North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>]

On May 16, 2008, at 8:13 PM, Pete wrote:

> Hi
> No groundhogs here in South central MS.....Never saw one before. Are
> groundhogs the same animal as prarire dogs?
> Thanks
> Pete/MS/Z8

No, different animal.  A groundhog is a large solitary rodent, a  
little bit smaller than a raccoon, about the size of a cat.  They  
have a very large appetite, but are otherwise sort of cute.  When I  
see one I throw my cat out the door and tell her to go get it.  They  
are larger than anything she's ever killed, but her presence  
disconcerts them, and they usually move along.

My father has had good luck excluding them from his garden with an  
electric fence.  It's actually a regular chicken-wire fence with two  
electric wires, one at the top to discourage climbing, and one close  
to the ground to discourage digging.

Ginda
Eastern MA, zone 6