Earlier in the spring, I had posted a picture of an animal that I was unsure of what the darn thing was. Apparently, it's a Groundhog or a Woodchuck. You can see his picture here. Apparently, our little friend is baaaaack with a vengeance:
So this little guy must've REALLY busy last night. Remember - this is a house we have that's FOR SALE! I'm afraid to show David. He thought we should've taken steps in the spring to move the Groundhog. But he was so cute and I had already named him "Woody"!
I don't know what we're going to do. I called Animal Services, and apparently, they only kill them - they don't MOVE them and had no advice. Killing Woody isn't an option. I'm actually wondering if we have a "Woodette" and that's damage done by little ones born in the spring. Little bastards!
I was back at the shelter this morning and rescued 8 deserving cats and kittens! I took two of the young adults to a new foster home and brought 6 to Petsmart. (Already had been quarantined) I no sooner had gotten the kittens settled into their cages when an amazing lady showed up and wanted to adopt one of the black kittens that I had just put into the store! Great way to start the month.
We had 3 adult cats adopted this weekend! I certainly wish it could be this way every week. I don't think things have slowed down from the summer kitten season. Sadly, they still seem to be coming into the shelter.
Hang in there .... it's October...it's bound to slow down soon.
14 comments:
Oh my! Yep you got an issue with the groundhog, no suggestions unfortunately. Try calling Toronto Wildlife, they might have a humane suggestion. I wonder if sprinkled, used cat litter may help to discourage him.
Hi Beth, sorry about the mess that critter is making of your lawn...We experience this a lot out here in the Country. I think what you are dealing with is a mole... or moleS ! They are very destructive little critters and have totally destroyed whole sections of our pasture and lawns. Hard to tell from the photo..but do they look like little furrows in the ground ? The moles tunnel around and then come up wherever they please , then dive back down again and tunnel some more.... totally ruining gardens and lawns. I'm sending you a website separately to have a boo on dealing with the critters. Sorry, but they won't just go away ..we know this !
I'm so excited to hear that you've rescued more kitties (were they out of the hamilton shelter ? ) and thrilled to hear of more adoptions. I HAD noticed that the kittens just keep coming. Keep up the good work Beth..LOVE hearing about helping kitties ! NOT the MOLES though !
Gail
I believe the damage you see in the lawn in this picture is from moles....not a Groundhog :))
Hi Three Gardeners! Thank you so much for the help. Soooo....NOW what do we do? :)
-B
Hi Beth,
we used AAA Wildlife control when we had a family of skunks living under our shed. They wildlife proofed the shed so the animals can't come back. They assist in relocating the animals, they do not kill them. Maybe there is such a company in your area? The website for the Vancouver company says they were founded in Ontario.
hmacross: Thank you so much - will look them up. Great idea.
B
Ya need a mouser, black and white kitties are supposed to be good mousers! LOL
I think it may be skunks, they are digging for grubs!!!
They make a terrible mess!
Home in a week, and would like a foster if possible ?
I had something destroy my lawn as well. In my case I think they were lifting patches of the lawn rather than burrowing. I think it was racoons. They were after grubs. I got some nemotodes from the garden centre and watered them into the lawn. They will kill grubs, crickets, etc....lots of insects. No food equals no critters. But then you have to fix the lawn :(
i concure with its grubs, racoons are turfing up your lawn eating. this happened in the house i grew up in. fall time. spray your lawn they won't come back. your lawn is like a buffet to the racoons. not groundhogs. they just dig holes and bugger off.
If an animal is destroying your lawn, it definitely is doing it to eat insects, grubs most common. The best solution is to let the animals completely do the job, they will take care of the grubs. You can add nematodes for extra predators on the job, except they need a warm temperature and the soil kept moist. Rake up the lawn and discard. Top dress and seed like a maniac. Key to preventing grubs is a healthy lawn
http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/pests/docs/Healthy.Lawns.pdf
Good luck
Jen
Beth, The nematodes are great for the coming year (ie once it's sold ;) but to stop them this fall spread blood meal (yup, it's dried powdered blood - and readily available at garden centers) on it. Worked like a charm for us - which saved my sanity listening to S complain about his grass ;D
And yes, the irony of the paramedic suggesting spreading dried blood around on your front yard is poetic!
Found a website for wildlife management that listed voles, moles, skunks and squirrel as critters that dig up lawns. Maybe there was a reason the nasty neighbours were poisoning squirrels...
http://icwdm.org/wildlife/Moles.aspx
We had an issue with a country house exactly like that.....the culprit and solution was expensive lawncare.....and getting rid of GRUBS, which is what animals are digging into your lawn to eat. No grubs? NO moles/skunks/tunnels/digging.
I guarantee that is the issue at hand, there are some lawn care options that eliminate grubs but do not poison your lawn completely with chemicals. Moles are not vegetarian, and they eat grubs, and so do many other animals that do this to lawns!!!
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