A family vegetable farm in Calixa-Lavallée, a small rural municipality in the Montérégie region, sought the services of Nova Extermination after suffering repeated losses in its carrot, bean and cucumber crops since the beginning of the season. The marmots, attracted by the abundance of well-maintained vegetable gardens typical of this peaceful and especially agricultural environment of the Marguerite-D’Youville RCM, had established several colonies along the fieldstone embankment that borders the farm property. The problem had grown from one season to the next, until the damage to the crops and the tunnels dug under the agricultural tools stored on the periphery justified a large-scale professional intervention. A neighbouring farm near Verchères had itself faced a similar situation two years earlier, which led to the recommendation to call on a specialized team like ours.
Site assessment and colony identification
The initial inspection conducted by our technician revealed a total of seven active burrows along the stone embankment and at the edge of the main crop field. Signs of activity were numerous and clearly visible: mounds of fresh soil, grazed vegetation at ground level for a radius of fifteen metres around the openings, and traces of digging under two of the temporary storage silos at the edge of the field. The population density suggested the presence of at least three adults, probably accompanied by their young. Our team in Calixa-Lavallée proposed a ten-day intervention plan to cover the entire affected agricultural perimeter. Our technician specializing in professional marmot capture assessed the risks to the existing structures and established an order of priority for intervention according to the severity of each site. As a certified exterminator on the South Shore and the South Shore, Nova Extermination operates in both residential and agricultural contexts with the same high standards of quality and professionalism.
Large-scale capture operation
Seven cage traps were deployed simultaneously throughout the site, positioned in front of the active openings or on the movement corridors identified during the preliminary inspection. The baits, made of fresh carrots, salad leaves and cut apples, have been renewed every morning to ensure their maximum appeal. Our technicians provided morning and mid-afternoon visits to monitor the traps and prevent prolonged stress for the captured animals, in accordance with regulatory obligations. In ten days of operation, five adult marmots and two juveniles were captured and relocated to a suitable natural environment. The protocol for the capture and relocation of wild animals was followed scrupulously and in accordance with the provincial regulatory obligations in effect. The last two burrows, after a seventy-two-hour monitoring period without any observable activity, were declared abandoned before being filled in and secured.
Perimeter security and long-term preventive strategy
The closure phase required considerable work due to the number of burrows and the rocky nature of the stone embankment. Each gallery was filled with well-compacted crushed stone, and a robust galvanized mesh was installed along the entire length of the embankment, anchored forty centimeters deep and folded in an L-shape outwards to effectively block any further digging attempts. A physical wire mesh barrier has also been installed around the crop plots most vulnerable to future attacks. The operator received a pest prevention plan adapted to the agricultural context, including specific recommendations on crop residue management, berm maintenance and seasonal monitoring of risk areas. Our work on the capture of marmots in rural areas complements this file as a reference for our expertise in the agricultural environment. Operators are also advised to set up a weekly berm and embankment monitoring tour as early as April, when groundhogs emerge from hibernation and begin to look for new sites to establish their spring burrows. The implementation of all these measures has made it possible to effectively protect crops for the rest of the season without resorting to lethal methods.