Should I hire a pro, or remove groundhogs myself?

When you find out there is a groundhog on your property you can either choose to remove it yourself or hire a pro to do it for you. One can feel confident to try to handle wild animal alone, but there are also lots of people who want to be sure that everything will be done quickly and professionally, and will hire a professional to be sure that removal will be successful and without any consequences.

There have been lots of cases when amateurs decided to handle wild animal issue on their own and chosen poison-which is the worst possible choice for this problem, because poison can be eaten not just by groundhog but also by a pet or even family member-and consequences can be devastating.

Problems can also happen with trapping. People can choose trap of inappropriate size for groundhog and harm an animal or even a pet that will come to find out more about the trap. When speaking of traps, it is also important to know that traps are legally regulated in many states-and you surely don’t want to commit a crime while just trying to remove wild animal from your property, right?! Trapping is legally regulated to protect wild animals from inhumane treatment as well as to protect people and pet from unwanted harm.

Even if you choose to trap a groundhog, if you choose the right trap (in size and model), there is still significant question: what next? What after you capture a groundhog? Do you want to kill it, or do you want to relocate it? Do you know how far away from your home you need to take it so that it doesn’t find its way back? One also needs to take care that captured animal isn’t mother groundhog with small babies, because this would mean certain death for babies. Even if captured groundhog isn’t mother with babies, removal should be performed with care and considering all options, such as that location where you will take groundhog needs to be one with good living conditions for the animal.

All in all, to be sure that removal of groundhog has been done properly, it is always better to hire a professional to do it for you.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Groundhogs page or email us if you have any other questions about Should I hire a pro, or remove groundhogs myself?