Chipmunks - is there no end to them?

[ctfjr]

Last week I saw a chipmunk on top of a closed bag of dogfood in the garage. He had chewed a hole in it and must have thought he had found food heaven.

So I pulled out my Havaheart trap, baited it with peanut butter and caught him in an hour. There is a state hiking trail about a mile from here so I delivered him to his new home. All good. Not so much

An hour ago I caught my 11th one. I now take them to the linear park trail about 2 miles from here, all except one. That one I left outside overnight in the trap and in the morning the trap was upside down and Chip was gone. I'm guessing a fox or coyote 'relocated' him for me.

I don't see anymore outside. They used to torment the dogs, staying just outside their fence.

Anybody have a way to keep these pests away? I now have all the dog food stored in the plastic bin.

 

[Steve67]

I put mothballs down their little holes, seems to work pretty good. Whenever I hear the Word chipmunks I think of Alvin and the chipmunks

 

[William1]

Encourage rat snakes. Garage/barn cat Or decon.

 

[Buffalo]

I put mothballs down their little holes, seems to work pretty good. Whenever I hear the Word chipmunks I think of Alvin and the chipmunks

Umm. I envisioned a chipmunk with a mothball shoved up his ... . That should work I guess.

 

[ctfjr]

Rat snakes or cats are probably out. Incompatibility with wife and dogs. We live in the middle of the woods. The dogs find their holes in the backyard (fenced in 1-1/2 acre) and dig them up (come up empty).

I am very generous with Decon in the garage and the basement but very careful to put it where the dogs can't get at it. It's purpose was to get rid of field mice, especially this time of year when it turns cold. It works well as I usually find dead mice around but never a chipmunk.

I just snagged another one in the trap and am leaving it outside tonight. We'll see if a predator gets him. I getting less and less sympathy for them. . .

 

[pigdoc]

Cats.

 

[Grindstone]

Alvin and his buddies were having a buffet in my garden this summer so I used rat traps baited with peanut butter.

 

[fried1765]

Last week I saw a chipmunk on top of a closed bag of dogfood in the garage. He had chewed a hole in it and must have thought he had found food heaven.

So I pulled out my Havaheart trap, baited it with peanut butter and caught him in an hour. There is a state hiking trail about a mile from here so I delivered him to his new home. All good. Not so much

An hour ago I caught my 11th one. I now take them to the linear park trail about 2 miles from here, all except one. That one I left outside overnight in the trap and in the morning the trap was upside down and Chip was gone. I'm guessing a fox or coyote 'relocated' him for me.

I don't see anymore outside. They used to torment the dogs, staying just outside their fence.

Anybody have a way to keep these pests away? I now have all the dog food stored in the plastic bin.

Yup!
A 5 gal. plastic pail 3/4 full of water, with sunflower seeds sprinkled on top.

 

[SAR Tracker]

As I catch them in the havahart trap, I try to teach them to swim in a trashcan full of water. Trap and all. All have failed the first test, however.

 

[ve9aa]

They are hopping on your rear bumper and catching a free drive back as you drive back home.
You probably only have 2 Chippers.
All you've done is give them a day trip a mile or two away (40miles in chipmunk distances)

 

[mikester]

Delivered him to his new home? Are you sure you aren't catching the same one over and over?

BTW careful what you report. In some localities transporting wildlife can result in fines....

 

[My Barn]

Last week I saw a chipmunk on top of a closed bag of dogfood in the garage. He had chewed a hole in it and must have thought he had found food heaven.

So I pulled out my Havaheart trap, baited it with peanut butter and caught him in an hour. There is a state hiking trail about a mile from here so I delivered him to his new home. All good. Not so much

An hour ago I caught my 11th one. I now take them to the linear park trail about 2 miles from here, all except one. That one I left outside overnight in the trap and in the morning the trap was upside down and Chip was gone. I'm guessing a fox or coyote 'relocated' him for me.

I don't see anymore outside. They used to torment the dogs, staying just outside their fence.

Anybody have a way to keep these pests away? I now have all the dog food stored in the plastic bin.

We have the same problem...Last winter with one had a litter in the glove box of my Dakota? Thankfully no electrical issues. In the spring next doors cat had litter of kittens for us. She has cleaned up chipmunks big time.

 

[Biker1mike]

Chipmunkiator trap 2 doors no exit. Then a swim in a barrel.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Trade in your dog for a cat ! My late Sparky was phenomenal at 'reducing' the Chipmunk population to 2 or 3. Cloudy is almost as talented,
Red squirrels are MY problem. NASTY little so and so. Greys and blacks are ok,but the reds are just NASTY.

 

[Bmyers]

You don't say what type of dogs you have, but you may consider a Terrier type breed of dog. My limited understanding is the the Terrier breed was designed for small varmint hunting.

 

[jajiu]

Yup!
A 5 gal. plastic pail 3/4 full of water, with sunflower seeds sprinkled on top.

That's my go-to. I put one or two narrow boards from the ground up to the rim, they climb up, jump in, done. I take it in overnight because the coons dump it out and eat the sunflower seeds. It does work well though, I have gotten rid of at least 50 over the last couple of years. Besides, in my area it is against the law to re-locate nuisance animals.

 

[Pawnee]

There is no end to chipmunks.
If you dispatch one, you have just created a vacancy for another one.
Which will be along shortly.

 

[Tughill Tom]

RWS .22Cal air rifle, works like a charm.

 

[BruceP]

BTW careful what you report. In some localities transporting wildlife can result in fines....

Here in Vermont, it is OK to kill critters ON YOUR PROPERTY..... but transporting them without a permit is unlawful.

The various laws seem to be conflicting/contradictory:

1. The 1st situation is LONG standing law intended to allow landowners to protect their livestock from carnivores.
2. The 2nd law was intended to prevent catching/transporting/selling of wildlife.

When fishing, it is OK to catch/kill the fish.... but DO NOT catch/transport them while alive without permit.

 

[ctfjr]

hmmm. . . seems no magic bullet here
I have used the 5 gallon water bucket before. In the summer it gets nasty quickly with dead mice. I may have to resort to it tho.

I don't have an RWS .22 but I do have one of their .177 pellet rifles which is equally effective.

Our dogs are both labs. They like to dig after them but are not very effective. The black lab actually caught one a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately while she was proudly carrying it she let it go and it ran off.

I agree cats sound like the answer but would be a no go here.