Best Practices for Reducing Woodchuck Numbers

Spring has sprung for most of the country and for those who must deal with varmints and other wildlife species that come out of their winter dens headaches might be on the way. Out of all varmints woodchucks probably create the most Hazardous Risk for airports, industrial parks, golf courses, and other fenced in areas. They can put holes in your fence inviting other animals in, dig tunnels under roadways or runways, increase your predator numbers, and even cause an increase in aircraft strike risk or vehicle collisions (watch your tires). Most woodchucks will share a den until after their litter is born in Mid-April early May then the male will leave and occupy a separate den. Once their young leave the den and spread out in early August you may have a larger problem reducing the numbers inside your airport. Here are a few best practices we found most effective for woodchucks.

• Blanket Trapping: The use of traps either in or around the den can be easy to set up and extremely effective! We recommend MB-550’s made by Minnesota Trapline Products. Simply identify the holes or den your woodchucks are using and blanket the holes with these traps and check once or twice a day. If you would like to catch and remove the woodchuck from your property, we recommend Comstock Cages with the same technique applied.
• Add a Skirt to Your Fence: A skirt is simply an underground extension to your fence. If you notice multiple holes or trenches along your fence line this can be a solution for preventing future issues. Most effective skirt depth are 4-5 feet and are at a 45-degree angle outward. This will prevent burrowing under the fence.
• Depredate: If you are in an area that allows hunting or shooting this may be your most effective way to reduce the number of woodchucks on the property. We recommend the use of either a high-powered pellet gun, .17 caliber rifle, or .22 Mag for longer shots.
• Fill in the holes: Once you successfully either depredate or trap a woodchuck, filling in their holes will help prevent others in the area from using the same den in the future. Although sometimes other woodchucks may dig out the same hole typically they will try and find one already vacant.

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