Question
I live in London ON near a wooded area and have groundhogs living nearby. They come right to our house and eat all my beautiful flowers and break many off. How can I keep them away?
Hope you can help!
Yours truly
Elke

Answer
Woodchucks and gardens,

The easiest way to protect plants from woodchucks is to fence your garden/plants. Get 5  foot wide fencing.  Bend it at a 90degree angle at 11 inches. Take off one inch of sod. lay the 11 inch side down and rebury. This will prevent a chuck from digging underneath.  Stake the fence vertically, then rebend the top 10 inches out the same way you had the buried fence. This will prevent the chuck from climbing over.

Forget using those silly ultrasonic devices. There is no evidence they work.  Don抰 waste your time with repellents either.

You can also trap the woodchuck and dispose of it according to state laws.  Visit http://icwdm.org and click on Guides Then Wildlife Damage Management then rodents. You can also go direct at http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/ro_b183.pdf  There will be plenty of information there for you to choose from to learn more about groundhog control.  Don抰 trap unless you understand how to handle a skunk.
http://www.icwdm.org/wildlife/skunk/skunkrelease.asp
A key mistake most people make in trapping is 1. not using enough traps, 2. not euthanizing the animal (if legal in your state).
To learn how to euthanize a woodchuck visit http://www.icwdm.org/wildlife/euthanasia/default.asp

We are always looking for images (if you can safely take them) of wildlife damage to help us in our educational mission. We prefer high resolution, (3 mg or higher). Send to [email protected]  or if your e-mail can抰 handle large files upload to http://members.icwdm.org   
Username use all caps.     ICWDM
Password (all lower case)  guest

Please include permission to use the images and where and when the photos were taken. Month/year is fine as is county or city  and state.

Disclaimer: As with any activity, remember that animal damage control comes with its own risks and problems which can include but are not limited to legalities, health threats, and personal liabilities. Be sure to follow all state laws governing wildlife and make sure you have a thorough understanding on how to resolve the animal damage complaint. My advice is only as good as your understanding of me and my understanding of your situation. If you have any questions be sure to write back.