Courtesy photo

Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks and whistle pigs.

Neeli Reamer is The Roanoke Times' gardening columnist. Her column appears twice monthly in Extra.

Neeli Reamer

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About Neeli

Neeli Reamer is a Master Gardener who has a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication and a master's degree in counseling, where she focused heavily on horticultural therapy techniques.

She believes gardening isn't about being perfect, it's about having fun.

Last Fourth of July there were fireworks in my yard; and I don't mean the pyrotechnic kind.

Around midday I heard a loud noise. Peyton, my West Highland terrier, and Fletcher, my basset hound, were barking nonstop at the tops of their lungs.

My husband, Kevin, and I ran outside to investigate: A fat groundhog was inside our fence and Peyton and Fletcher had him cornered.

The trio was engaged in a terrible standoff.

Westies and bassets are hunting dogs, but the groundhog was holding his own, standing on his hind legs, scratching through the air; snapping his teeth. After what seemed like an eternity, Kevin got Peyton, Fletcher (both totally unscathed) and his hysterical wife indoors.

The groundhog played possum. We weren't sure if he was alive, dead, or in shock.

A minute later, the groundhog popped up and wandered out an open gate, back to the field he still calls home.

Since then, that groundhog has wisely stayed on his side of the fence.

What is a groundhog?

After this incident, I went online to learn everything I could about groundhogs. A groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck or whistle pig, is one of 14 species of marmots. These rodents make a whistling sound when they are scared, hence the name whistle pig.

According to nationalgeographic.com, groundhogs are the largest members of the squirrel family. Adults weigh about 13 pounds and measure between 18 and 24 inches long. They have grayish brown fur and short bushy tails.

In spring, female groundhogs may give birth to four to nine cubs. Cubs stay with their mothers for about two months.

Groundhogs are herbivores. They eat only plants: grasses, tree bark, fruits and vegetables, something that does not exactly endear them to gardeners.

Sheri Dorn, a Roanoke-based extension agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, says, "Groundhogs can wreak havoc in a vegetable garden. They will eat almost anything. I see the most damage on leafy greens, tomatoes and melons." My Aunt Betsy says they love to munch on her sunflowers.

Groundhogs dine extra heavily in late summer and fall to build up reserves of fat for hibernation. They hibernate from October through February, and sleep in their burrows, systems of underground tunnels and rooms.

Groundhogs are industrious diggers. Some burrows are 30 feet long and about 5 feet deep. Abandoned burrows are often claimed by other wildlife, such as rabbits and foxes.

Groundhogs are common in the eastern United States and there seems to be no shortage of them in Southwest Virginia.

Groundhogs frequent open fields, near the edges of forests. Although they prefer to stay on solid ground, they can swim and climb trees.

The most famous groundhog in the land is Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil who, every Feb. 2, predicts whether we are in store for six more weeks of winter.

I think groundhogs are cute. But most gardeners and farmers I've spoken with say they like to bring out the big guns when it comes to these furballs. One farmer explained that horses can stumble in groundhog burrows and break their legs. Dorn adds, "Their tunnels and burrows can be dangerous for farm equipment."

Some people do indeed hunt, trap, and even eat, groundhogs. However, there are many easy, nonlethal methods for dealing with unwanted woodchucks.

Getting groundhogs to stay out of gardens

The Humane Society (www.humanesociety.org) has several suggestions for protecting gardens:

n Use motion devices and reflective materials to frighten groundhogs away. Groundhogs are very timid. Place pinwheels, wind spinners and twisted Mylar tape in your garden. Tethered Mylar balloons or a beach ball will also blow around in the breeze and discourage groundhog visits.

n Install a 3- to 4-foot-high chicken wire or mesh fence around your garden. Bend the bottom portion into an "L" shape that extends 12 inches away from the garden and pin it down with landscaping staples. This will prevent a groundhog from digging underneath. Keep the top portion of the fence around the posts loose and "floppy." Groundhogs don't like climbing unstable fences.

n Put up a two-wire electric fence. Install one strand 1 to 4 inches above the ground and the second strand 8 to 9 inches high. A single 4-inch-high electric wire works well in front of nonelectric fences.

n Clear away long grass and brush piles where groundhogs may hide.

n Close nearby burrows. If you must evict a groundhog, the Humane Society suggests you do so at the end of July or August, after young groundhogs have been weaned.

Placing used kitty litter (the clumping kind) inside all of the burrow entrances often causes a groundhog to leave. After the groundhog has vacated the burrow, loosely fill all entrances with grass or vegetation. If it remains undisturbed for five days straight, the burrow is unoccupied and can be permanently sealed.

Excavate the areas around the entrances, and then bury "square sections of heavy-gauge welded wire at least 1 foot deep across all entrances."

Try one or more of these strategies to keep your garden free of groundhogs.

Meanwhile, let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope Phil doesn't see his shadow in Punxsutawney this year!

Neeli Reamer's "Down to Earth" column runs every other Saturday in Extra.