Ground hogs are solitary animals. They are surly, wry, and fierce fighters when cornered. Each has its own burrow with several rooms and three exit doors. A member of the squirrel family, it is one of our largest gnawing animals, the rodents.

They have a heavy-set body, short bushy tail, blunt nose, low ears, small eyes, and powerful long legs with strong digging claws. Their incisors grow constantly and must be worn down. Their fur is two layers, a grizzled, long, coarse brownish gray above and softer, lighter fur underneath. They hibernate from October until March. Their favorite food is clover. They are a nuisance because of their tunneling under buildings and their lack of fear of humans.

In urban areas there are few natural predators to control them so the only effective control is live trapping with removal to another site.