Groundhog Removal in Merrillville, IN

Point to the burrow, not just the animal: woodchucks dig multi-entrance tunnel systems against decks, sheds, concrete slabs, and foundations, and Purdue Extension notes the damage comes from that excavation — cracked slabs, settling walkways, and water channeled toward the foundation — so the durable fix addresses the whole burrow, not a single catch.

Know the Indiana rule: under Indiana DNR nuisance-wildlife rules (IC 14-22-6-3) a property owner or tenant may take a groundhog that is damaging property without a permit, but a trapped groundhog must be released within the county of capture with the landowner’s permission or euthanized — there is no lawful hauling it far away — so plan on on-site handling or a DNR-licensed operator plus exclusion, and expect any set traps to be checked at least every 24 hours.

Mind the calendar: Lake County groundhogs generally enter hibernation around October and emerge in late February or March, and pups born in April–May are usually weaned by mid-July — so a spring burrow can still hold dependent young, and ask the provider to confirm the young are out (roughly mid-summer onward) before any entrance is backfilled or sealed.

Ask how they keep it from coming back: the lasting fix is excluding the animal and closing the burrow — an L-shaped buried barrier (fencing turned outward along the bottom so the animal cannot re-dig under it) plus backfilling tunnels — rather than relocation, and route any sick-acting animal or legal question through the Indiana DNR / a licensed Lake County operator.