I live in Southwest Ohio. I have hunted Ground Hogs since I was a kid. This area was ate up with them. When we baled hay, I would mark the holes and come back later and thin them out, always leaving some for seed. Over the last 3 or 4 years they have all but disappeared. In case you think they were over hunted, I cannot think of a time when I ran into anyone else during the summer except the G/Warden. It's just not that popular around here. I have heard some say the coyotes kill them. The coyote population has increased dramatically around here. Anyone else experience this?

When I was a kid I used to buy smoke bombs for woodchuck dens that emmited a poisoness gas.
They were simple light them, drop them into the hole and cover the hole with dirt.
If they were as popular in the rest of the state as here I am sure that the woodchuck population has suffered

Bill, my outlaws live in farm country about 70 miles east of you and I was back there last month and they were talking about the same thing. The Coyote population has exploded back there and the groundhogs have just disappeared. They wouldn't mind so much except that the yotes seem to be nocturnal and the only time they get to shoot them is when the young ones are kicked out in the fall and wind up wandering the farm fields during the day.

Bill,I shot 45 out of a 25 acre field 4 or 5 years ago,,saw 2 in the field for the first time since that this year[right on the fence row].fwiw,,Clay

Same kind of deal here in VA this year! A friend and I have shot over 300 combined (each year) for the last 5 years! As of today we have killed 101 so far this year! Some of the fields we shot hard 2 years ago were left alone last year to "reseed". They are just not there! I actually make the hay on a couple of the farms so I know where all the active dens are and there was little if any activity at the old standbys this year! I blamed it on the cold wet spring! I beleive some of the pups may have friggin drowned!!! Now scouting for new territory for next year! Have friends west of me (Wythe and Smythe counties) that are experiencing the same decline. They blamed it on the coyotes!!! GHD

Yes coyotes will clean out groundhogs . Back years ago here inSouthwest, Mo. we had lots of groundhogs coyotes have all but cleaned them out.A coyote will lay in wait at the den when it comes up he has it . Coyotes will thin out every thing rabbitts,quail,fawn deer. My .02 worth

Not sure about other areas but I have seen quite a few fox in my area during daylight. I have gotten close enough to see they appear to have a bad case of mange. I do not consider it normal to see fox during daylight often

Groundhog Devastation, FWIW the groundhog population here in Washington County VA has been down this year. I think you're right about them drowning!

Up here in BC in the south central area I have been seeing more than ever. Course it's dryer than a popcorn fart up here and that might have someting to do with it. derf

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to start coyote hunting.

What I have found to be true in southern Ontario and Quebec is the large scale poisoning of the woodchuck. Hobby farms are curretly the rage. Many of the yuppie types are acquiring 20 to 40 acre spreads. Of course they have to have a horse or two. It's fashionable. We can't have woodchuck holes near the ponies so we just kill them right off with poison. Isn't it strange we hear nothing about this from PETA? I suppose a lot of their members own these cutsie litle hobby farms. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I noticed a guy talking about Smythe County in VA. I am from Pulaski County myself and the usual places I shoot G-hogs still have them. Just had so much rain that the window for shooting has been short due to the grass growing so fast

Hi, Bill. I live in northwest Ohio, and I haven't seen as many this year either. We definitely have had an increase in coyotes here in recent years, so that's probably the story.

250 Savage, The other half of this chuck killing duo has a 500 acre farm in Pulaski!!! He doesn't have them on his farm..wonder why! but he is having a hard time finding them close or around Draper this year!! He did kill 5 last week...longest was 1110 yards with the 6mm I helped build for him 2 years ago!!! I've got a couple places to go in Wythe that I haven't been too so far this year and hopefully they will be there!!! Off of 94 near Ivanhoe! GHD

Man.... what a pain.

I have heard the coyotes are pretty rough on ground hogs. Last year I had a pack of coyotes hanging around.. in broad daylight. Then my neighbor starting shooting at them with a .22 LR. Didn't do anything but educate them. Now they are completely nocturnal. The only we seem to be able to catch them is with traps. I like calling the coyotes in, so this isn't much good. I was just getting ready to introduce those pups to Mr. VMAX too.

Man who would have thought .. ground hogs used to be everywhere around here...

thanks for the notes ... sounds pretty widespread.

small world, my girlfriends parents live on the golf course in Draper and it is ate up with groundhogs, of course you can't shoot them. My Dads family is from Ivanhoe and my Mom owns a farm in Wythe County about a mile from the Shot Tower.

Thay use to be G-hogs all over the place nothing to see 15 or 20 a day driving a round but for the past 2years I proble hant seen 8 or 10 G-hogs a lot of people a round here said thay took the stimper and died out.But two years I killed a coyote while turkey hunting.And my dad killed one when he was deer hunting.So I dont know what happend to them.

Here in Southern Ontario, we had a bad bout of coyotes a few years ago that really played hell with the groundhog population. Then, a streak of mange went through the coyotes and thinned them down some.

I've had no problem finding hogs within 10 min. of my house, but I know an hour north, they're pretty much non-existent.

My office in the country, about 20 miles from my home. Lots of coyotes there. I hunt geese nearby, and you can always hear them before daybreak, when we're setting up for an early morning hunt.

I'm in eastern Indiana and I've certainly noticed that Ghogs are scarce. Don't know why, but it sure isn't pleasing me this year.

I've spent an inordinant amount of time looking and not finding in some "picture book" hay field locations.

Very frustrating. Just got my rifle ready and can't find anything to kill with it!

Mike TBC

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Originally posted by bill22250:
I live in Southwest Ohio. I have hunted Ground Hogs since I was a kid. This area was ate up with them. When we baled hay, I would mark the holes and come back later and thin them out, always leaving some for seed. Over the last 3 or 4 years they have all but disappeared. In case you think they were over hunted, I cannot think of a time when I ran into anyone else during the summer except the G/Warden. It's just not that popular around here. I have heard some say the coyotes kill them. The coyote population has increased dramatically around here. Anyone else experience this?

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How Do? I just found this forum today and I am having a great time of it just sitting here reading.
We don't have ground hogs too much here on the flats but we do have prarie dogs,or at least we used to. There are five towns within three miles of where I live. We are presently into the fith year of a drought and each year has been worse than the previous year.A couple of years ago I could go from one town to the next over a period of three hours and have a marvelous time blowing away a half dozen or so at each spot and then moving on. Last year there were few to be seen.This year I have only been able to hit six for the whole season.They have simply disappeared.Yes we have coyotes and badgers but their numbers are also fewer.I can only figure that the increasing drought has caused the birthrate to dramitically drop.The dogs used to be everywhere.

Its a great time of year. The farmers have the beans harvested and the 'chucks are out in the open trying to fatten up!! I almost feel guilty its so easy

HT, It's October!!!! If they made it till now, leave them to "reseed" for next year!! That is unless you just have to try a 7BR XP so you know it's ready for next year!!! GHD

I'm not far from the aforementioned Wythe and Smith Counties, Virginia. I live in Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia, and we've been run over with groundhogs this year. We've gotten our first freeze a couple of days ago, and I think they've mostly gone into hibernation, but there's a recently killed one on the centerline of U.S. 58 a few miles northwest of Bristol, Virginia. Maybe 4-5 days old.

The Coyotes have taken their place as the new Ohio varmint to hunt. It is certain the woodchuck population in Ohio has been drastically reduced in numbers by these very efficient preditors. The southern Ohio Farm I hunt is nearly barren of groundhogs and the Coyotes are now taking over. All Ohio game species will suffer due to the Coyotes peroliferation onto the scene. Hunters must do all they can to reduce Coyote numbers in Ohio or future small game hunting will remain dismal at best. Coyotes are very opportunistic preditors and will take woodchucks, wild turkey chicks, fawns, fox, mice, small dogs, quail, mice, chipmunks, rats, chickens, ducklings, to name a few. Their numbers in any area are regulated by the available game in that area. I have seen articles written by the coyote experts that claim it is impossible to eliminate them once they move into an area. When hunting pressure on them rises they become totally nocturnal and are seldom seen, if at all, during daylight hours. The coyote is one smart preditor and will eliminate the fox from the competition in Ohio very soon. When a coyote finds a fox den with pups they lay in wait until the adult leaves to feed, then kill all the pups when they come out. When the adult fox returns to feed her pups they then kill the adult fox.

Sounds like a coyote problem. I will be in Ohio on the 17th and will be looking for places to hunt coyotes. Let me know if you would not mind an active duty Marine to hunt coyotes. I will be in Knox county area. I have plenty of g-hog area to hunt but no coyotes.

Thanks

Ray

"...true in southern Ontario..." It's illegal as hell to use poison in Ontario without a ton of permits. Permits Natural Resources doesn't give out to just any bozo with a bit of dirt. You have documentation of this in Ontario or are you speculating?
I'm guessing the lack of ground hogs is just the natural cycle of animal population. More prey animals means more predators until the prey runs out then it starts again..

This is not the first topic on the lack of woodchucks but it's in agreement with what I know for sure. Here in CT and VT the woodchuck has been on the decline for quite a while.

The chucks that used to den in open fields have gone first. There are still some small traces of collapsed dens in the best drained parts of nice meadows but there have not been chucks living there for years. Some of the meadows are the same otherwise as they have been for a half a century.

What's new here in the North East is the coyote.

The loss of the woodchuck is a major blow to a special rifle sport. It's no different than if others lost their prarie dogs or ground squirrels.

Of the hunting laws that I am familiar with only New York State protects the coyote.

Well I don't know about southern Ohio, but in know county there were more than I could count. I found plenty of places to hunt. All the farmers that were taking off beans said I could hunt all of their fields. I got more than 40 hogs and 1 coyote in 3 days of hunting.

Ray