LAHARPE — Like Bill Murray’s character in the classic movie “Groundhog Day,” Savannah Flory is afraid she’s stuck in a time warp when it comes to … well, groundhogs.
Flory, speaking at Wednesday’s LaHarpe City Council meeting, recounted her repeated encounters with the little critters.
About a month ago, she spotted a groundhog milling about in her yard.
She borrowed a trap from City Hall and successfully nabbed the groundhog — also known as a woodchuck — and dispatched it elsewhere.
But then, she saw another.
And another.
Within a span of a few weeks, she ferried off five groundhogs and three possums from her yard in LaHarpe.
And there’s more, she lamented.
Lots more.
“If I go on walks, I’ll see them scurrying under people’s houses,” Flory said.
She’s not alone.
“We are aware there is a problem,” Mayor Mae Crowell replied. “I don’t know where they came from. We’ve never had them before, but now they’re here.”
But as far as population control, there’s little the city can do, Crowell noted, aside from loaning out traps for homeowners to relocate the animals.
“We can’t set out traps ourselves on people’s properties,” Crowell said.
The animals are fond of seeking refuge within abandoned properties, Flory noted.
City Attorney Fred Works said he would look into whether there were instances when traps could be placed by the city on abandoned properties.
A GROUNDHOG has a compact, chunky body supported by relatively short, strong legs. Its forefeet have long, curved claws adept for digging ground burrows to seek refuge.
They usually carry a brownish-gray color, although some have colors varying from white to black. The animals can weigh up to 12 pounds and measure up to 27 inches long.
And they’re likely not going anywhere. Groundhog numbers are difficult to control once a population has established itself in a good habitat, according to the Kansas State University’s Department of Research and Extension
Aside from fencing, no other control method is considered permanent.
They are proficient diggers and can become a nuisance when their feeding conflicts with gardening efforts, or when they dig burrows.
