Do repellents help get a groundhog out of the shed or porch? What will?

If you have groundhogs under your porch you run the risk of having a very unstable structure and may one day suffer injure should it crumble down. The only viable solution you have is to keep the pesky animal away. So the question is how do you do it?

How to repel them
While killing them may work, once in a while another one will find a way under your porch. Killing is not usually agood option as it is never humane. While some people do not mind killing them, others would rather use repellents.So what repellents will work?

• Use their natural predators. Any animal would rather avoid trouble with its predator. The same applies with groundhogs. By placing cat or dog hairs and poop in the groundhog’s burrows, their highly developed olfactory senses will tell them trouble is lurking. They will therefore be inclined to move as opposed to lying in wait preparing for battle with an animal that may kill them.
• Ground hogs like dry burrows. Installing a sprinkler system that ensures the grounds are always wet, will naturally force them to move in search of drier places.
• Habanero pepper is not only hot to humans but to animals too. Use copious amount of it on their holes and watch them pack up and leave. This is because the pepper makes it hard for them to breath, burns their eyes and noses and in a short while they will have moved.
• Groundhogs love their privacy, so too much disturbance is a natural repellent. Start doing activities around the shed that will frighten them with noisy instrument. A few days of this will convince the animal that this is not a safe place to be in.

Are there other options?
Yes. For those who do not mind killing or touching them. Shooting, poisoning, fumigating them are some of the less humane methods one can use but they only work as means or removing them and not keeping them away from your shed.

Can’t one just let them be?
• You may, if you are comfortable with a weak structure that may cause even bodily harm someday.
• If you do not mind building new structures in the future then you can let them continue in the space under your home.

What if it all fails?
Chances of it all failing are very minimal. But should you feel your repellents are not working, you need to consult an expert, who may have better ways of doing the job for you.