CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — It's an issue we've been following through on for weeks, groundhogs: taking over neighborhoods, but it's not just Clevelanders in a battle with groundhogs and their city to get help. We've received calls and emails from people all across the Northeast fighting the same fight. News 5 is following through again, but this time in Cleveland Heights.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
We couldn’t see any Groundhogs up close Monday, but clues of their presence are all over Nicole Teachey’s backyard.
“This is the main entrance,” said Teachey. “You see, they got 1, 2, 3, 4. It gets worse every year. Every year, I look out on my patio, and there’s more and more.”
Teachey’s neighbor, Denise, has the entire back of her house covered with cement slabs to try and keep the groundhogs from burrowing into her foundation.
“This is a lot, and all around the air conditioner here, it’s a big hole, but we thought we had them down in there, but nope, the babies come,” said Denise.
Teachey has tried to curb the chaos by using poison, cement, and even traps, but nothing is working.
“Every day, it’s very frustrating,” Teachey said.
She’s overwhelmed since she’s spent at least $1,500 to deter the groundhogs, all while being the primary caretaker of her disabled husband, her mother with dementia, and a daughter.
“My mom, like I said, has dementia, I mean, she can come out here, but she’s going to freak out if she sees them, and that’s not what I want,” said Teachey. “I am a homeowner, I can’t call a landlord to say, hey, "Come fix it.' I am the landlord. I pay good gobs of money in taxes. Not saying my taxes alone will cover the cost, but I know I am not the only person with this issue.”
Teachey’s last resort was to purchase a pellet gun to try and get the groundhogs back under control.
“That hasn’t even been successful,” said Teachey. So, I am at the point where I don’t even know what else to do.”
Denise and Teachey want the City of Cleveland Heights to step in and help.
“The City of Cleveland Heights needs to do something about this. Really, they are everywhere,” Denise said.
The City of Cleveland Heights told News 5 that it "understands the nuisance posed by groundhogs. We do not have an animal control department at the City, and we rely on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for guidance on issues like this. We encourage residents to use ODNR’s resources to address problems with groundhogs or other nuisance animals.”
“We know we have a problem, but what are we going to do about it?” said Teachey. “When they say there was a deer problem, they found a solution for the deer problem, well, why can’t we find a solution for the groundhogs? I don’t know what else to do. I have no more money.”
Since our reporting about out-of-control groundhogs on Cleveland's East Side, the city told News 5 the animal care & control manager has asked that a staff member reach out directly to the residents in our stories. The city also did a robocall on July 20, reaching out to more than 41,000 households about how to get help with groundhogs. A newsletter was sent, too, providing more information on nuisance wildlife.
You can read the newsletter below:
