Chipmunks !!!!!

[Smiles Jr.]

Chipmunks !!!! We have an abundance of the little boogers and they are very destructive. Holes in the soil everywhere, scratching in the attic, AND ruining my tender starts in the greenhouse. Between the moles and the chipmunks our yard looks like bombs have gone off everywhere.

Does anyone have a sure-fire way of getting of them? I have 7 out of 18 flats of seedlings that are completely chewed to ruin. My little plants are from 1" to 3" tall and it hurts to see so many eaten down to within 1/8" of the soil.

 

[Nyboy]

Do you have barn cats ? Don't know how you feel about snakes.If you don't mind them might want to let local pest companys know you will rehome rat snakes. Last year I had more chipmunks then I ever remember having past years

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know of any way to totally wipe out chipmunks. Even a serious poisoning campaign normally doesn’t totally get them all. The best you can do is to try to get the numbers under control.

Cats take some time but they can be quite effective as long as they have access to the area where the chipmunks are. Some dogs, say a small terrier, can be quite effective too. But if you keep the animal confined where it can’t get at them they don’t do much good. I could see locking a cat in that greenhouse though I don’t know how much damage the cat might do.

Snakes will eat them, but they are less effective. A snake will eat one then stay pretty quiet while it digests it. They don’t kill just to kill, like some things will. I like having snakes around to help keep the number of rodents down, but snakes don’t get them all. It needs to be a reasonably big snake for chipmunks. Some people just don’t like snakes, especially big ones. As long as they are not poisonous or in my chicken coop I’m OK with snakes.

If you can trap the ones that are getting to your plant starts you can help yourself. A trapping program will not necessarily get them all but you can target the ones that are causing you grief. I’ve never trapped chipmunks but I’d thing a rat snap trap could be effective. A small live trap sized for squirrels could work well too. I’d probably try BOSS, Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, as bait.

It’s possible you can shoot some of them. A .22 with pellets instead of a slug can work really well and limit the range so you are less likely to hit something unintentional down range. That ammo may be hard to get. A pellet rifle can be effective. A 12 gauge shotgun could give you some satisfaction. This won’t necessarily target the ones causing your problems, but it can reduce your overall numbers.

Can you tell how they are getting in the greenhouse? Blocking their access, maybe with wire mesh, might solve that problem.

Is it possible to bend a protective cover out of wire mesh like hardware cloth to put over the individual trays of starts? Make a box to set over them.

I can sympathize, not with chipmunks but rats. I’ve had problems with rats in the garden the last couple of years. They have places to hide in the area, including under some areas I have mulched. There is an overgrown ditch/fence line just across the road. I’ve had them kill plants that were just sprouting and chew on some veggies. I know I’ll never get rid of them all, but I try to keep the numbers down. I’ve already trapped four out of my mostly dormant garden since the first of the year, just trying to keep the numbers down.

 

[seedcorn]

Live traps. They will be dead by AM.

 

[ninnymary]

Ridge, I didn't know you had a rat problem also. My husband found a nest and there was one that darted out. I was so upset he didn't have time to clobber it over the head. That darn rat got away! But since it's home has been displaced the chewing of my garden has stopped. The real test will be my apple tree. For the last 2 years every apple was bitten by I'm sure a rat.

Mary

 

[digitS']

Smiles, I once lived with pine trees surrounding my forest clearing of about 3/4 acre. Fortunately, I had the garden out in the middle of things and cats/dogs to protect it from the chipmunks. (The dogs tended to ignore the chipmunks, for the most part .)

At one time, I had a few down trees beside where I was growing some things. Well, that didn't work very well!

I put out d-CON mouse poison boxes and the chipmunk problem was over for that season. This was not a good idea with the cats and dogs around but a problem there, didn't occur to me then. I was a young guy.

Steve
edit: moles have only been a problem a very few times but what about these for a yard wide population: mole repellers

 

[so lucky]

Eh, I don't have chipmunks, but voles. They are the reason for holes in the yard and garden here.
I second the cat suggestion. Maybe several cats. Neutered/spayed.

 

[Carol Dee]

Dad had a chipmunk problem, he would put out live traps baited with.... (I do not remember.) HE would then dispatch them. He never just turned them loose elsewhere to be someone elses problem.

 

[valley ranch]

Peanut butter with oatmeal pressed in is inviting to the little ***&^%%s.

I've decided to grow the peppers and certain other items in the greenhouse, so I've been closing areas where they've been able to gain entry, I hope.

 

[valley ranch]

Good morning Mary, If you've time wrap the lower trunk of that apple tree with sheep aluminum or a piece of single thickness stove pipe closed around the trunk, it doesn't have to be tight or touch the tree, 18'' to 24'' tall aught to be high enough. You can paint the trunk with that sticky smelly tar that works if kept fresh but you might not like that.