A groundhog belongs to a big group of ground squirrels called marmots, of which there are fifteen species. They are often referred to as whistle pigs, land, beavers, or woodchucks. Groundhogs extensively burrow and primarily eat vegetation. Because of these two factors they are consider a big garden pest. If left alone, a groundhog family could very easy eat a food crop in a short amount of time. If it appears that there is an infestation, or the start of an infestation it is imperative to get rid of them.
There are many ways to do away with groundhogs. All gardeners have their own preferred method. Some want to do away with them humanely without resorting to killing them. Others just want them gone efficiently and quickly. After you get rid of the groundhog, it is necessary that you watch out for a reappearance of a groundhog population.
If it does not bother you using chemicals in your mission to do away with the groundhog, a relative humane way to do so is by using ammonia. It is a quick-acting way to get a groundhog to move away. It may sound brutal and inhumane but if you handle it correctly, the groundhog inhabitants will move away without having to kill them. The way it works is by causing their burrows to be distasteful to them. With a distasteful burrow, they will journey on their own to another area of land away from the garden.
To use the ammonia method you want to wait until you have sunny days and warm temperatures, usually summer or spring. Otherwise, you will not get the groundhog to leave their burrow. If you can find it buy some cloudy or sudsy ammonia but if you cannot find it make your own. Use one part water with seven parts ammonia along with a couple of tablespoons of dish or laundry detergent and mix. Spray it around the entrance and just inside their borrow. Once the smell gets into the burrow, they will depart in a couple of days, unless they have babies. In this case, they will leave find another burrow. Once the parents are settled, they will return for their babies. This could take several days.
Another way that is not toxic is to use a safe trap. Groundhogs are intelligent animals so you will have to be tolerant until you can catch them. Once you catch one you can either relocate them yourself or have an animal control office do so. Start out leaving it unset and open with a little amount of vegetation in it so they can get use to a safe meal Several days later you can set the trap to catch the groundhog for relocation.