New York state wildlife expert Richard Thomas found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds.

Here’s my answer from April 2017: According to the Poetry Foundation, a woodchuck would chuck “As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, If a woodchuck could chuck wood.” (bit.ly/woodchuck-poem) Researchers at Cornell determined that a woodchuck could chuck about 700 pounds: (bit.ly/cornell-woodchucks).

While woodchucks do not “chuck” wood, they do “chuck” dirt as they build underground burrows. Woodchucks do not chuck wood. But if they did, the answer is a not very tongue twister satisfying 700 pounds.

The name woodchuck has nothing to do with wood. Or chucking. It is derived from the Algonquian name for the critters, wuchak.

Groundhogs hate the smell of garlic and pepper. To deter them from ever returning to your garden, crush some garlic and pepper and throw it into their burrows. Do this day after day until they flee. You can also make a garlic and pepper spray to spray your vegetables.

They’re big and they can leave a lot of damage in their wake. Woodchucks (also known as groundhogs) are unusually busy at this time of year as they try to put on fat for hibernation. People can peacefully coexist with woodchucks because they’re not aggressive and typically don’t transmit diseases.

Groundhogs will sleep in their burrows, raise their young there, and hibernate through the winter. The name whistle-pig comes from the high-pitched scream the animals will give to warn the other members of their colony when danger is around.

fisher screams

foxes

Activity: Groundhogs are diurnal (active during the day) from spring to fall. Most activity occurs during the early morning and early evening hours, at which groundhogs emerge from their burrows to gather food.

In addition to feeding predators, and ridding us of those pesky extra vegetables, another benefit woodchucks provide is soil aeration. While digging their burrows, they move large amounts of subsoil. Groundhogs are designed for digging.

Yellow crystals as fly bait are a form of poison that kills groundhogs. Strychnine is another poison that is used by many people when they want to get rid of these San Francisco rodents. Strychnine functions by suffocating the groundhog.

Groundhogs or woodchucks are the major hole-digging mammal of eastern North America. The average groundhog excavates over 700 pounds of dirt digging just one den, and a single groundhog may have four or or five dens scattered across its territory, moving in and out of them as crops and weather change.

Noel Falk, the “Plant Doctor” had recommended using “Double Bubble” brand bubble gum to eliminate groundhogs. Supposedly groundhogs love this particular brand of bubble gum, but once they eat it, it gums up their insides and ultimately kills them.

Groundhog mating season is in the early spring and, after only a month-long pregnancy, mother groundhogs typically give birth to a litter of two to six blind, hairless babies. Young groundhogs are called kits, pups, or sometimes chucklings.

Sprinkle blood meal, ground black pepper, dried blood, or talcum powder around the perimeter of your garden. You can try using hair clippings as well. Puree and strain hot peppers and garlic, mix them with water and enough liquid soap to make it stick, and spray it liberally around the garden.

There aren’t really any specific groundhog poisons that have been formulated to kill the animals, but using other poison such as rat poison will still kill the groundhogs, as the substance is toxic enough to kill most small animals of that size.

“Groundhogs do have large incisors like rodents do, so your dog stands a chance of being bitten. While the groundhog may not threaten your pets, it can be in danger from other predators.

Though groundhogs don’t typically attack people, groundhog-human interactions are common.

While these animals aren’t likely to go out of their way to attack a cat, their sharp teeth and claws can do damage. As ever, prevention is the best way to stop groundhog attacks, so stay vigilant while your kitty is outside.

If not properly controlled, groundhogs can cause serious structural damage when burrowing. Plantings, woodpiles and debris surrounding your home provide shelter for groundhogs, making them more likely to live on your property or burrow underneath the grass or foundation.

Groundhogs, like most other wild animals, generally avoid humans and other larger animals. Their harmful effects are often seen in the destruction of gardens and farms, consumption of food in storage, or creation of burrows on property.

Groundhogs enter their burrows for hibernation in mid-October and emerge in February. The males emerge in the spring before the females. Groundhogs spend up to 80% of their lives in the darkness of their burrows. Groundhogs defecate in chambers in their underground burrows.

Family values. In general, groundhog social groups consist of one adult male and two adult females, each with an offspring from the previous breeding season (usually female), and the current litter of infants. Interactions within a female’s group are generally friendly.

Groundhogs do not make good pets, as they obviously dig and chew through almost anything in their path. Odds are, they will find a way out of a cage and will escape eventually. Baby groundhogs are very sensitive, and can die if not given the proper attention. Despite being cute, groundhogs do not make good pets.

Lifespan: In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years with two or three being average. In captivity, groundhogs reportedly live up to 14 years. Breeding: Groundhogs tend to be solitary except in the spring when a litter of four to six young are born.

Groundhogs eat all parts of plants. In addition to vegetables, they also like fruits, including apples and pears, Watermelons are a favorite meal.

What is the Difference Between a Groundhogs and a Woodchuck? There is no difference between a groundhog and a woodchuck. In fact, the terms woodchuck and groundhog are interchangeable.

Groundhogs are rodents, and are also known as Woodchucks, Whistlepigs, and Land Beavers. They are capable of climbing trees and swimming, though they spend most of their time on the ground. They make their burrows in fields and other open spaces near woodlands.

Gophers belong to the suborder Castorimorpha and family Geomyoidae, which contains pocket gophers, kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice and pocket mice. Groundhogs are the largest members of the squirrel family. The most common groundhog is the woodchuck (Marmota monax).