Woe Be the Wily Woodchuck!"As I came home through the woods with my string of fish, trailing my pole, it being now quite dark, I caught a glimpse of a woodchuck stealing across my path, and felt a strange thrill of savage delight, and was strongly tempted to seize and devour him raw; not that I was hungry then, except for that wildness which he represented." ---Henry David Thoreau,Walden.
Thoreau was angry at woodchucks: one ate 1/4 an acre of his bean crop.The woodchuck has little reprieve from the wrath of other gardeners.
This is a quick review of the methods most often used to curb the woodchuck’s enthusiasm for garden areas.Shooting? '
There is a $99 fine for shooting the woodchuck out of season---but there is very little time that is out of season!
The season is :Sept.29-Dec. 6,2008-Dec. 15, 16, and 18-31; 2009, Jan. 1 to Feb. 16, 2009; March 2-Sept. 30.
Live Traps? Advice from many sources includes the observation that live-trapping chucks and letting them go causes their premature death. Their habits are inflicted on new people.
It’s also illegal to release a wild animal in NJ.
Woodchucks do not appear to be scared by motion devices, nor much by a scarecrow. Sprays and hot sauces appear to affect them little---and the home gardener much. The amount of time for reapplication and concern about the chemicals on produce was key here. Finally, the use of an electrified fence was seen as effective---as is a fence dug very deep under the ground. The fence needs to be bent outwards-and hung in a wobbly way so the critter cannot parade on top of the fence in front of you,taunting you with vegetables.
If the effort becomes too much, The New York Times featured a Thoreaurian way of dealing with the woodchuck:a recipe for Woodchuck au Vin , as well as a recipe for Peppery Woodchuck in Wine and Olives (June 05, 2008. ) Thoreau didn't have it as good!
