*2.2.9 Marmots*

Marmots also known as groundhogs are squarish stocky animals; they can climb and swim; have short strong legs; coarse, grizzled, gray-brown fur; small ears; a short, bushy tail; and curved claws. They have large, competent, chisel-like teeth that make them efficient, but not quite endearing. Marmots are occasionally destructive to gardens and pasturelands, and not only eat garden crops, but sometimes also eat worms and insects. Greens food like lettuce, dandelions, daisies, alfalfa, clovers, red mulberry and hackberry leaves they eat from the garden. The food in the trees category includes bark and twigs, and they love eating vegetables like celery, carrots, broccoli, peas, corn and beans. The fruits that they feed on include berries, cherries and apples, and these food varieties can draw in groundhogs. Accordingly, the more groundhog food has in garden, the more probable these critters will be to make tunnels. This is particularly obvious since groundhogs travel no farther than 150 feet from their homes for food [49, 50].

Apart from other rodents, marmots also love to the taste of strawberries and some of them can even damage the crop just to nibble on a few. Gardeners might even face mysterious disappearances of berries or may have already noticed every morning. Their habit of burrowing makes them serious nuisance animals around farms and gardens, and are a thorn on the side of many gardeners.

Groundhog (*Marmota monax*), also known as woodchucks, thickwood badger, red monk, land beaver or whistling pigs, are members of the squirrel family Sciuridae known as marmots. Groundhogs have four incisor teeth, are well-adapted for digging, with short, powerful limbs and curved thick claws, and tail is comparably shorter (**Figure 25**). It is typically found in forests, small woodlots, fields, pastures and hedgerows, and constructs dens in well-drained soil. It cleans its face similar to the manner of the squirrels and licks its fur like the manner of a cat. They are solitary hibernating mammals and eat almost every type of green plants [51].

Mostly groundhogs are herbivorous, eat primarily wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops. Groundhogs live in tunnels, which can have more than one entry and burrows can be simply recognized by way of dunes of *Avoid Sharing of Strawberries with Birds, Rodents and Other Vertebrate Pests DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104682*

**Figure 25.** *Marmot.*

dug soil along with entries. Their dirt mounds and tunnel holes obstruct to farmhouse tools and can pose a risk to livestock and horses. An adult groundhog can consume about a pound to a pound-and-a-half of vegetation daily. They eat everything from flowers to vegetables, and consume grasses, clovers, leaves, twigs, berries, beans, plantain, soybeans, blossoms, twigs, bark and bugs. Damage to fruit and ornamental trees is caused by gnawing, so, look for paw imprints with four toes on the front paws and five toes on the back with one set lower than the rest [51].

Eliminate woodpiles and other places where groundhogs nest, and keep undergrowth and grass cover low to deter groundhogs. Groundhogs are always looking for vacant burrows, so, close down their tunnel systems. The most important feature to help keep groundhogs out of garden is a good fence and if the steel mesh is embedded around six inches into the ground, this can help reduce the chances of the groundhog being able to dig under the fence. Excluding of woodchucks from the garden will also keep out deer, rabbits and raccoons. Once is selected a groundhog trap, lure the animal inside with a carefully designated and positioned bait such as strawberries in order to lead a successful catch.
