Coffee grounds are mildly effective at deterring groundhogs. The strong aroma of coffee, combined with its texture, can make them avoid treated garden beds. However, grounds wash away easily in the rain and require frequent reapplication, making them an inconsistent solution.
The best groundhog repellents combine taste and scent aversions. Commercial sprays like Bobbex Animal Repellent or I Must Garden Groundhog Repellent are highly rated, but highly effective DIY methods—like a mixture of castor oil and cayenne pepper—work well to drive them away.
Coffee grounds naturally repel a variety of pests because of their strong aroma and acidity. They are most effective at keeping away slugs, snails, ants, mosquitoes, wasps, and neighborhood cats. You can also use them to deter small mammals like rabbits and squirrels.
Yes, vinegar can help deter groundhogs, as they have highly sensitive noses and despise the pungent scent. However, it is a temporary fix and must be used carefully so you don't damage your plants or yard.
Groundhogs hate the taste of Epsom salts. Sprinkle them around the perimeter of your garden and near burrow entrances and exits. You may also try placing a tin pie plate filled with the salts near the plants.
Repellents made of things groundhogs find unpleasant to smell will keep them away. These can be homemade and contain items such as garlic, rosemary, lavender, sage, and mint, but they will have to be reapplied as the strength of the odor will lessen over time.
The active ingredient in antifreeze is ethylene glycol, which is a dangerous poison. Each year hundreds of animals, both domestic and wild, are attracted to its sweet taste. When large amounts are swallowed, convulsions and coma occur. Smaller doses can result in irreversible kidney damage.
Yes, Epsom salt can help deter groundhogs, but it is not a permanent solution. Groundhogs dislike the bitter taste and smell, but the remedy washes away easily and is considered a mild, anecdotal deterrent rather than a foolproof fix.
Groundhogs are one of only a few mammals that are true hibernators. Around late October to early November, groundhogs retreat to their underground burrows to hibernate through the winter. In early fall, groundhogs eat large amounts of food to build their fat reserves in preparation for their long slumber.
If you block a groundhog (woodchuck) hole, the groundhog will simply dig it back open, dig a new exit, or another animal may move into the vacant den. Before blocking any hole, you must verify the den is abandoned to avoid trapping the animal inside, especially during spring when dependent babies may be present.
Instead of throwing spent coffee grounds in the trash, some homeowners leave piles or lines of coffee grounds around their gardens and homes to keep flies, mosquitoes, and other pests away. Coffee grounds are also often used to deter slugs and snails, reduce weeds without chemicals, and even repel neighborhood strays.
Besides being energized, if your dog eats coffee grounds, they can be detrimentally overstimulated. Caffeine toxicity in dogs can cause elevated blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and even start to shut down their organs and eventually the central nervous system.
As our question: “Do coffee grounds attract pests?” — no! The opposite is true. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coffee grounds are an efficient way to keep pests out of your garden.
Put a harmless but strong-smelling substance just inside the entrance, such as urine-saturated clumps of kitty litter or a capsaicin-based repellent. Loosely seal the entrance, so the smell stays inside the burrow.
It may also help deter rabbits and deer. I also learned groundhogs and skunks can be persuaded to vacate the premises by sprinkling urine around their dens, but this is only useful for small populations in urban settings.
No, mothballs are ineffective at getting rid of groundhogs. Groundhogs largely ignore them, and they do not deter the animals from feeding or returning to their burrows. Furthermore, using mothballs outdoors is illegal in many places because they contain toxic chemicals that can leach into soil and water.
Young groundhogs are weaned and ready to seek their own dens at five to six weeks. The groundhog you see on your property is most likely a mother with young still in the burrow. Groundhogs are more visible in late October to December as they prepare for winter hibernation.
Groundhogs spend most of their time underground in their burrows but will come out to forage for food during short periods in the early morning and early evening.
“During hibernation, a groundhog”s heartbeat, metabolism and respiration slow,” Thompson said, “allowing it to live on its body fat. If a groundhog is awakened from hibernation too early, it might not have the energy to find food and survive in cold winter temperatures.”
Diseases Carried by Groundhogs
Additionally, though rare, groundhogs can carry tularemia. Symptoms of this disease include fever, chills, headache, and diarrhea. Woodchucks can also carry groundhog ticks, which spread Lyme disease to humans.
A groundhog (or woodchuck) typically lives 2 to 3 years in the wild, though they can occasionally reach up to 6 years. In captivity, away from predators and harsh conditions, their lifespan jumps significantly, ranging from 10 to 14 years.
While peppermint can temporarily deter groundhogs due to their sensitive sense of smell, it is rarely a long-term solution. Groundhogs will often ignore the scent if highly motivated by food or if protecting their young. For a lasting solution, exclusion (fencing) is highly recommended.
Putting mothballs down their holes, or pouring down Clorox is only a temporary cure. Even if they leave, they'll be back.
Yes, you can legally shoot a groundhog on your property in Pennsylvania if it is damaging your property. However, there are very strict safety and regulatory rules you must follow:
You should never dump spent antifreeze onto the ground or down a drain (see Q. 8). Doing so would allow ethylene glycol to seep into the nearby soils and groundwater, which could pollute water sources, kill flora, sicken fauna, and make the EPA very, very unhappy.