Animal removal costs depend on your project and location. Check with a local pro for your specific job.
Professional groundhog removal costs between $150 and $200 depending on where the animals are located on your property.
The removal location and transport distance impact your total, with foundation removal costing the most for your project.
You should set aside a few hundred dollars for lawn reseeding, yard regrading, or foundation repairs after the groundhog burrows are filled.
Hiring a local groundhog removal professional keeps you safe from disease-carrying ticks and ensures humane relocation of the animals.
The humble groundhog may look cute, but don’t let its roly-poly features fool you. This little critter can wreak havoc on your yard. The average cost of groundhog removal is $175, but it ranges from $100 to $500, depending on your specific situation.
Groundhogs—otherwise known as land beavers, whistle pigs, and woodchucks—also sometimes carry diseases, so it’s good for both your safety and theirs to relocate them away from humans. Luckily, this guide breaks down how to get rid of groundhogs safely and humanely, and what you can expect to pay for professional animal removal services.
It costs between $150 and $200 to have groundhogs professionally removed. Factors that influence the cost of groundhog removal include location, transport, cleanup, and how many groundhogs are in your yard. Contact a groundhog removal professional near you for a personalized quote.
Humane trapping and removal may cost more than extermination, but many homeowners find the extra charges worth it. These technicians will have more experience with trapping and relocating groundhogs than you do, and will know the proper and legal locations to resettle the animals.
Professionals must transport and release the groundhog up to 100 miles away—any closer, and the groundhog might try to return to its burrow. The farther away the suitable location is, the more it will cost.
Another important factor in professional groundhog removal cost is the cleanup required afterward. For example, will the professional close up the burrows to prevent a twisted ankle or damaged lawn mower? Be sure that you’re both on the same page about any post-relocation cleanup that needs to happen.
What you’ll pay for groundhog removal will depend primarily on where they need to be removed from. The following table breaks down the average animal removal costs for the most common spots where you’ll find groundhogs on your property.
| Location | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Deck | $100–$200 |
| Crawl space | $125–$300 |
| Shed | $200–$325 |
| Lawn | $150–$300 |
| Home foundation | $300–$500 |
Understanding the different methods available and their associated costs can also help you make an informed decision regarding preventative and humane solutions that keep animals out of your yard. Remember, lethal methods are illegal in many areas without proof of significant property damage by groundhogs.
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Exclusion fencing | $1,500–$8,000 |
| Live trapping | $150–$300 per visit |
| Lethal trapping | $150–$300 per visit |
| Commercial repellents | $10–$150 |
These pesky little creatures burrow around your property, which can damage your house and your yard. If they do significant damage, you might need to budget for lawn, yard, electrical, or foundation repair in addition to removal costs.
| Type of Damage | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Foundation | $500–$4,500 |
| Yard | $15 per cubic yard |
| Lawn | $1–$2 per square foot |
| House | $2–$4 per square foot |
Groundhogs that have burrowed around your home might leave piles of dirt and holes near your foundation, weakening your structural stability. Minor repairs are priced affordably, starting at $500, but foundation repairs average about $4,500, depending on the extent of the damage.
Because they spare no veggie plant or bush, you may need to replant. If they’ve really sunk their claws into your grass, a landscaper might recommend regrading your yard to make it level again, which adds up to roughly $15 per cubic yard.
Groundhogs often leave grass in shambles, forcing you to reseed your yard ($0.10 to $0.20 per square foot) or resod your yard (about $1 to $2 per square foot).
If groundhogs left chewed wires in their wake, you’d need to hire an electrician and pay to rewire parts of your home, about $2 to $4 per square foot. For any irrigation or sprinkler system repairs, expect to pay $270 on average, according to HomeAdvisor.
Depending on what materials you have on hand, there are several DIY methods of groundhog removal.
Predator decoys are one free way to discourage a groundhog from digging up your vegetable garden. Soak some rags in ammonia and place them near where you’ve seen a groundhog. The groundhog may mistake the smell for a predator’s urine and flee the area. (Cat owners can put down used kitty litter for the same effect!)
You can also humanely trap and release groundhogs. A humane trap (one that catches an animal without harming it) costs about $50, and you can typically find one at a local hardware store or online.
Here’s a general overview of how to set up a groundhog trap, though you should always follow the instructions that come with your model:
Gather the best bait for groundhogs—cantaloupe, strawberries, or something from your garden—and place in the trap.
Place the trap near a burrow hole or recently damaged patch of veggies
Bury the bottom of the trap with dirt so the groundhog can’t feel the metal mesh when he steps onto it
Use stones, twigs, and lawn debris to form a funnel into the trap, guiding the groundhog into it
Caging a groundhog in a humane trap is not hard, but legally relocating the animal could be. Check with your wildlife agency or state game commission regarding relocation.
If you are permitted to relocate groundhogs, avoid direct contact with them because the ticks they carry could spread Lyme disease. You also run a small risk of contracting tularemia, a rare infectious disease also known as “rabbit fever,” from an infected groundhog. This means you must handle humane traps carefully, and avoid traps that can injure or kill the animal.
The best way to ensure groundhogs are completely and humanely removed from your property is to work with an expert. Hiring a wildlife removal pro for groundhogs will cost $150 to $200, but these experts can save you thousands of dollars in property damage over several years of severe infestation. These pros will also be able to complete the groundhog removal much more quickly, all while ensuring the animals aren’t treated inhumanely.
Hiring an expert for groundhog removal has a number of benefits, such as:
Removing groundhogs much faster than you’d be able to yourself
Ensuring humane treatment of the animals during removal
Access to a variety of removal, trapping, and exclusion methods
Ongoing support in case you start to see groundhogs on your property again
Avoiding direct contact with groundhogs and other wildlife
Ask your pro what method(s) they use to remove groundhogs to determine cost
Make sure you’re comfortable with the pro’s chosen methods from an ethical standpoint
See if your pro can recommend other pros to repair damage caused by groundhogs
See if your pro offers warranties and follow-up service in case you spot more groundhogs
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We extensively research project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We rely on reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
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