How do I keep a groundhog away from my bird feeder?

The short answer

• A groundhog at your feeder is eating what falls. It can climb (Connecticut's agency says trees to 15 ft or more), but Kansas State says woodchucks prefer to eat on the ground, so the spill is the fix.
• It lives close. ICWDM says woodchucks usually range 50 to 150 ft from the den by day. Look for a 10 to 12 in hole with a mound of dirt at the entrance.
• Season does half the work. Hibernation starts near the end of October or early November and runs until late February or March, so an October groundhog is about to leave on its own.
• Do not evict in spring. Young are in the burrow from April until mid-June or early July. Humane World puts the eviction window at early July to late September.
• Moving it is often illegal. Virginia bans trap and relocate, Michigan, New York and Connecticut keep it on your property, and Pennsylvania forbids moving it to other land.

It is eating what falls, and the fix is the ground. A groundhog (the same animal as a woodchuck) can climb, but every agency we read describes an animal that feeds on the ground, close to its burrow, in the early morning and evening. Kansas State University puts it plainly: "Although woodchucks will climb trees, they prefer to eat fruit on the ground." Clear the spill under the feeder, find the burrow, and keep in mind the calendar: ICWDM says hibernation starts near the end of October or early November, so a groundhog you see in October is about to leave on its own until late winter.

Two answers circulate. Pest pages often say groundhogs cannot climb, so a feeder on a pole is safe. Others treat them as climbers to be baffled like squirrels. The agencies settle it: Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says woodchucks "can climb trees up to 15 feet or more," and the Pennsylvania Game Commission says they climb "head first" and "frequently walk along wooden fence rails." The "cannot climb" idea persists because you rarely see one do it. It has no reason to while the ground under your feeder is covered in seed.

Is it a groundhog?#

Groundhogs work by day, which separates them from most of the night raiders. The burrow is the giveaway.

So the burrow is in your yard or the next one. Cornell Cooperative Extension names sheds, porches, stone walls and woodpiles as places woodchucks settle in suburbs. ICWDM says many burrows have "2 or more entrances," and the secondary ones have no mound, so the hole you find is rarely the only one.

The spill is the food#

Woodchucks are herbivores, and seed is plant food. A Project FeederWatch participant in Tennessee posted a photo in April 2024 of a woodchuck that had become "a daily visitor" and did "a great job of clearing the seeds that get scattered below my feeders." That is the whole mechanism: a feeder that drops seed is a free buffet within 150 ft of the den.

Prices are 2026 United States big-bag benchmarks used as defaults in our seed cost calculator. Swap in your own and the ranking can change; the edible fraction and energy columns will not.

1. Switch to a seed with no hull. Sunflower hearts drop no shells, so the ground layer under the feeder shrinks to what birds knock out.
2. Drop grain fillers. Birds flick milo, wheat and corn out of a cheap birdseed mix, and loose cracked corn is a ground food by design.
3. Take in the ground and tray feeders. A ground feeder or an open platform tray is a groundhog feeder. Put out only what the birds clear by mid-morning, or stop until the animal is gone.
4. Rake before the morning shift. Groundhogs forage early, so clear the drop zone in the evening. How fast seed builds up under one feeder is in seed waste and mess.
5. Close the bag. Store seed in a lidded metal can, as in storing birdseed. Cornell notes woodchucks also burrow under barns and sheds, which is where the bag usually sits.

The pole, just in case#

No source we read tested a groundhog against a baffled pole. It climbs trees and fence rails, so give it nothing to start from: a smooth pole, the longest baffle on our baffles and poles page, and no fence, deck rail or stone wall within reach. That is the raccoon setup from our raccoon guide. A weight-activated feeder at any setting closes under a 5 lb animal, but on the evidence above the groundhog rarely gets that far.

The calendar does half the work#

The burrow under the deck#

A groundhog that eats your spill often lives under your deck or shed. The order matters.

1. Wait for the window. Connecticut DEEP recommends delaying removal "until all woodchucks (adults and young) can be removed." Humane World puts the window at early July to late September.
2. Test for activity. Plug every entrance loosely with grass clippings or newspaper, as Humane World describes, and watch for reopening.
3. Seal it. Cornell says hardware cloth can exclude woodchucks from under decks and buildings, with one-way doors where an animal is still inside. Over an empty burrow in open ground, Humane World uses a 3 by 3 ft panel of heavy welded wire with openings no larger than 3 in, buried at least 1 ft. Along a deck or shed, Connecticut DEEP buries the mesh 1.5 to 2 ft.

An empty burrow will not stay empty. Connecticut DEEP lists skunks, raccoons, foxes, rabbits, opossums and snakes among the animals that use abandoned woodchuck burrows, which is a second reason to seal it.

What does not work#

Trapping as a cure. Cornell reports a Pennsylvania study where 1,040 woodchucks were removed from a 600 acre site over four years "without significantly affecting the population," as juvenile survival, birth rates and movement onto the site rose. That was farmland, but another groundhog will find your spill too.

Repellents, at a feeder. The sources split. ICWDM says fox urine "has shown some effectiveness in reducing damage to crops" and is registered with the EPA for woodchucks. Penn State says "no repellents are registered" for woodchucks in Pennsylvania. Cornell cites Connecticut studies that found deer and rabbit repellents "generally ineffective," while bobcat urine cut gnawing on apple trees by 98 percent. Every one of those results is about crops or trees.

What the law allows#

ICWDM says woodchucks are "either game or unprotected animals in most states." Whether you may move one is where the states differ most.

Local rules can be stricter. Virginia DWR says city and county ordinances "are usually more restrictive than state laws," and Cornell notes New York bars firearm discharge within 500 ft of a building without the owner's permission.

Where this page stops#

• The West. ICWDM maps the woodchuck across eastern and central North America into Alaska, British Columbia and southern Canada. Marmots and ground squirrels in the western states are different animals, and this page does not cover them.
• States not listed, and Canada. We read rules for eight states. Massachusetts could not be fetched, and no province was checked.
• A sick animal. ICWDM says woodchucks can carry rabies. Virginia DWR says to call your local health department if one stumbles, foams at the mouth or acts aggressive.

For the rest of the season's changes, see fall bird feeding. If the groundhog is also in the garden, a fence at least 3 ft high with a buried footer bent outward is the fix ICWDM, Penn State and Humane World all describe. The problems section matches every other symptom to its cause.

Frequently asked questions#

Do groundhogs eat bird seed?

Yes, when it is on the ground. Woodchucks are herbivores, and seed is plant food. A Project FeederWatch participant in Tennessee described a woodchuck that became a daily visitor, "clearing the seeds that get scattered below my feeders." The agency pages we read describe a ground forager that eats close to its burrow in the early morning and evening, so the spill under a feeder is exactly the kind of food it finds. Clear the ground and the visits drop.

Can a groundhog climb a bird feeder pole?

It can climb, so do not count on it staying down. Connecticut's DEEP says woodchucks climb trees up to 15 ft or more, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission says they climb trees head first and walk fence rails. Kansas State adds that they prefer to eat on the ground. No source we read tested a groundhog against a baffled pole, so use the largest baffle on our baffles page and keep the pole away from fences and walls it could start from.

When do groundhogs go into hibernation?

ICWDM says hibernation generally starts near the end of October or early November and lasts until late February and March, starting earlier and ending later in the north. The Pennsylvania Game Commission says woodchucks begin denning up with the hard frosts of October and few remain active past the first of November. Males come out first. A groundhog under your feeder in mid-October is fattening up for the winter and will soon be gone until spring.

Can I trap a groundhog and release it somewhere else?

Only in some states. Virginia says it is illegal to trap and relocate. Michigan says woodchucks may be live trapped but cannot be moved off the property. New York requires release on your own property unless a licensed operator moves it. Pennsylvania does not allow relocation to other properties because woodchucks are a potential rabies vector. Kansas State and Minnesota DNR describe releasing them at least 10 and 5 miles away, with permission for the land.

Does fox urine keep groundhogs away?

The evidence is thin and none of it comes from a feeder. ICWDM says fox urine has shown some effectiveness on crops and is registered with the EPA for woodchucks. Penn State says no repellents are registered for woodchucks in Pennsylvania. Cornell reports bobcat urine cut gnawing on apple trees by 98 percent, but that deer and rabbit repellents were generally ineffective. Clearing the spill beats all of them.

Sources and further reading

1. Woodchucks; Woodchuck Biology; Woodchuck Damage Identification; Woodchuck Damage Prevention and Control Methods Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management 16 to 20 in plus 4 to 7 in tail, 5 to 10 lb; game or unprotected in most states; daylight activity, forage early morning and evening; can climb, seen in lower tree branches; 50 to 150 ft daily range; hibernation late October or early November to late February and March; breed March and April, young weaned late June or early July; den 10 to 12 in with porch mound; 3 ft fence, 18 in skirt buried at least 2 in, 9 to 12 in overhang; fox urine registered; control easiest early spring and fall; complaints rise in July
2. Woodchucks (Wildlife Damage Management Fact Sheet Series) Paul D. Curtis and Kristi L. Sullivan, Cornell Cooperative Extension, 2001 5 to 12 lb; excellent climbers; feed within 50 yards of the den; hibernation from the first heavy frosts in October; no EPA-registered repellents; bobcat urine cut gnawing 98 percent; 4 ft fence buried 10 to 12 in or L buried 1 to 2 in; 1,040 removed from 600 acres over four years with no significant population effect; New York rules
3. Woodchucks Penn State Extension Strict herbivores; good climbers; game animals in Pennsylvania with protection removed when damaging property; fence buried 12 in with 6 in L; top 15 in bent out at 45 degrees; no repellents registered in Pennsylvania; potential rabies vector, no relocation to other properties
4. Woodchuck Pennsylvania Game Commission 5 to 10 lb, extremely large animals 12 to 15 lb; climb trees head first and walk fence rails; denning up with the hard frosts of October, few active past 1 November; mating late February to March when green food is scarce; young leave by mid-June or early July
5. Woodchuck fact sheet Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Climb trees up to 15 ft or more; burrows 25 to 30 ft long; abandoned burrows used by skunks, raccoons, foxes, rabbits, opossums and snakes; fence 3 ft high buried 1.5 to 2 ft with a 1 ft outward top; trapped animals euthanized or released on site; hunted most of the year with no limits; delay removal until young can be removed
6. Problems with Groundhog Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources No kill permit needed, nuisance species with a continuous open season; illegal to trap and relocate; local ordinances often stricter; fence buried 1 to 2 ft
7. Groundhog (woodchuck) Michigan Department of Natural Resources Herbivorous, active by day, can climb trees; fencing buried at least 12 in; may be live trapped but cannot be moved off the property
8. Woodchucks (L-865) Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service 5 to 12 lb; will climb trees but prefer to eat fruit on the ground; season open year round; landowners may control damaging woodchucks under KSA 32-1002; fencing sunk 2 to 3 ft; trapped animals may be released at least 10 miles away
9. Woodchucks, Living with Wildlife Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Statute 97B.651 on unprotected wild animals; relocation suggested at least 5 miles away with landowner permission; no release on state land without permission
10. Woodchuck Fact Sheet Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, 2007 Found from the Piedmont to the north Georgia mountains; climb trees to escape; no closed hunting season, may be trapped or shot at any time
11. What to do about groundhogs Humane World for Animals Evict early July to late September; dependent young from late winter to early summer; loose plug test; 3 by 3 ft welded wire over closed burrows buried at least 1 ft; fence 3 to 4 ft, mesh no larger than 3 by 3 in, top bent out 10 to 15 in
12. Woodchuck / Groundhog (participant photo) Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Project FeederWatch Crossville, Tennessee, April 2024: a daily visitor clearing seed scattered below the feeders