Cruelty-free critter repellents?

[Critters2]

Hi all

I have a small problem. Some of you may recall that I decided to stop fighting her instincts, and let the beagle dig a hole. It was a great hole, and she was wonderfully proud of it. When she wasn't touching it up, as must be done from time to time, she would sleep in it or sit proudly beside it.

Well, we were gone over the weekend. I had a judicatory meeting and she stayed with some friends. While we were gone, a groundhog took up residence in the hole. It is now a burrow, with a tunnel at the bottom of the hole. Last night the beagle and the groundhog had a bit of a run in. No one got hurt, just a dust up. I figured the groundhog would leave after that. I was wrong. S/he was back this morning.

Apart from the fact that the beagle is QUITE upset and a little hard to live with (and who can blame her--there's someone in the hole!!), I don't want a REAL fight to break out. Someone could get hurt.

So, I went to the hardware store looking for a repellent. The manager recommended two things, both of which he said work great. Dried blood (cow's blood, I think) and dried fox urine. Needless to say, these are not really options I'd consider.

Does anyone have other suggestions? I don't want to kill it, or harm it in any way. I'd just like it to move out of the beagle hole.

Thanks for any help.

[flvegan]

1. Cover the hole

When you're POSITIVE the groundhog isn't in there, cover it. To be double positive, I'd bait a Havahart trap and relocate the critter, then fill it in. Make sure somehow that this isn't a mama groundhog with little groundhoglets down there.

[Critters2]

2. I am concerned that there may be groundhog young'uns in the hole

A parishioner who is a veteran of the groundhog sieges (those living along the river deal with this quite a bit) tells me that this is about the time they give birth, so I should be careful not to piss off Mama. He also suggested getting something that moves--like one of those pinwheel or windmill yard ornaments. He said the motion scares 'em, and will often cause them to leave. And there is one kind with a base that goes deep into the ground, which then vibrates when the wind moves it. Apparently, they don't like the vibrations. So, I'm heading to Farm and Fleet in the morning, looking for groundhog-scaring devices.

Sooner or later, I'm going to cover the hole, too.

Thanks for your response, flvegan!