Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407010075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
To neighbors, the house at 619 Morrison Ave. in Vinton is an eyesore. But to its unlikely tenants, it's home.
Home for now, anyway.
The groundhogs living in abundance under the otherwise vacant house have devoured everything tasty in Winnie McClintock's garden two doors down. To hear the neighbors talk, the groundhogs have sampled most of the gardens in the neighborhood.
McClintock wants the old house condemned and torn down. She wants her furry neighbors evicted. Last week she went to Vinton Town Council to say so.
"I'd like to trade homes with any one of you for a month. You'd see what it's like living down the street from that house and having your garden chewed up by those groundhogs."
Vinton has no animal control officer, and no one knows how many groundhogs live under the house. Vinton officials admit they are in a quandary over how to deal with the infestation.
As a temporary measure, they started trapping the large rodents last week. Assistant Town Manager Bob Benninger says the animals - six have been caught so far - are being released on a 450-acre farm the town owns in Bedford County.
Town Manager Clay Goodman said he ordered four more traps last week.
This makes Dr. Jim Parkhurst, extension wildlife specialist, a little nervous.
Transporting nuisance animals to other locations is allowed only by permit, and then only by animal control officers, Parkhurst said, citing state code.
One legal alternative is also lethal - asphyxiating the animals with smoke bombs.
"Of course, you can't be chucking smoke bombs under structures, because of the possibility of starting a fire,'' Parkhurst said. Smoke bombs most often are used in outdoor dens where all entrances can be safely blocked.
While this solution seems inhumane, Parkhurst argues that trapping can be just as cruel.
"Depending on the age of the young, the mother may leave the den to search for food. If she gets trapped, the young are destined to die within the den."
He said animals transported to another area also have the potential to introduce disease and become a nuisance. "Somebody else inherits the problem when you do this."
Groundhogs are territorial. When moved, they will try to get back home, and this exposes them to a lot of danger - such as becoming road kill, he said.
Female groundhogs may have litters of four or five babies twice a year, which makes the population under the house on Morrison Avenue difficult to estimate. Parkhurst agrees that this poses a problem.
Groundhog dens under the home can eventually jeopardize its structural integrity, making it dangerous for humans. But even if the house is torn down - and building officials say it's not unsound enough for that - it may not solve the problem.
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks and whistle pigs, may live under tool sheds, garages, woodpiles, stumps - any place that provides good protection. Tearing down one home simply sends them to another. They adapt to suburban life because they eat a variety of foods, and they are likely to stay where the food supply is good.
"They are especially fond of tender green shoots like you see in the average vegetable garden," Parkhurst said.
"They seem to have a sense for what's ready to be picked, and they spoil it for you."
Meanwhile, Parkhurst urges the residents along Morrison Avenue to fence their gardens. But even this requires outsmarting the furry trespassers.
"They are good climbers and excellent diggers," he said. "They may climb a sturdy fence, and can easily dig under if you don't bury the fence."
by CNB