What Does a Woodchuck Look Like?
Woodchucks, or groundhogs, are large burrowing rodents. They have a flat head, round nose, short legs, and a bushy tail. Their fur is yellowish-gray brown. Woodchucks weigh 7 to 14 pounds and are about 2 feet long, including the tail. These burrowers have long front claws and sharp, chisel-like front teeth to dig complex multi-chamber burrows. Unlike most mammals in Wisconsin, woodchucks are true hibernators. They fatten up in the summer and spend most of their time sleeping in underground burrows during the winter.
What are the Signs of a Woodchuck in Your Yard?
Woodchucks are most active during the day, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon. These voracious eaters love to dine on all sorts of plants in flowerbeds and gardens. Lettuce, broccoli, cantaloupe, and beans are among their favorite plants. Woodchucks often dig burrows underneath decks, patios, driveways, and sheds. Their burrowing can weaken building foundations and cause these structures to collapse.
Woodchuck & Groundhog Removal in Milwaukee, WI
Advanced Wildlife and Pest Control provides groundhog removal and exclusion services in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin. Our certified wildlife specialists safely and efficiently trap, remove, and exclude nuisance groundhogs from your property.
We will perform a thorough home inspection to identify signs of activity, such as denning sites, burrows, and vegetation damage. Live trapping is the most effective and humane way to remove woodchucks and groundhogs. After removal, we can seal all entry points to prevent future intrusions.
Woodchuck Exclusion
The most effective way to prevent woodchucks and groundhogs is to create exclusions and modifications around your home. Our heavy-duty mesh fencing can keep woodchucks out from underneath decks, porches, and sheds. We bury the fencing 12 to 18 inches deep to prevent them from burrowing underneath. Another way to prevent woodchucks is to remove any food sources.
- Block access underneath decks, porches, and sheds.
- Put up a barrier around your flowers and garden to keep them out.
- Remove woodpiles and other places where woodchucks nest.
Woodchuck FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What do woodchucks eat?
Woodchucks eat grasses, clover, dandelions, alfalfa, ferns, and flowers. They can be destructive to lawns, vegetable gardens, and other landscaping. They will eat peas, beans, corn, carrots, lettuce, apples, berries, and other garden crops. Woodchucks can eat up to a pound and a half of vegetation per day. They also eat insects, such as grasshoppers and snails.
Where do woodchucks live?
Woodchucks are found throughout Wisconsin. They primarily live in underground burrows in crop fields, meadows, pastures, and wooded areas with abundant food sources. As diurnal animals, woodchucks spend several hours a day feeding above ground before returning underground to their burrow. The burrows can be up to five feet deep and 60 feet long or more. The burrow systems are quite complex, with each containing a main nest chamber, a separate toilet chamber, and additional chambers ground throughout the burrow. Woodchucks are solitary animals except during the eating season. During that time, a male and a female will share a burrow.
When do woodchucks have babies?
Woodchucks mate from late February to April. The gestation period is about one month, with four to five young born in April or early May. Woodchucks have one litter per year. The young are fully weaned around six weeks and begin to look for their own living space when they are two months old. They do not breed until their second year.
How long do woodchucks live?
The average life span for a groundhog in the wild is three to four years. However, groundhogs in captivity can live up to 14 years. Coyotes, foxes, bobcats, weasels, owls, and hawks prey upon woodchucks. Woodchucks are often killed by vehicles because they move relatively slowly.
What does woodchuck poop look like?
Woodchucks defecate in toilet chambers, which they dig underground. If you find droppings on your property, they are likely from another animal.
What do woodchuck tracks look like?
Woodchucks have four toes on the front paws and five toes on the back paws. Their pawprints are about 1.5 inches long and wide. When walking, the tracks are spaced about 4 inches apart, and when running, they are 12 inches apart.
Illustration by Dee Ebbeka