Castor oil is a carrier oil that won’t harm groundhogs but deters them from sticking around. Groundhogs hate the scent of castor oil, and spraying it near your vegetable garden or the animal’s burrows will encourage them to leave. For this trick, you’ll only need castor oil, which can be found on Amazon for less than $10, and water. Try combining ½ cup of the carrier oil with 2 cups of water and spraying it in the areas the groundhogs are affecting.
If this doesn’t produce a strong enough scent, you can try mixing 1 part castor oil with 3 parts water, or 1 part oil and 1 part water if the groundhogs are stubborn. You might also try taking some of the undiluted oil, pouring it into an entrance to the groundhogs’ burrow, and sealing off the hole with dirt. This will trap the scent in their tunnels and help get them to move on.
