So what do groundhogs eat? The diet of groundhogs depends largely on the availability of vegetables, fruit, and fat reserves. In the summer, they tend to gorge themselves on garden fruits and vegetables. They also forage on maple leaves and hackberry. In addition to these common food items, they will also eat grubs and grasshoppers. Read on to find out more. In addition to vegetables, groundhogs also enjoy a wide variety of other food sources.
Throughout the year, groundhogs are herbivorous. However, during the fall months, they begin eating animal-based foods, including bird eggs, grasshoppers, beetles, and crickets. Groundhogs are large members of the squirrel family and also commonly referred to as whistle pigs. They also feed on nuts, berries, and flowers. Despite the name, groundhogs are very diverse creatures.
In the summer, groundhogs feed on leaves, grasshoppers, and other insects. In the fall, they switch to animal-based foods, such as bird eggs, because they provide greater protein and fat for the winter. In the winter, they hibernate and store food in burrows and dens. For this reason, groundhogs need a wide variety of food sources to survive the winter months.
As a result, groundhogs are not as well-known as other rodents. They are most active early in the morning, while they rest during the day. Groundhogs can also be quite destructive to crops, causing bite marks and hollowed-out crops. If you don’t have a garden, you can make DIY fencing around your crops. Using high-frequency sound repellents can also help, but for the best results, hire a professional groundhog exterminator.
Aside from destroying gardens, groundhogs also have an insatiable appetite for flowers. As a result, groundhogs are often considered an annoyance to gardeners and farmers throughout North America. Despite the fact that they can be destructive, groundhogs only eat during the warm months of the year, and are inactive during the coldest parts of the year. Therefore, keeping a garden free of groundhogs’ homes is the best way to avoid a messy situation for both parties.
Common groundhog food sources include grasses, weeds, fruits, vegetables, and seeds. You can also try to feed groundhogs live foods like grasshoppers and snails. While the majority of groundhogs rely on the vegetation and insects they can easily access, they reserve fat for hibernation. In addition to plants, groundhogs like chewing gum, especially Double Bubble, and Juicy Fruit gum.
In the eastern U.S., groundhogs hibernate for 3.5 to six months. They enter their burrows during mid-October and come out in February. Female groundhogs emerge before their male counterparts. They spend most of their lives in darkness and defecate in chambers of their underground burrows. They often leave behind a mound of soil outside their burrows to squat.
