What kind of bait to put in a groundhog trap?
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Fresh raw broccoli. We had 13 woodchucks one spring, and caught them all in live traps. It was like watching a "Scooby Doo" episode, where four or five of them would see the one go into the trap after the broccoli, and then we would put the trap in the truck and take it out to a large wetlands with lots of shelter. The next day, another one would do the same thing. We caught them all, and relocated them to an area where they couldn't destroy buildings but they had shelter and food.
Little ones are pretty tame, but be careful opening the trap when you let a large one go. Aim the opening at a ditch, and stand behind when you open the cage. They will scamper right away.
If you don't want to catch a skunk by mistake, put the trap out around 6 p.m. when the sun is still up, near where you saw the groundhogs, and just watch it. If you leave it there overnight, you might have a stinky little skunk in the morning.
Try Gravy Train or KFC Chicken.
You will be surprised what ground hogs like.
We've had the best luck with cut off bottoms from leaf lettuce heads that we use in our restaurant. I usually put a couple in the trap beyond the tripping mechanism and one just inside the trap and one just outside the trap to lead them into the trap. I also have had to put the back of the trap against something because they will knock the trap around trying to get to the lettuce inside and trip it. We are up to eight caught this year and I thought I only had three!
The other methods mentioned for trapping the groundhogs are good, as I have tried just about everything. The leafy greens work good, but what I have had the best luck with are tomatoes. The groundhogs can't resist them and prefer them to just about any other vegetable (it's like a crack addiction to them). Also the bright red tomatoes catch their attention among all of the greenery surrounding the area. They are skiddish but still a curious animal and they will investigate something laying in their surrounding that is not normal i.e. the trap, so the tomatoes override their suspicion and they are quite easy to catch using them. Also try just leaving a tomato in the area you plan on trapping them for a day or two, without the trap, to give them the taste for them. Then place the trap with tomato and you are sure to have results.
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