to run or hide with people around a lot after a while as long as they keep a certain distance away that makes them feel they are not threatened.
Thanks for the read on the ground hog. I thought it was a small one.
It's 21 feet from the edge of the porch roof to where the ghog was feeding, eating our lush grass. (18 feet away and 10 feet up, the hypoteneuse is 21 feet.) Or it is 10 feet straight down from the roof to the zinnias, and a possible exit under the lattice surrounding the porch. I feel reasonable comfortable that being low on the roof gives me a rather nice vantage point and a safe back stop, being the ground. I could be prone on the roof which is a decent shooting position.
There are flowers, bushes and a low tree that block a straight shot at the burrow exit. It's not visible from that vantage point. Furthermore, there is a window at the ground level which is obscured by the lattice surrounding the porch, so shooting towards the burrow may bust a window, which would make me unhappy in multiple ways. I might be able to get a side shot, but I'm not so sure where I'd position myself, think my wife would be unhappy with me lying on top of her plantings.
So tomorrow morning, I will attempt the ghog rooftop position and see how it goes. I have a door which opens up to the rubber covered roof. I often have to shovel snow off the roof in the winter. At least this time of year there won't be ice! Necessity is the mother of invention, so I'll try this stupid idea first, and come up with a better stupid idea when or if it doesn't work!
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I rolled up on a G-hog about the same size behind the barn at work tonight, I set a trap. Did not have the GK1 along and there were too many witnesses ::)
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Ding dong woke me up at 5am. Got dressed and peered out the window and saw a shadowy figure in the dark, which seemed big. Turns out it was a skunk, I think, at least from the way it moved. It was quite wary. Got on the roof and waited, and waited, and waited. 640am, no sign of the ghog. Think I was skunked, by a skunk today.
A bit nippy out there, laying still and prone on the roof. Tomorrow I will wear a coat. It was a great vantage point on the roof, had a great view. Unfortunately, as of this post, no ground hog showed up for the party!
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Joker came out at 8:44am Once again, only a rump view and further away. Got on the roof barely and he wandered off out of view. Crept along the roof but he was gone. Kind of busy outside now. The waiting game continues.
Oh yeah, that big skunk really tore up the lawn last night, ripped up a bunch of turf.
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He's in my neighbor's yard at the moment. Unfortunately I can't get a shot over there. Seems to be chowing down on grass. Too bad, I've seen quite a few decent head shots. I'm only 30 feet away right now. He saw me, but I was still and he just went on his business.
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LOL Bruce! He is almost right there...LOL! You will inject it SOON! That's why switched over from a ding donger to a wireless doorcam, you can see what ii is! Anyway, ding dongers work and you will bag that ghog!
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Waking up early and staying up late are not good for me. Dragging now, and it's only 4pm.
Dang, the skunk was big. And it really tore up the lawn. But it was far too dark to see well, and I truly don't want to stink up my trash can for a whole year.
But I did discover, some huge pile of dirt behind our garden shed. Something big is there, or they sure excavated a whole lot of soil. Might be another ground hog :(. The mound of dirt is just over two feet high. What a pain in the neck. Hope that isn't skunks - doesn't smell like it. I wouldn't have thought these critters would have moved here, this isn't a quiet nature preserve. It's a lot noisier than I would like. Hope the next place is going to be a lot more rural.
But yea, he is almost right there - so, so close.
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From the sounds of it the large amount of dirt moved in short order, good chance its a G-Hog or a Badger ???
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Seen this, thought of everyone that's ever had a ghog problem... ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzApW0WsVfs
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Too funny. Bet that guy had some explaining to do!
In my impetuous youth, I may or may not have done something less dramatic than that. Somehow a huge ant nest vanished in under 1 second. Column of dirt went up oh 10 feet in the air. No damage like that guy. Done remotely, so no playing with matches or body parts close to the area. Funny thing is, my father showed me how to do it. Learned a whole lot of interesting science along the way, and a lot about safety. Chemical synthesis, electrical engineering and stuff like that. That was over 50 years ago now... I still have the contraption I built back then, a total kludge of scrounged parts, that was used to set things off. Last time I checked (4 years ago) it still could do it's thing. What was it's thing? It charged up a high voltage capacitor. I made a flat transmission line out of plastic sheet and aluminum foil. (Combined craft work and math!) At the end of the transmission line was a tiny wire. When the plunger was pressed, the energy stored in the capacitor was transferred via the transmission line to that tiny wire. All of the energy was dumped into the wire, so the wire not only melted, but it turned into plasma and created a shock wave. That shock wave was sufficient to set other nameless materials off. As I said, I learned a lot, plenty of math involved, but it sure was fun... But that was far from a house, and not under my porch!
Ghog got a pass last night, turned off the ding dong. Needed the sleep. Have to go at it again...
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Seen this, thought of everyone that's ever had a ghog problem... ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzApW0WsVfs
Hey honey, I can put in that root cellar you've always wanted now.😂🤣😂🤣 I bet the ghog got a real bang out of it and the guy got a vist from his local PD.
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You know, no good deed goes unpunished. I took a day off from this quest. So yesterday, I notice that some plants look eaten - the one's inside my fenced garden. Today, I look out the window and the ghog is in my garden at 5PM eating my green beans! And my neighbors and kids are out, so it wouldn't be great for me to pull out some nasty looking airgun. Anyways, went outside and the ghog climbed over the fence and dove under the porch. Umm, it's getting fatter, and my green beans are disappearing fast. Both my wife and I got a good look at it, that juvenile is growing, it's getting bigger - probably trying to fatten up for the winter. Maybe I'll get the window ready for a shot straight into the garden. This ghog is definitely not long for this world, it's outstayed it's welcome.
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Or you could become famous on YouTube. ;D
https://mymodernmet.com/chunk-groundhog-eating-garden/
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Or you could become famous on YouTube. ;D
https://mymodernmet.com/chunk-groundhog-eating-garden/
Nope, not going to happen! This ground hog is going to take a dirt nap. The only thing that stopped me were, oh 5 witnesses, two panes of window glass and a screen that I would have had to shoot through. It was only 6 or 7 feet away. :(. When I opened the kitchen door to the porch he heard me, scaled the fence and was under the porch (in front of me) within 2 seconds.
I have raised the storm window glass and screen looking out on the garden. He'll be back, now that he's discovered the bean patch. Unfortunately the window makes noise when raising and lowering. He'll run for sure. It seems my garden is the bait, and he found something tasty. Nonetheless, I have to get him, he's wiped out quite a few bean plants already in the few minutes he was there. My wife is good with this, she saw it and it's size and knows what continuation of its presence means.
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It's the same Ghog or 1 of his siblings. G-hogs give birth to an average of 4 young ones. The others from the same litter are all in the area, or not far from you. Also each Ghog usually digs an avg. of 3 burrows for quick exits when they are threatened, and at the different places where they feed which usually involves 2 or 3 (1/4 to 1/2 acre) properties, unless you own a full acre or more, then most of the burrows will be on your property. Ghogs don't travel far to feed, only to find a mate.
I suspect his primary burrow where he sleeps at night is at your neighbor's. I 've had many Ghogs stay under my neighbor's shed, but often feed on my property. I 'd watch them go back to the neighbor's shed to retire when they had their fill. The roof sounds like your best bet, but as you already know it's all about timing. The trick is that once you spot them or detect movement with the help of the ding donger, to quickly move to your shooting position quietly and without being detected. If you can master this and do it consistently, you will be able to take care of your Ghog problems before they destroy your garden. I use plural Ghogs/problems, because where there is 1 Ghog there 's a few more waiting to take his territory or in t his case his spot in your garden. There is a very high probability that you already have 2 Ghogs feeding on your garden.
Harry
Waking up early and staying up late are not good for me. Dragging now, and it's only 4pm.
Dang, the skunk was big. And it really tore up the lawn. But it was far too dark to see well, and I truly don't want to stink up my trash can for a whole year.
But I did discover, some huge pile of dirt behind our garden shed. Something big is there, or they sure excavated a whole lot of soil. Might be another ground hog :(. The mound of dirt is just over two feet high. What a pain in the neck. Hope that isn't skunks - doesn't smell like it. I wouldn't have thought these critters would have moved here, this isn't a quiet nature preserve. It's a lot noisier than I would like. Hope the next place is going to be a lot more rural.
But yea, he is almost right there - so, so close.
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BTW, groundhogs will displace an average of 650 pounds of dirt for each burrow they dig, and they can dig very fast during the night non-stop. I 've seen them dig during the day too (I was amazed how fast they do it and how far they dirt goes or the mount builds up), and have walked up to a couple of them while digging with their butt sticking out just over the ground surface or the entrance :) I could have grabbed their tail and pull them out but that would have not turned well for me or my hand ;D They have a mean bite and will draw blood.
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1 Harry , all good advice . Something I've done to aid in removal of g-hogs that are hard to time is close the main hole up w/ dirt (shovel shovel !) compact it if possible and check from a distance if possible to see if it's cleaning it out . Let it get busy , time it & do it again . Then set up where you can watch & take a shot.
Obviously this isn't for everyone , but I've taken several in fields this way. I try to close up holes after taking the critters to save on the machinery wear & tear anyway .
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These guys are diggers! And my ghogs (don't know how many there are at this point) seem to have random schedules. I've had sightings morning, noon, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, mostly whenever. Last afternoon there was some wind and the ding dong was ringing all the time, but nothing was there. So lots of false alarms. The porch roof allows me to see a lot of the yard, but not the garden. Only good spot to view the kitchen garden is via a first floor window. And the green beans are nearly a point blank shot. 2-3 yards. Sure frustrating me, as this isn't the only thing I have to take care of. Lots of other life distractions, like cleaning out a (different) house for sale. Yesterday when I got back from the other house at about 12:30pm, I walked towards the kitchen porch and saw the ground hog running and diving under the porch. It had been in the garden. In the meantime, my wife was sitting on the front door stoop and chatting with some political candidate. So, this ghog is not too concerned about human presence. But the front door is on a different side of the house. Hopefully I will get it before too long.
I'm thinking of removing the lattice under the porch, and I don't even remember how it was done exactly! With the tight lattice in place, I can't see in, but the ghog can easily see out. The porch is maybe 3 feet off the ground, making it hard to fill or do anything. It's perfect for the ghog, and definitely not ideal for the aging me. Crawling on my stomach thinking about facing a groundhog at 2 feet just isn't as exciting as it would have been 50 years ago!
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Bruce, those driveway chimes will also pick up vegetation/tree/bushes movement, so if possible, aim the motion detector away from foliage that might be moved by wind.
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I bought this security camera, several months ago, for one of my side yards. It is water proof and is mounted on the outside of the house, about 30ft up. It just plugs into a regular outlet and works through your wifi router to get images to your phone/computer. It has night vision and also a built in light that can be turned on/off on demand through the app. It has motion detection which will record onto a micro sd card and also send an alert to the phone.
I think it's a great device for well under $30. Here's a snapshot from my device of the pest control people (click on image for full resolution).
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Do you have a link to that camera Dinh?
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Do you have a link to that camera Dinh?
Oh yeah, forgot to add that...
https://a.co/d/7XrHzvm
Here's a pic of it mounted outside the attic window on the 3rd floor.
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Bruce, those driveway chimes will also pick up vegetation/tree/bushes movement, so if possible, aim the motion detector away from foliage that might be moved by wind.
So I found out. :(. Unfortunately, the "runway" is an area of rounded river stones between my wife's flower garden and the lattice of the porch, and the vegetation has been waving around the past day or so. Had to turn the alarm off, way too many ding dongs for me!
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I bought this security camera, several months ago, for one of my side yards. It is water proof and is mounted on the outside of the house, about 30ft up. It just plugs into a regular outlet and works through your wifi router to get images to your phone/computer. It has night vision and also a built in light that can be turned on/off on demand through the app. It has motion detection which will record onto a micro sd card and also send an alert to the phone.
I think it's a great device for well under $30. Here's a snapshot from my device of the pest control people (click on image for full resolution).
I had something like that a few years back. The dirty lowdown company "upgraded" the software converting features that were free and useful into paid subscription, neutering my hardware. That's theft by deception and extortion. They stole the capabilities from the unit I bought. Basically a bait and switch post sale. If the camera was open source, I'd buy it in a second. Proprietary software, no thanks, I've already experienced that.
Here's a review of the same product on Amazon:
Color: white-M3 SE
Verified Purchase
I am not unhappy with the camera, I am unhappy with the company!!! There is no mention of needing to pay for a subscription, but little by little, features that were free when I received the camera began disappearing. There used to be six features to enable.
I got the camera to see whose dog was coming into my yard and using it as a latrine. It worked for a few months, but disappeared without any explanation. When I try to re-enable it, I am required to update my protection service and begin paying a monthly service fee!!!! The same happened for the next 4 features.
Also, if you don't look to see who is on your property in the first 24 hrs, you are required to pay to get the information later.
Very, very unhappy with the dirty tatics of holding the information for ransom! Will not purchase from this company again!!!!!!!!
18 people found this helpful
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I bought this security camera, several months ago, for one of my side yards. It is water proof and is mounted on the outside of the house, about 30ft up. It just plugs into a regular outlet and works through your wifi router to get images to your phone/computer. It has night vision and also a built in light that can be turned on/off on demand through the app. It has motion detection which will record onto a micro sd card and also send an alert to the phone.
I think it's a great device for well under $30. Here's a snapshot from my device of the pest control people (click on image for full resolution).
I had something like that a few years back. The dirty lowdown company "upgraded" the software converting features that were free and useful into paid subscription, neutering my hardware. That's theft by deception and extortion. They stole the capabilities from the unit I bought. Basically a bait and switch post sale. If the camera was open source, I'd buy it in a second. Proprietary software, no thanks, I've already experienced that.
Here's a review of the same product on Amazon:
Color: white-M3 SE
Verified Purchase
I am not unhappy with the camera, I am unhappy with the company!!! There is no mention of needing to pay for a subscription, but little by little, features that were free when I received the camera began disappearing. There used to be six features to enable.
I got the camera to see whose dog was coming into my yard and using it as a latrine. It worked for a few months, but disappeared without any explanation. When I try to re-enable it, I am required to update my protection service and begin paying a monthly service fee!!!! The same happened for the next 4 features.
Also, if you don't look to see who is on your property in the first 24 hrs, you are required to pay to get the information later.
Very, very unhappy with the dirty tatics of holding the information for ransom! Will not purchase from this company again!!!!!!!!
18 people found this helpful
I don't pay for any extra services. The main reason I chose this device is because it has the option to use a micro SD card instead of a cloud service. All the captured videos stays on the SD until it reaches capacity then it records over the earliest recordings first. I can also record images and videos onto my phone's hard drive.
That reviews is the only 1 star review from a product that has nearly a perfect 5 stars. I find it rather suspect, because this is the 2nd Winees security cam product I own, and haven't had any issues or paid anything more than for the actual device.
Also, at less than $30, is it really a big monetary loss.
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I bought this security camera, several months ago, for one of my side yards. It is water proof and is mounted on the outside of the house, about 30ft up. It just plugs into a regular outlet and works through your wifi router to get images to your phone/computer. It has night vision and also a built in light that can be turned on/off on demand through the app. It has motion detection which will record onto a micro sd card and also send an alert to the phone.
I think it's a great device for well under $30. Here's a snapshot from my device of the pest control people (click on image for full resolution).
I had something like that a few years back. The dirty lowdown company "upgraded" the software converting features that were free and useful into paid subscription, neutering my hardware. That's theft by deception and extortion. They stole the capabilities from the unit I bought. Basically a bait and switch post sale. If the camera was open source, I'd buy it in a second. Proprietary software, no thanks, I've already experienced that.
Here's a review of the same product on Amazon:
Color: white-M3 SE
Verified Purchase
I am not unhappy with the camera, I am unhappy with the company!!! There is no mention of needing to pay for a subscription, but little by little, features that were free when I received the camera began disappearing. There used to be six features to enable.
I got the camera to see whose dog was coming into my yard and using it as a latrine. It worked for a few months, but disappeared without any explanation. When I try to re-enable it, I am required to update my protection service and begin paying a monthly service fee!!!! The same happened for the next 4 features.
Also, if you don't look to see who is on your property in the first 24 hrs, you are required to pay to get the information later.
Very, very unhappy with the dirty tatics of holding the information for ransom! Will not purchase from this company again!!!!!!!!
18 people found this helpful
I don't pay for any extra services. The main reason I chose this device is because it has the option to use a micro SD card instead of a cloud service. All the captured videos stays on the SD until it reaches capacity then it records over the earliest recordings first. I can also record images and videos onto my phone's hard drive.
That reviews is the only 1 star review from a product that has nearly a perfect 5 stars. I find it rather suspect, because this is the 2nd Winees security cam product I own, and haven't had any issues or paid anything more than for the actual device.
Also, at less than $30, is it really a big monetary loss.
You are right. Sorry. It's not a big expense.
But that review did hit a nerve, especially since that did happen to me on two cameras which originally cost double what this one goes for. The camera software (that I have) makes it difficult to save to SD, and to do simple things, but makes it real easy to sign up for subscriptions. I'd attempt to use my cameras, warts and all, but they aren't outdoor rated. In general, I've had poor experiences with quite a few of these cameras, (four of them!) so it has soured me.
Just for reference purposes, how long have you had the cameras? A month, 6 months, a year?
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You are right. Sorry. It's not a big expense.
But that review did hit a nerve, especially since that did happen to me on two cameras which originally cost double what this one goes for. The camera software (that I have) makes it difficult to save to SD, and to do simple things, but makes it real easy to sign up for subscriptions. I'd attempt to use my cameras, warts and all, but they aren't outdoor rated. In general, I've had poor experiences with quite a few of these cameras, (four of them!) so it has soured me.
Just for reference purposes, how long have you had the cameras? A month, 6 months, a year?
That was a scathing review, but it was the only one that harsh. So, to me that's very suspect. Especially, when there are so many other competitors trying to get the consumers' money. I typically read a handful of in-depth reviews to get a consensus.
I now have 5 different brands of security systems around my home using 4 different apps. I only opt for SD storage capability and don't use any cloud service. So far, no issues with any of the devices.
The cam I recommended to you, I had installed in April. I just got it because it was so cheap, but so far, I've been impressed with it.
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You are right. Sorry. It's not a big expense.
But that review did hit a nerve, especially since that did happen to me on two cameras which originally cost double what this one goes for. The camera software (that I have) makes it difficult to save to SD, and to do simple things, but makes it real easy to sign up for subscriptions. I'd attempt to use my cameras, warts and all, but they aren't outdoor rated. In general, I've had poor experiences with quite a few of these cameras, (four of them!) so it has soured me.
Just for reference purposes, how long have you had the cameras? A month, 6 months, a year?
That was a scathing review, but it was the only one that harsh. So, to me that's very suspect. Especially, when there are so many other competitors trying to get the consumers' money. I typically read a handful of in-depth reviews to get a consensus.
I now have 5 different brands of security systems around my home using 4 different apps. I only opt for SD storage capability and don't use any cloud service. So far, no issues with any of the devices.
The cam I recommended to you, I had installed in April. I just got it because it was so cheap, but so far, I've been impressed with it.
Thanks for your response. Appreciate you setting me straight. Too easy to get wound up these days! Maybe I will try one. The ding dong is just sitting on a cinder block, no wires needed, the camera will probably need more work setting up than that! Have to cut back some of the vegetation, it does wave around in the breeze.
Haven't seen my furry nemesis in a few days. Wonder what's up with that? I've been ready.
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You are right. Sorry. It's not a big expense.
But that review did hit a nerve, especially since that did happen to me on two cameras which originally cost double what this one goes for. The camera software (that I have) makes it difficult to save to SD, and to do simple things, but makes it real easy to sign up for subscriptions. I'd attempt to use my cameras, warts and all, but they aren't outdoor rated. In general, I've had poor experiences with quite a few of these cameras, (four of them!) so it has soured me.
Just for reference purposes, how long have you had the cameras? A month, 6 months, a year?
That was a scathing review, but it was the only one that harsh. So, to me that's very suspect. Especially, when there are so many other competitors trying to get the consumers' money. I typically read a handful of in-depth reviews to get a consensus.
I now have 5 different brands of security systems around my home using 4 different apps. I only opt for SD storage capability and don't use any cloud service. So far, no issues with any of the devices.
The cam I recommended to you, I had installed in April. I just got it because it was so cheap, but so far, I've been impressed with it.
Thanks for your response. Appreciate you setting me straight. Too easy to get wound up these days! Maybe I will try one. The ding dong is just sitting on a cinder block, no wires needed, the camera will probably need more work setting up than that! Have to cut back some of the vegetation, it does wave around in the breeze.
Haven't seen my furry nemesis in a few days. Wonder what's up with that? I've been ready.
It's actually rather easy to set up. Just mount it to a piece of lumbar for a base. Insert an SD card. Plug it into an AC outlet/extension cord. Download the Aidot app. Sync up the device to the app, and that's it.
This particular camera is rather far, and going through 3 floors to get to my wifi, but it can still reach it. Because of this, there's a couple seconds of lag when viewing live. No lag on video play back.
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Well I got the Ghog I was after ;)
(https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/gallery/17377-110924074016.jpeg)
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I was trying to avoid using a trap. There's also a pretty large skunk around. I really don't like the idea of catching a skunk, although the skunk is digging up my lawn. Can you spray the trap afterwards with something to destink them?
That trap goes for $120? or so? Does yours have dual doors? It looks like it. What was the bait? I have no plans to "resettle or release" the groundhog.
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I was trying to avoid using a trap. There's also a pretty large skunk around. I really don't like the idea of catching a skunk, although the skunk is digging up my lawn. Can you spray the trap afterwards with something to destink them?
That trap goes for $120? or so? Does yours have dual doors? It looks like it. What was the bait? I have no plans to "resettle or release" the groundhog.
Yes trap is 2 door fast back" lol , I used an apple half and some wild bird seed mix, good chance a skunk would pass on that bait and go for a mouse or grub. Was an early am catch. Trap set along where I saw him run along the barn doors.
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After not seeing the ghog for nearly a week, my wife reported seeing it running at breakneck speed towards her and diving under the porch. This was at 2:30pm. She happened to be on the porch, and was glad the screen door was closed. She said it looked enormous, but I don't know how to gauge that. But I'd imagine he's fattening up for the winter. Think it's pretty amazing that he can even fit through the opening as it isn't all that big. Might try to temporarily block that opening to force him a longer way around.
I bought a 2 door trap. I think I will have to figure it out tomorrow and set it up. Have to get him.
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Man this guy is torturing me. Saw him today twice. Around 1:30pm. Came out to eat some grass. I went out on the roof and he heard the door and tucked into the bushes and disappeared. Then I saw him come out again about 20 minutes later. He's bigger now. This time I got onto the roof undetected. But he looked up again and scurried back to his lair. I waited for another hour on the hot roof and no ground hog.
I need to install some hardware cloth to make it harder for the ghog to dive under the porch. What I am trying to do is to give him only one path in and out. Then I will set up a trap in that path.
Of course buying anything these days is a pain, no one seems to have normal stuff in stock. Ace can order it, Lowes didn't have any in stock either. Home Depot has some but their prices are 2X greater than everyone else, it's criminal. Tractor Supply has some in stock, so that's where I will go.
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Good luck.
I've taken out a handful of the dumb (greedy?) rats in the yard, but the trailcam shows two more smarter models that seem to say "game on!"
You may have the smarter model ghog.
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My friends at Tractor Supply had the hardware cloth, so I bought it. But they didn't have the hardware that I needed, or it was way more than I wanted to spend. The lag bolts were fine, but the dumb washers were almost $1 each. So off to another store tomorrow. McMaster sells 50 for $5.67, so 10-11 cents each. Have to think the local HW store can do better than $1 each.
I had a great shot of that ghog, twice, if I wanted to replace two windows and a screen. Darn thing was sitting on my steps looking out at the yard. I could see the back of it's head. But I chose not to destroy the windows in two doors and a screen door. This dude is crafty.
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Tried to block the ghog from being able to dive under the porch with some stones covering the crack, but I couldn't cover the whole crack. Not more than 20 minutes later, I saw him coming from the garden area and diving through the smaller crack that I hadn't blocked. I left the side area unblocked, because I was trying to make him become more comfortable entering and exiting that way.
And that is where I set the trap. I baited it with some green beans, which I know he's been eating, and some cantaloupe. I left around 11am. At about 5pm I came home and the trap was untriggered. But at 5:30pm, well, the trap contained my friend, the ground hog. Now, I'm going to admit I wasn't sporting, but he got a taste of lead right between the eyes, 28.4 grains and 36 FPE worth. One round. Didn't feel too good about it, but hey, that guy had been eating everything around here and really dug up a ton of dirt. I've been trying to get rid of him for a while now. So that guy is taken care of. Well almost, I have to empty the trap... It's raining now, so I'll wait a little.
Probably won't post the photo here, that shot wasn't hunting. Just another dead pest of the day. A very wily pest. Who knows, there may be more of them...
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All's well that ends well.... not so well for the ghog but your garden (whatever is left of it) is safe.... for now.
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Main thing is you got that big rodent :) and ready for the next one if they do not get the memo.
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Main thing is you got that big rodent :) and ready for the next one if they do not get the memo.
Glad you mentioned traps, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Caught him on the first day of setting out the trap. Had been putting that off in hopes of getting a shot.
Definitely a juvenile, but still was big enough to cause a lot of damage. I was having a "bad" day today, having come home with a splitting headache. Catching that big toothed rodent made the day seem a lot brighter. Unfortunately, trash day was this morning, so he's going to be fermenting in the can for a week :(. Double bagged him, so nosy folks wouldn't see the mess.
One down. Hope there's no more, but I'm ready.
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Congrats on trapping and, well, taking care of business! They surely can do a lot of damage! Job well done 👍
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Congrats! That one had been causing you trouble for quite a while.
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Congrats Bruce! It's not easy to trap Ghogs and using the same food he 's been stealing was smart. I knew you 'd get him. You were determined and persistent and accomplished the job.
I am pretty sure you have at least 1 other one out there of the opposite sex. He/she will come sniffing around looking for their partner and will stop to visit the garden. They always check on each other periodically even though they may not be mating now (not until Feb-March). Have the ding donger(s) ready and be on the lookout to see which way they go or exit the garden.
Harry
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Congrats Bruce! It's not easy to trap Ghogs and using the same food he 's been stealing was smart. I knew you 'd get him. You were determined and persistent and accomplished the job.
I am pretty sure you have at least 1 other one out there of the opposite sex. He/she will come sniffing around looking for their partner and will stop to visit the garden. They always check on each other periodically even though they may not be mating now (not until Feb-March). Have the ding donger(s) ready and be on the lookout to see which way they go or exit the garden.
Harry
Oof, was hoping you wouldn't say there's more, but most likely. I'll turn on the ding dong again. We'll see if there's more activity.
Double door trap for the win. Definitely gave me a lot of trouble, getting it with it's irregular schedule.
Getting up before dawn also revealed a very large skunk tearing up the turf. Was dreading catching that by accident. Would have stunk up our porch for a long time. Not sure how to take care of that with minimum stink.
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Well Bruce, if you have more like Harry said, you just might get a shot on one that is less skittish!
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Well Bruce, if you have more like Harry said, you just might get a shot on one that is less skittish!
Yes, that's looking on the bright side! :D
Ding dong is operational, haven't heard anything today. Is that good or bad? ???
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My wife loves the birds so we have a lot of activity from skunks, possums, and raccoons. I shot several possums and one skunk. Unfortunately, the skunk did a death crawl under my shed. Went home the next day and pulled her out with some grippers on a handle. That was a year and a half ago and the shed still smells bad! The next night, I had 5 skunks in the yard. We are in a state that requires you to have a license to live trap animals so we called a professional. They have a trap that is opaque so that when they catch a skunk, it doesn't see them coming toward the trap. Alternatively, you could put an old rug or blanket on it except for the opening. When they caught the skunks, they put a garbage bag over the trap, tied it up and poked a little hole in the bag. They squirted a little ether in the bag and covered the hole with masking tape, waited a few minutes and then sprayed quite a bit more ether into finish him off. That is how they keep them from spraying. I have a skunk in the yard every night and could easily shoot him with the Prod, but don't want to have the spraying again. From what I have read, there is no guarantee that a head shot or heart lung shot will keep them from spraying. Since you have the trap, might want to research the bag and ether method.I might have to apply for a license............................. Good Luck!
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My wife loves the birds so we have a lot of activity from skunks, possums, and raccoons. I shot several possums and one skunk. Unfortunately, the skunk did a death crawl under my shed. Went home the next day and pulled her out with some grippers on a handle. That was a year and a half ago and the shed still smells bad! The next night, I had 5 skunks in the yard. We are in a state that requires you to have a license to live trap animals so we called a professional. They have a trap that is opaque so that when they catch a skunk, it doesn't see them coming toward the trap. Alternatively, you could put an old rug or blanket on it except for the opening. When they caught the skunks, they put a garbage bag over the trap, tied it up and poked a little hole in the bag. They squirted a little ether in the bag and covered the hole with masking tape, waited a few minutes and then sprayed quite a bit more ether into finish him off. That is how they keep them from spraying. I have a skunk in the yard every night and could easily shoot him with the Prod, but don't want to have the spraying again. From what I have read, there is no guarantee that a head shot or heart lung shot will keep them from spraying. Since you have the trap, might want to research the bag and ether method.I might have to apply for a license............................. Good Luck!
I know very well the smell. Dumped a triple bagged skunk carcass into our trash. It's been nearly two years and it still smells. But it's not as bad as it was 6 months ago. I had accidentally caught it in a squirrel trap that I left out overnight. Won't do that again. It killed the skunk and it sprayed everywhere. Fortunately it was away from the house. Interesting idea about the ether. Used to have some, but no more. You need a really good container for it, as it readily escapes, even through a rubber stopper in a metal can. Suppose I could find some starting fluid, think it is still ether.
That skunk I saw was pretty large, but it was well before dawn when it was out, so unless I had an IR scope, I wouldn't even attempt a shot as it would be wishful thinking.
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Well Bruce, one of my bucket list things to do is take a ghog with my air rifle, so, to me it may be a good thing...😂👍...for you, maybe! LOL!
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Well Bruce, if you have more like Harry said, you just might get a shot on one that is less skittish!
Yes, that's looking on the bright side! :D
Ding dong is operational, haven't heard anything today. Is that good or bad? ???
That's a good sign, at least for now. Their partners do not hang around long after they realize their mate (or sibling/buddy) is gone for good. They leave and go in search of other Ghogs. Once they find others they will burrow close to them in hopes to mate in late winter/early Spring. He/she might come back from time to time to feed in your garden if not too far away, but they are preparing to hibernate now so the chances of seeing another before Spring are slim.
There is a high probability though that you will have another visitor in the Spring/summer. Also a female might bring her young to your property in May to leave them there and help them with the burrow, or settle there to give birth. A female Ghog abandons her young when they are 4-5 weeks old, but first she leads them away from other Ghogs, and also a good distance from her and the adult male to avoid inbreeding, but also so they don't get harassed and beat up by bigger Ghogs. I have seen bigger ones attack, bite and claw little ones and terrorize them (in my yard) when they discover them. One time it looked like a yearling was trying to mate with a little one 1/3rd his size and was chasing it all around.
So anyway I think you are good for now, but next year might be a different story since we know your neighborhood has Ghogs, and where there is one, there is always more not far away.
Harry
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Surprisingly, my garden is recovering. And so are my wife's flowers. For the first time, they are growing and flowering instead of being eaten to the ground. Pity, it's the end of the season. I even got some more green beans, as we are zooming into fall. If there's any ghogs left, they are being discrete in their eating habits. Fine with me.
I still have the trap - it paid for itself this year. Next year it's free.
Now to get rid of that skunk...
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Here's the ghog this morning. Not a very good photo, through two window panes and a screen door. Did a walk around the yard, seems the ghog went after my wife's zinnias, last night, which was fenced with two foot chicken wire. The ghog had pulled down some of the fencing by about 6" to attack one of the zinnia stems. That would be tough to get a good shot there, much easier from the porch roof to the grass, like in the photo. Or I guess I could lie on the roof and shoot straight down, but not so keen about that.
Now I don't have experience using an air rifle on the roof as I just recently got into air rifles in more depth than walmart guns. BUT I do enjoy the late night early mornings half naked hunts on the roof with a 17 HMR and 6 pack of beer! Try it out, its as freeing and riding a motorcycle. Just can't say that your neighbors will enjoy the sight if they see you.... I'm lucky enough to have my house in the middle of nowhere with a curved drive that you can't really even see the house from the road that easily.
PS. Drink responsibly. The 6-pack comment was a half joke. I keep my hunting limit to about the same as my driving limit which is below the legal limit. If I have a 6 pack it's because I plan on being up there all night like when I'm waiting for coyotes or something.
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My wife loves the birds so we have a lot of activity from skunks, possums, and raccoons. I shot several possums and one skunk. Unfortunately, the skunk did a death crawl under my shed. Went home the next day and pulled her out with some grippers on a handle. That was a year and a half ago and the shed still smells bad! The next night, I had 5 skunks in the yard. We are in a state that requires you to have a license to live trap animals so we called a professional. They have a trap that is opaque so that when they catch a skunk, it doesn't see them coming toward the trap. Alternatively, you could put an old rug or blanket on it except for the opening. When they caught the skunks, they put a garbage bag over the trap, tied it up and poked a little hole in the bag. They squirted a little ether in the bag and covered the hole with masking tape, waited a few minutes and then sprayed quite a bit more ether into finish him off. That is how they keep them from spraying. I have a skunk in the yard every night and could easily shoot him with the Prod, but don't want to have the spraying again. From what I have read, there is no guarantee that a head shot or heart lung shot will keep them from spraying. Since you have the trap, might want to research the bag and ether method.I might have to apply for a license............................. Good Luck!
SO There is a trick with skunks. You want to give them a heart and lung shot and they wont spray most of the time. Head shots will cause them to spray nearly all the time. If you keep the shot quiet enough the heart and lung shots seem more like they got stung to them so the start looking around and as long as they don't see anything that spooks them (aside from the shot) then they normally just waddle around for there last 15-30 seconds of life. In the realm of firearms I use suppressed 22lr subsonics to keep it quiet and not shock them too much. I haven't personally had a ton of personal experience with it but between me and neighbors that seems to do the trick quite well.
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My wife loves the birds so we have a lot of activity from skunks, possums, and raccoons. I shot several possums and one skunk. Unfortunately, the skunk did a death crawl under my shed. Went home the next day and pulled her out with some grippers on a handle. That was a year and a half ago and the shed still smells bad! The next night, I had 5 skunks in the yard. We are in a state that requires you to have a license to live trap animals so we called a professional. They have a trap that is opaque so that when they catch a skunk, it doesn't see them coming toward the trap. Alternatively, you could put an old rug or blanket on it except for the opening. When they caught the skunks, they put a garbage bag over the trap, tied it up and poked a little hole in the bag. They squirted a little ether in the bag and covered the hole with masking tape, waited a few minutes and then sprayed quite a bit more ether into finish him off. That is how they keep them from spraying. I have a skunk in the yard every night and could easily shoot him with the Prod, but don't want to have the spraying again. From what I have read, there is no guarantee that a head shot or heart lung shot will keep them from spraying. Since you have the trap, might want to research the bag and ether method.I might have to apply for a license............................. Good Luck!
I know very well the smell. Dumped a triple bagged skunk carcass into our trash. It's been nearly two years and it still smells. But it's not as bad as it was 6 months ago. I had accidentally caught it in a squirrel trap that I left out overnight. Won't do that again. It killed the skunk and it sprayed everywhere. Fortunately it was away from the house. Interesting idea about the ether. Used to have some, but no more. You need a really good container for it, as it readily escapes, even through a rubber stopper in a metal can. Suppose I could find some starting fluid, think it is still ether.
That skunk I saw was pretty large, but it was well before dawn when it was out, so unless I had an IR scope, I wouldn't even attempt a shot as it would be wishful thinking.
Another quick tip from my knowledge from the... well the official side of dealing with death (lets leave it at that). Helium works extremely well for dispatching pest. In mammals it prevents the air hunger or having any chocking feelings. It causes a little dizziness and then its lights out. Leave it in the bag with the helium for about 15 more min to be sure and its all done. One of the most humaine and painless deaths. Nitrogen can do the same thing but I have heard it is not as good as reducing the air hunger or anxiety. I think its something to due with eventualy making some sort of nitrous air mixtures that our bodies recognize rather than the helium which just removes the oxygen.
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Guess what, another one has moved in.
Looked out the kitchen door through the exterior screened in porch, and there sat a groundhog on my kitchen steps, like he belonged there. He turned and saw me, and dove under the porch. He was watching the rain come down. Grr. Same impossible situation. Well it'll have to go down the same way, I guess, bait the sucker, etc. At least I saw him to confirm - early in the season, rather than wonder who the pest was in our gardens all summer.
You know, it was significantly colder in the basement last year - yeah, the old tunnels next to the foundation let in more cold air. I'm going to get that ghog... Thought I was done with them...
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Juvenile tore up a patch of earth looking for something, bulbs? Anyways, a mess on the walkway. Went to a side window to see the juvie running to the kitchen steps, where it sat for a while. I banged the kitchen door window and it dove under the porch. These are basically impossible shots, through multiple windows and screens. Time to dig out the trap. And boards and concrete and stone to block the over the stairs access to the area. Then I can set the trap at the only access there.
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Came back later today to find him at work again. Tore up all the stones I put by the fence, trying to excavate under the fence. Due to the rain, he gets a pass for today. When he saw us approaching he dove under the porch again. Tomorrow his number is up. Added some bricks by the bottom of the fence, expect they will be moved today or tonight. Need to buy some canteloupe - it worked last time.