We are more than glad to share our Colorado and Missouri properties with a wide range of wildlife. But when it comes to groundhogs in Missouri, we are not such gracious hosts.
These large, aggressive herbivores insist on denning beneath our deck, threatening its stability. As a result, we have trapped numerous groundhogs over the years, transporting them to wild lands south of town. One year, however, our efforts did not succeed and the unwelcome resident died beneath the deck, forcing me to remove several planks to retrieve its maggot-ridden carcass.
We are thus a bit anxious when groundhogs manage to enter the yard despite our fencing. They are welcome to nibble on our plants but, if we see them near the deck, the trap is set and they are enticed in with a piece of cantaloupe (which seems to be their favorite fruit). Tiring of this routine, we have decided to concentrate on reinforcing the borders of the deck to prevent their denning. In effect, we have all but surrendered.
