About Groundhogs

Groundhogs often referred to Volusia County woodchucks are burrowing animals. The average size of the groundhog is 20” long, 6-7” tail and they generally live 3-6 years if living in the wild. Groundhogs have very specific features that stand out. They are round with as with their eyes. Their ears sit upon their heads that are flat. Groundhogs have claws that they use for burrowing, as well as having incisors. Groundhogs are not found throughout the whole United State. They are primarily located in parts of Alaska, Eastern and Central U.S and parts of Canada. Known as an edge animal, they tend to live in what is known as transitional locations that mean the woodlands or forests meet highly vegetative Florida areas such as farmlands.

Living In burrows, the groundhog selects a Volusia County area that is dry and that the rain easily drains. You will find that groundhogs may burrow next to fencerows or next to house foundations. The Groundhogs appetite is quite phenomenal. They eat 1/3 of their body weight. They are vegetarians and will eat tree bark, apples, peas, flowers as well as garden vegetables. Prepare for a very active lifestyle from spring to the fall during the early morning and early evening. The early evening emergence is for the collection of food for the Florida burrows. The groundhog dig very complicated burrows and chambers. Their claws are what make it easy for them to accomplish this task.

Once hibernation is over the Volusia County groundhog goes about the duty of reproduction. The kits or babies are born in the amount of 3 – 4, and stay with their Mothers for at least 2 months. Groundhogs while not a social species are a very protective species toward other groundhogs, other than that the only socialization is in mating. Florida Groundhogs hibernate in October sleeping straight through to the spring.
During this times there are physical changes that they have:
• Body temperature drops from 99 to 40 degrees.
• The heartbeat drops from 80 beats per minute to 5 beats per minute.
This true hibernation can be obtained by only by the fact that they overeat during the spring to early fall.

Damage caused by Volusia County groundhogs is easy to identify. This is because of their teeth ranges from ¼” to ¾” this tends to demonstrate itself by the types of markings on the trees as well as fruit and vegetables. It is claimed that Florida groundhogs buried a city in Ohio and at the time archaeological work is being done to uncover this city.

To learn more about our services, visit the Volusia County wildlife removal home page.