How To Get Rid Of Chipmunks
Some Ideas On How To Get Rid Of Chipmunks
Knowing how to get rid of chipmunks is important if you have an infestation of them, as they can be quite a pest. Normally chipmunks are territorial animals, and you'll only see a very few of them in a given location. However, if your property has all the good food a chipmunk could ever hope to eat, plus an abundance of good hiding places, you could find yourself feeding a whole herd, or whatever a group of chipmunks is called. They eat insects, mice, snails and slugs, and are beneficial in that respect. They also eat seeds, vegetables, fruits, bird's eggs, birds, and wire insulation, and can become real pests, no longer the cute little guys you've enjoyed watching scamper around your property.
Here then are a few tips on how to get rid of chipmunks. Not all are guaranteed to be successful. You're dealing with a clever little enemy who, for example, will not touch rat poison because it doesn't smell right. Removing their food sources will not be practical if their sources are your vegetable and flower gardens. You can take away the bird feeders (they love the seeds), but then you are depriving the songbirds of a food source. You can spray individual plants, or area spray with coyote urine. This can be effective if you only have a few chipmunks, as it will tend to keep the relatives from moving in. But if you have an established colony, a spraying program may or may not be effective over the long run.
Trapping is often the best approach. A trap baited with peanut butter can be irresistible to the chipmunk. Whether you use a snap trap (like a rat trap) which will kill them, or a live trap, is up to you. One disadvantage of the snap trap is that the critters are smart enough to start avoiding the trap after several of their countrymen have been killed. Over time then, the snap trap can lose its effectiveness. Another type of lethal trap is the electric variety, which holds enough of a charge to electrocute an animal the size of a chipmunk, but won't hurt a large cat or dog. If the dead chipmunks are removed quickly, such a trap can remain effective indefinitely. Leave the dead chipmunk there for too long, and the other chipmunks will learn to avoid the trap. The live trap on the other hand, usually keeps on performing. Catch a few chipmunks and drive them to a remote location (such as your in brother in law's house on the other side of town). People who have done this say you need to take them several miles away, or they'll soon be back.
Chipmunks live in underground burrows (which can also present problems on your property). You can try to smoke them out, or pour substances like gasoline down the entrance. The burrows can be quite long, up to 30 feet or more, and unless the smoke reaches all the way through the burrow it will be ineffective. Pouring gasoline in the burrows probably won't affect the chipmunks, but will sterilize your soil. Setting out poison will only work if you make it tasty, such as lacing it with peanut butter, which chipmunks love. The problem then is that household pets will also want to eat it. Rat poison won't work. It's formulated for rats and mice, and generally does not have a taste that dogs and cats are attracted to. Chipmunks aren't attracted to it either.
As a last resort you can always shoot them. This might be a problem, illegal even, in an urban area. If you live in a rural area, a pellet gun or .22 caliber rifle would be the weapons of choice. No matter where you live, check with your local authorities before attempting to kill a chipmunk by any method. In some locales or states they are protected, being classified as non-game wildlife. If you can show they are damaging your property, you'll normally get permission to get rid of them.
Hopefully you just have one or two, and won't mind if they eat an occasional fruit or veggie, as they are fun to watch, in which case “how to get rid of chipmunks” doesn't really need to be on your agenda.