I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that removing rodents from the land of the living is performing a community service. I wouldn’t release them to be someone elses’ problem…or be your problem again.
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I got a young groundhog today by tossing my pitchfork at it like a spear. Pretty sure my nephew was impressed with my garden tool skills. 
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I’ve caught them with apples. I just put four or five wild apples in and they can’t resist. It may need to be that time of year too. I’ve got them with peanut butter bread also.
Who is talking about releasing? 
. It is just easier to solve the problem when you have a hold of it.
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Sorry. I must have misunderstood. I thought when you said…
… that you were releasing them. My bad.
Oh, that was about squirrels… They are in big numbers here, catching and killing them would be like chaise flies. Even if you kill one or two another full gang of them ready to come from near by woods to the bread my neighbor crumble on the lawn “for birds” . And they migrate any time of the year. So I let them go right where I caught them, no relocation. But looks like noise lesson works - so far no visitors. Groundhog is a different story - they only migrate once a year, and killing few in spring and fall gives you a quiet summer.
My son had a major infestation like you apparently do. One of his neighbors has a squirrel feeder. My son caught 18 in one week and by 2 weeks he had over 25 kills. He is a neighborhood hero. He wants to grow food for his family and that is what motivated him.
This thread describes some of the damage to fruit trees some members have experienced.
Interesting, that I NEVER in 10 years saw a squirrel on my peach tree or under it when peaches fell on the ground so far. It is only tree I have producing so far. Same with tomatoes and other vegetables. My most damage with squirrels is digging. And nut trees germinating in my beds, where they have nuts hidden. May be we have more desirable wild food for them - plenty of nuts and acorns . They live here, but do not do actual damage to fruit trees.
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Galina,
I do not mean to be pessimistic but it’s a matter of time. Once they taste your peaches (or any fruit in your yard), you won’t have any left if you don’t protect your tree.
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@galinas
My understanding is that squirrels are territorial.
If you eliminate or severely reduce the population, it will be next year before others move in.
I might be wrong but never heard of a downside to chastising a squirrel with extreme prejudice.
Mike
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Tell you the truth, I didn’t try to kill squirrel, but I tried it it with chipmunks. I had two in my old house I caught and killed, next day it was 6(!) fighting for territory. Next day it was 2 again. . So I suspect same will happen with squirrels - they do not make borrows, so nothing holds them in their territory. If adjusted territory gets vacant, why not to take advantage? I am not trying to defend squirrels, I just doing what is easier for me.
@mamuang, some how they didn’t find my only peach tree for 10 years.
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In my neighborhood, we have lot of oak trees and acorns for squirrels. It took only 3 years for squirrels to find my A. pears and later, other fruit. I even saw a squirrel eating my blueberries. I hate squirrels.
Groundhogs mostly eat my tender flowering plants. Can’t plant petunias and gay feathers in the backyard. They eat them to the ground. So, they are not ( yet) as bad as squirrels. Hope they never find my fruit trees. They can climb trees for sure.
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They not only can climb trees. They climb almost any fence, if it feels stable. I have to install wiggling fences around my veggies to stop them. May be some day I will hate squirrels same as you, but for now, I have a better subject !
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A note of warning: Turns out that when work colleagues ask about your long weekend, they’re not really interested in learning about how you were able to trap a groundhog.
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What did you use as a bait? Our resident groundhog is very well fed and large. I am tired of seeing it eating my flowering plants as if it own my flower bed.
I used strawberries. But this one was young, so I don’t think it was as cautious as an older one.
Thanks. Mine is very cautious, too smart.
Oh my. Unlike. Are you sure that is what did the damage? That looks completely striped, but no limb damage. Have you had this before?
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Wow!
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