I'm about to cry. Just before coming in to work, I saw a new woodchuck hole underneath our garden shed. I ran to get what used kitty litter we had on hand, and saw the woodchuck scurrying to the hole as I approached.

After several weeks with no sign of the pest, he is back. I saw no damage to the peas, which are up and which were decimated last year. So I threw down the kitty litter, put a couple of bricks on top of that to block the hole. Tomorrow I will search for other holes, and wait.
This is the weekend I want to put out all of our tomatoes and the like, and I hate the thought of them being eaten.
My late father-in-law, Jim Durrance, would have had a solution. He was an avid hunter, gun collector and a founding member of the Cape Elizabeth Rod and Gun Club. And although it is illegal in most cases to use firearms in Cape Elizabeth, he would have found a way to get rid of the woodchucks.
But now I will continue with searching for holes, using as much kitty litter as our cat creates – and with warmer weather he will be spending time outside, so there may be a shortage.
On another subject, how do you deal with moles, voles and chipmunks. I have never had such problems, but I have been getting questions. Any ideas out there?

E-mail this entry to a friend