Garden-munchin' varmint (;

[Julie]

hi

We live a few blocks south of Danforth and one block east of Coxwell. Got back from a trip to Point Pelee (80-odd species!) and realised this morning that something had eaten our lettuce to the ground and denuded most of the pepper plants in our little raised bed. It had to be an army of selective caterpillars or a squirrel that had gotten under the netting that covers the whole garden, but I saw no sign of digging and lots of abandoned, snipped off leaves.

The mystery solved itself when I looked up from the coffee pot to see a lovely groundhog gleaming cinnamon in the sun and sampling the top of a rare hot pepper plant. He'd lifted the net in the one place it's loose and waddled on in.

I've never seen one in the middle of old-city semi suburbia. He must have gone through a lot of fenced back yards to find our plot, and we're two blocks from a small ravine and a short block from the CN commuter line. How common is this?

I wish him well, but wish him elsewhere. Quite the appetite.


Julie

[Dr. John]

That's pretty interesting given how far you are from any obvious river valley or corridor that the groundhog would have come from. The most downtown that I've seen was in a vacant lot near the Distillery district, but that's at least close to the Don Valley.

-John

[Ron Luft]

As groundhogs are not river dwellers they rely on 'green' areas like parks, ravines vacant lots, rail lines and perhaps veggie gardens to live on and travel. They do seem a bit more common than in the past so they may be learning to adapt.

[Matthew Strimas-Mackey]

I've certainly seen groundhogs in parks around the city, but never right downtown. When I was in Ottawa last spring, though, I was surprised by how common groundhogs are there. They're all over the place, like squirrels. Maybe we're going that direction...

[Kin Lau]

I've certainly seen groundhogs in parks around the city, but never right downtown. When I was in Ottawa last spring, though, I was surprised by how common groundhogs are there. They're all over the place, like squirrels. Maybe we're going that direction...

Groundhogs are _much_ more common here in Ottawa than in the GTA. I see them daily, all over the city, but I do find that we have more greenery all over the city compared to the GTA. There's a park where I've seen the groundhogs out-number the squirrels.

ps. Did you know they also climb trees.

[jxg255]

I work at the Caledonia Rd. Home Depot and we have a resident Ground Hog living on the green areas

[Turtlebird]

I live in Woodstock and groundhogs are everywhere!  Most vacant lots have a resident groundhog.  The one behind my house has many.  Too many perhaps.  I called the police on a neighbour last year after witnessing him chase down and beat a young groundhog to death with a stick.  Then just recently, one ran out in front of my dog and I while on a walk...my dog got it (he was leashed though...literally right in front of us).  They don't seem to be very alert animals, at least when young...

[frozenice7885]

you live unbeleavably close to where i live i live on the street right next to east lyn park and know exactly what ravine your talking about.  But the lost likly way it got there was traveling along the cn rail that runs above the ravine.  Ive seen foxes multiple times in that little ravine its a great place.

[Julie]

Thanks everyone for the groundhog wisdom. He seems here to stay and is adept at lifting the net for our garden despite it being weighed down with bricks. Our wood violets are now nothing but stalks and our peppers, beans and lettuce have all been mowed. He can sure hoover back the greens and I'm hoping he is not a family kind of guy.

[Axeman]

I had to laugh at "hoping he's not a family type of guy"...thanks for the smile...I have my own war going on with chipmunks...I admit I'm torn between feeding them...and chasing them off...I've tried dousing my flower pots and veg pots with chilli flakes...its incredible how fast they can chew up a

That said, i did watch one eat an incipient carpenter ant queen...so I guess they eat other less welcome neighbours too...

Chilli flakes help, I find...blood meal has no effect...I know a dog works wonders...even one that doesn't do anything but sleep.