Here are my 3 favorite chipmunk repellents:
Top 3 Best Chipmunk Repellents in [current_date format=”Y”] Comparison Table
| PREVIEW | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick  | Bonide Repels-All Animal Repellent Concentrate
| Check Price |
People's Choice  | Thanos Solar Repellent Stakes
| Check Price |
| [tablepress_img id="16071" alt="Tomcat Animal Repellent Granules review"] | Tomcat Animal Repellent Granules
| Check Price |
Chipmunks are some of the cutest creatures out there! They’re like little furry teddy bears who live in your yard. But they can also be quite destructive, and many homeowners would prefer them to stay off their property. If you’ve ever had problems with chipmunks (or other rodents), then this post is for you!
We review 3 of the best repellents that will keep those pesky critters away from your garden, cars, or wherever else they might be bothering you. You don’t have to spend a fortune on expensive traps or poisons when these products work just as well – and better yet, they won’t hurt any animals!
But first things first: if you do have chipmunks visiting your yard, then you should know that there are two types of chipmunks. There are the tree or Eastern chipmunks, which only live in North America. These guys are pretty small – about 7 to 10 inches long with a tail of 4 to 5 inches – and their fur is mostly grayish-brown with reddish hues on the sides of their heads and shoulders.
On the other hand, you have a ground or Western chipmunks, which are found both in North America as well as Asia. They’re slightly larger than tree chipmunks at around 8 to 12 inches long with tails that can be 5 to 6 inches long. Their fur is light brown with reddish tints on the face, across the shoulders, and at the base of the tail.
Top 3 Best Chipmunk Repellents Reviewed
After much research, some products stand out more than others. And the winner is Bonide Repels-All Animal Repellent Concentrate.
1. Bonide Repels-All Animal Repellent Concentrate – Best Chipmunk Repellent Spray for Cars and Your Yard (Editor’s Choice)
[amazon_item asin=”B000HCNT3Q”]
[/amazon_item]
Bonide Repels-All Concentrate is the best chipmunk repellent spray for your yard and car. This product has two features that make it stand out from other products: active ingredients and lasting power. The active ingredient in this product is 2.52% putrescent whole egg solids, 0.12% cloves, 0.06% garlic oil; these ingredients will last up to 2 months without reapplication or supervision by a homeowner!
This product also does not require any sort of pet or children’s play area supervision because it is safe for animals too! There are no harmful chemicals in Bonide Repels-All Animal Repellent; you can feel confident spraying it anywhere in your home. This repellent is also very affordable, and you do not need to use a lot of it because its effects will last for about two months!
The first thing I noticed when I started using this product was that the smell isn’t too bad. I’ve been putting off buying a chipmunk repellent spray specifically because most of them have stinky smells. When you’re buying a spray designed to keep pests out of places you don’t want them or away from things you don’t want to be ruined, the fact that the smell is tolerable makes me feel much more confident using it around my pets and children. Bonide Repels-All Concentrate has a scent that is more like cloves and spices, as opposed to the fish smell of other repellent sprays.
This product also keeps chipmunks out of my yard for about two months before I have to re-apply it. For all of these reasons, this product is the best chipmunk repellent spray that keeps rodents away from your yard and car!
- Keeps chipmunks out of your yard for about two months before you have to re-apply it.
- The biodegradable formula that doesn’t harm the environment.
- Made with 100% natural ingredients, so it’s safe for your family and pets!
- It’s simple to prepare – the product mixes with water and may be used with a trigger spray bottle or a pressure tank sprayer.
How Does It Work
Part of the problem with animal repellents is that you have to keep reapplying them to keep pests away. With Bonide Repels-All Concentrate, this won’t be a concern! This product will last 2 months with just one application, so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of when you applied the spray or how often it needs to be reapplied.
With most other backyard repellents, sometimes animals can get through the perimeter set up by the scent. However, because this product is made with clove oil and garlic oil, which are both materials that chipmunks dislike, they won’t be able to enter your yard when this repellent is used.
One of the things I love about Bonide Repels-All is that there are no harmful chemicals in this product, which means that it’s safe to use anywhere in your home – even if you have children or pets!
How to Use
- Be sure to mix the product with water before using it. For best results, you should use 1 part concentrate solution to 7 parts water (For example, if you’re using a 32 oz container, you should fill it with 4 fluid ounces of concentrate solution and then pour 28 oz of water into the container). You may also use a trigger spray bottle or pressure tank to apply the mixture.
- Shake your container well before each application because the ingredients may separate during storage. The solution should be evenly mixed, which will ensure that it’s always effective when you use it!
- Spray this product on areas around your yard (5 ft away from your foundation), trees, and plants where chipmunks like to burrow, run, or sit. Also, make sure to spray objects such as woodpiles or other debris near your home too because chipmunks like to chew on them! You should reapply every 7-10 day interval for best results!
- Pay attention to any holes in your yard that chipmunks might enter through and spray those areas with this repellent too.
- Keeps chipmunks out of your yard for about 2 months before you have to re-apply it.
- This product has a fresher smell than other sprays.
- It doesn’t have to dry before being applied so you can use it quickly without worry.
- Some reviews mention that it didn’t completely work to stop animals from entering their property even after repeated applications, but this may depend on the animal in question or how well you apply the solution onto your yard/building.
Our Verdict
If you’re looking for a green chipmunk repellent or if you want to use an animal repellent that is safe enough to be used near children and pets, then Bonide Repels-All Concentrate should be your top pick because it works well and also has no harmful chemicals in its mix either. If you don’t like having to buy a new animal spray every month or so, you’ll appreciate the long-lasting effects of this product.
2. Thanos Solar Repeller Stakes – Best Sonic Chipmunk Outdoor Repellent (People’s Choice)
[amazon_item asin=”B09F3HDJ9L”]
[/amazon_item]
Are you tired of chipmunks wreaking havoc in your yard? Have you tried other methods to get rid of them but nothing seems to work? If so, to protect your yard from chipmunks, you need a repellent that is effective and doesn’t require a lot of effort. The Thanos Solar Repeller Stakes is just that.
With this product, you can keep these pesky creatures away without having to do much work at all! It’s so easy to use- simply place the stakes in your yard or garden about 60 ft apart from one another and let the solar rechargeable battery do its job. You don’t want wildlife to wreak havoc on your garden, so switch to the Thanos Solar Repeller.
- Protect your lawn, garden, and vegetables from chipmunks.
- No need to change the battery.
- Keep your garden free of pesky animals 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
- Spend less time weeding and more time enjoying your garden.
How It Works
The repellent works when it emits high-frequency sounds that are unbearable or irritating for chipmunks. Since chipmunks are territorial creatures, these sounds will disturb them enough to leave the area and intimidate other critters from entering.
It sends out 2-4 seconds of ultrasonic tones every 30 seconds which repels these animals without causing harm to them or any pets nearby.
Recommendations for Best Results
- The repeller should be placed in an open area away from other objects.
- Place it outdoors, ideally near the areas you want to protect.
- The ultrasonic sound waves are best received if the device is within 30 feet of the animal.
- Repelling chipmunks can take time. You may see fewer of them as they gradually leave once the sounds upset their environment.
What We Think Is Good
- This solar-powered chipmunk repellent has four stakes which means you can cover more ground than most other models. Plus, these stakes are very lightweight and don’t take up a lot of storage space.
- This product can be difficult to set up as you have to place it exactly where you want the sound waves to go.
- Make sure that this device is always in direct sunlight for faster results.
- Doesn’t need a battery to work – this product is solar-powered.
- This repellent has 4 stakes which means you can cover more ground than most other models
- These stakes are very lightweight and don’t take up a lot of storage space
- Takes time to work – may see fewer chipmunks as they gradually leave the area once the sounds upset their environment
- Cannot be used in shade
Our Verdict
To keep your yard free of these fuzzy creatures, use the Thanos Solar Repeller Stakes. Unlike most other repellents, this one is solar powered so it requires no electricity or batteries. It covers a wide range and emits high-frequency sounds that will send those pesky animals packing.
3. Tomcat Animal Granular Repellent – Best Natural Chipmunk Repellent Granules for Garden
[amazon_item asin=”B0711MJ1C6″]
[/amazon_item]
Chipmunks are one of the most common pests that people have in their yards. They will eat your plants, dig up your yard, and leave droppings everywhere they go. The worst part is there are very few natural ways to get rid of them! That’s why Tomcat has created a product with 100% natural ingredients that will help you keep these pesky animals away from your garden for good.
Unlike other repellents on the market, this one does not use foul odors or chemicals to try and scare chipmunks away but instead uses garlic which is known to repel rodents like chipmunks! No need for traps anymore when you can just sprinkle some granules around your yard and wait for it to work its magic!
- Stop squirrels and chipmunks from digging in your garden.
- Safe for children and pets.
- Easy to use: just flip the cap and broadcast where you need it.
- Keep your plants safe and enjoy looking at your smile in the mirror again.
How to Use
Tomcat is also quick and easy to use as it comes with hinged caps for super easy applications. Simply flip the lid and broadcast or spread the granules in desired areas.
You should reapply this every 2-3 weeks, or even more often if the weather is really bad. Or if there are lots of chipmunks. More frequent applications may be required during periods of heavy rain or intense animal pressure.
- The natural ingredients are safe for humans and pets.
- There are no foul odors, so your garden smells better.
- It is a long-lasting product that will keep chipmunks away from your garden for weeks.
- If you have an extremely bad infestation of chipmunks, this may not be enough to fix your problem.
- You will probably need more than just one or two bottles.
- They are also only able to repel chipmunks that are already in your yard.
What are the Best Chipmunk Repellent in [current_date format=”Y”]? – Your Expert Buyer’s Guide
People, who have ever experienced an invasion of chipmunks, know that these small and cute rodents can do lots of damage to their property.
Without a doubt, these creatures are cute when you see them in the woods but not when they are in your yard. There is a huge number of reasons why most homeowners want to make away with these animals. Chipmunks can eat pet food, flower bulbs and cause serious damage in the yard.
Fortunately, there are natural and safe repellents with which you can easily exclude them from your yard. In this article, we will provide you with beneficial information on how to keep chipmunks away using efficient chipmunk deterrents and repellents. Learn about effective products that are 100% natural and safe.
Shop carefully and buy products that are worth trying.
4 Tips for Preventing Chipmunks & Other Rodents
Here are a few tips and tricks to help keep chipmunks and other rodents at bay:
- Keep grass and bushes trimmed near entrances. Make sure nothing is blocking the holes or burrows where they might be entering your yard or garden, as this would give them easy access to your plants.
- Secure garbage bins by placing tight-fitting lids on them (and make sure you only put out garbage on garbage day!).
- Seal off any cracks or openings that might let mice into your house or garage; chipmunks will also use these routes if they can’t get into your home through regular doors and windows.
- Finally, make sure there aren’t any pet bowls outdoors – food left out will only attract rodents.
As you can see, chipmunks and other rodents can cause a lot of trouble for your property and your plants. But if you follow the above tips and use one of these effective repellents (like those mentioned above), you should be able to keep those pesky critters away!
Chipmunk Deterrent Effectiveness
There are many techniques to keep these little creatures out of your area. You can learn more about chipmunk control here.
When it comes to chipmunk deterrents, not all of them are safe and effective.
However, considering that most mothballs can poison the environment, using mothballs is not the best solution.
So, how to deter chipmunks with natural products? Below there is a list of the most effective deterrents that are working.
Best 3 Chipmunk Unattractive Plants
Chipmunks are a common problem for homeowners. They can cause damage to your property and garden, as well as carry diseases that can harm you or your pets.
The best way to keep these furry pests away from your yard is by planting unattractive plants around the perimeter of your home. These plants will make it too difficult for them to find food or shelter, so they’ll move on and leave you alone!
Here are 3 great choices for plants that will help deter chipmunks from entering your yard and wreaking havoc on all the hard work you’ve put into it.
1. Daffodil (Narcissus)
Planting narcissus flowers is a great strategy. Due to the toxic alkaloids and calcium-oxalate crystals of all the narcissus plants, most chipmunks can be easily repelled by them.
Don’t know what flowers to use for spring planting? Use daffodils (narcissus). In such a way, you will get your wants and needs met. Not only you will have a beautiful yard, but you will also avoid any problems that may be created by chipmunks.
2. French Marigold (Tagetes patula)
French marigold is another great choice for repelling chipmunks, but it’s also a beautiful flower that you can enjoy in your landscaping. You might have heard of this flower being used in gardens to deter deer or rabbits, and it does wonder for keeping away pesky chipmunks!
3. Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)
Grape Hyacinth is one of the best plants you can use for keeping away pesky chipmunks. You get all three benefits when you plant it around your garden or home:
- It’s a beautiful, fragrant flower that you will enjoy.
- It acts as a natural repellent for chipmunks.
- Grape Hyacinth plants are available at many garden centers, easily accessible on the internet, or even in some grocery stores.
So when you are planning to make changes in your garden, choose any of these three plants to keep your family safe and your chipmunks away!
Solar Rotating Owls
Strike fear into chipmunks. These days many homeowners use solar rotating garden owls. This garden owl can turn its head or light up the eyes.
You can buy different types of owls. Some of them use batteries and some electricity or wind power for mowing the wings. Use an owl decoy and scare chipmunks away.
[best_choice badge=”Best Choice” asin=”B005J24R26″ name=”Solar Powered Owl” subname=”Natural Enemy Scarecrow with 360° Rotating Head” text=”From the creators of scarecrows, this solar powered owl has a 360° range of motion that keeps unwanted wildlife on alert. Watch out for his big eyes!”]
[/best_choice]
If you prefer trapping, read everything you need to know about the best chipmunk traps here.
Questions & Answers
The chances of this working are slim. Mothballs will not keep chipmunks away for more than a few hours and in most cases, they do nothing at all to bring relief.
But mothballs may scare away bears and other animals like skunks, coyotes, opossums, or raccoons with their strong odor. This isn't always a good idea because these animals might be beneficial to your yard; they can be useful predator species that help control pests such as squirrels and chipmunks and mice (rodents). It's best to stop using mothballs completely if you would like to encourage these predators into your yard.
Garlic has natural properties thought of as repellant against both small pests like ants and fleas, but also larger ones like chipmunks. So, you can make your repellant to keep these pesky critters away from wherever you choose to apply them.
No, you should not pour bleach in a chipmunk's hole. It can cause them to suffer from chlorine poisoning, and they may die. In the case that there are babies in the hole, it will also kill them.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways that homeowners can choose to repel chipmunks from their yards and gardens. If you’re looking for something natural, Bonide Repels-All Concentrate may be the best option as they use garlic instead of foul odors or chemicals. They also last up to 3 weeks which means you don’t have to reapply every few days like some other products on the market.
Another product we recommend is Thanos Solar Repeller Stakes because they work without batteries and cover a wide area with high-frequency sounds. It will take time before customers see results but it’s worth waiting if this device doesn’t need electricity or batteries!
they are now getting in my home ( our home is 167 years old) we caught one in the bird cage with our cockatiel eating his seeds!!!
Remove small bird. Replace with parrot.
Ok…. that was funny!
After trying a critter repellent and stakes that emit vibrations into the ground I resorted to baiting rat traps with peanut butter. It’s unfortunate, but they were creating a ton of damage to our yard and getting into the walls in our garage. Sometimes we need to be ruthless.
Ruthless? If I could flip a switch and kill every chipmunk on the planet, I would. I’ve killed 23 of them in rat traps using sunflower seeds as bait. I thought I put a dent in the population but I’m still getting damage to flowers and rose bushes due to the chipmunks eating away at the roots.
We are rooting for the chimpunks
I pray bird poop on your windshield. In a good way.
I’m shooting them in the head it’s fun and keeps my aim on and helps keep my sites on my gun really damn close…lol no joke..
Mine aren’t even going for the sunflower seeds. I was using rigged buckets with water and a plank…They are not only tearing up my yard and flower gardens,but under air conditioner support and along foundation… but even worse, they are in my vegetable garden eating all the tomatoes before they rippen. I tried picking them when orange, now theyre ahead of that and taking them yellowish…I don’t care if they are killed…I got only one on the sticky paper…now they are kicking up dirt on the other sticky paper I placed. I am ready to pull all my tomato plants…
I have a big problem with them digging between my new siding and my back concrete stairs. I’ve tried the foam,,they dug through it,,a rat trap in a small box with a hole cut in it. A buddy told me to plug the holes with steel wool as they hate it on their teeth. It has worked but started to dig around it. Going back to the rat trap and the box.
Get a BB GUN, kill them all
That’s what I’m doing my boys old pump pellet gun and it’s fun lmao
Here’s my solution….purchase a ” Rat Zapper” available online
and some retail stores. Turn it on…throw in a few kernels of Sunflower Seeds….when the red light blinks…the funeral is over. 23 chipmunks eliminated in 2 days.
moth balls don’t deterr chipmunks
moths cause kidney cancer…be careful
Used Bobbex-R as label suggested, diluted. Within 10 minutes chipmunks were under bird feeder. So angry with the little monsters I poured the solution FULL STRENGTH in the same area. Again, within just a few minutes the critters were back. PRODUCT DOES NOT WORK. I wasted $26 and will never try this method again.
I always heard that red pepper flakes work great. They do for squirrels, but not for chipmunks!
Anyone tried Shakeaway?
It didn’t work Chipmonks ignored it as if it wasn’t there
I have a chipmunk in my camper.How do I get rid of him?
Anyone ever use Repels All?
Sell the camper
I needed that laugh, those pesky little fellows ruined my day.
Repels all DOES NOT work. Theses little rascals ate every flower and plant I put it on. I am going to try the garlic and hot pepper method.
Repels all does not work i paid $/15. And they are thick as ever eating all of my flowers!
I have and it does work for sometimes…I spray on my decorative pumpkins in fall and it stops them from clawing out the seeds.. I also use in spring when I plant flowers to stop them from eating the leaves and flowers, specifically, annual salvia and dwarf marigolds.
I used Repels All
I had something gnawing, or scratching, under the corner of my add on build bedroom. I sprayed it heavily. It worked great. But a week later the effects wore off. Once they leavery the area, secure it, or close it up, that they can’t return. I used rabbit cage wire. Never another visit, about a year now.
Shakeaway not working for me. $20!!
these rodents are anything but cute. They did 5k worth of damage to our front porch.
I HATE THOSE NOISEY.MOTHAS!!!!
They do not like dryer sheets!!, grab some put a rock or pebbles on them to keep them in place…..Magic! It really does work! You can also put them In cabinets or drawers esp in campers and your cRs
Used or unused dryer sheets?
NEW and change every 10 days. It works
Could they be un scented sheets?
Thank you going 2Try Dryer sheets, Let You know,?? I have holes in my back yard driving me crazy
Huge chipmunk problem this still works what u did ?
Festooned my garden with new dryer sheets, cheapest ones I could find, and so far the chipmunks are staying away. They are still in the yard, but are staying away from the dryer sheeted area. Also rigged up a chipper dipper. It worked very soon after I set it up. Yes, I feel bad. But I also felt bad when I went to pick my first beautiful, red, ripe summer tomato only to find it half-eaten still on the vine, with several other chewed up tomatoes that had been knocked to the ground. Not to mention the lettuce that completely disappeared. I live in Wisconsin with harsh winters, and there is only a brief period of time when we get to enjoy fresh-grown tomatoes. The chipmunks have no right to come in and destroy my efforts. Goodbye, little invaders!
What kind of dryer sheets, are they scented or unscented?
I think you would need the strongest smelling kind, so I would use the scented ones.
Just tried the dryer sheets around house. I keep getting little piles of insulation in corner of kitchen floor under cabinet. My rug in kitchen has burrowed acorns in it which I’ve been stepping on a lot lately.
Yes, cute, but I’m doing the sunflower bucket thing today.
Hope dryer sheets do it! thanks
They are destroying my vehicles! Not stored vehicles either, the ones I drive! Something has to work, right?
The have eaten through the hoses in my car that connect the windshield wipers with the cleaner. Also ate through a plastic part of the engine under the hood. I think I’m going with traps.
What about deer or bear repellent? It’s pretty foul smelling.
I use repells all and it keeps them away
try plantskydd
I went through 2 3 pound bags of it, no luck! They are in my vegetable garden slowly mowing down everything I’ve worked so hard to grow. This morning all the Swiss chard was gone and four cantaloupe plants! Yesterday it was the snap peas and egg plant. I am fed up with these little bums! Ready to try trapping, alive or dead I want them gone!
Narcissus doesn’t work, the chipmunks sit on my rail fence and bite the buds off then sit there and eat them. Ditto for tulips and lilies. They also move the bulbs around underground (I guess they’re landscaping, lol) they never come up where I plant them.
It’s unfortunate, but the only way to rid yourself of these little critters, is to kill them unfortunately. My neighbor had a severe problem with these cute little tyrants so he half filled a 5 gallon container with water. He then place a short planking up against the bucket, and sprinkled sunflower seeds on the plank. Some of the seed were glued to the board and many were loose. The Chipmunk will then run up the plank eating the seeds and drop into the 5 gallon container. After drowning 10 Chipmunks, he no longer has the problem. It may be cruel to some, but they did quite a bit of damage in his property before he reached the point of enough is enough.
THIS WORKS!! We call it a “Chipper Dipper”. About 5 years ago we eliminated about 30 chipmunks one season. This year they are back….Time to pull it out again.
We were able to catch one chipmunk with the bucket but now squirrels are eating the black oil seeds and setting off the “trap.” We are at a loss!
I used a sheet of window screen with a small hole cut into it. I draped it across the top of the bucket and secured it in place with a bungee cord around the bucket. The screen is now held tightly in place and the squirrels can stand on it but are too big to enter and eat the seeds. I pour sunflower seeds on the water and bait a few outside the bucket and on the wooden ramp. Good Luck
I can’t kill enough of them. Got a dozen of them in the last 24 hours with the ‘Chipper Dipper’ and it’s still not making a dent. It may be time for a Bad Ass Barn Cat.
My cat is an excellent deterrent of the little creatures!
Hi Nancy, what is a chipper dipper? These chipmunks are driving me crazy?
what is chipper dipper?
LOL love the term “Chipper Dipper!” I also like to call it “Hotel California.” You can check out any time you like, little invaders, but you can never leave!
Can you post a photo please, I really need to kill these little rat bastards!
I tried the stick and water pail AKA chipper dipper but the stick just fell right over.
Any tips on how to make this work?
Sad but true. I sprayed the inner walls of the container with pam! Slipping into the water.
Tried this suggestion and it worked. Thank you. I didn’t have peanut butter, so stuck the sunflowers seeds to some maple syrup on the plank, and voila! The Chipper Dipper works.
Coyote urine work good at entry point
available from Farm Store
How do u think they got the urine? Cruel
The best way I have found to kill these things is the “Better Rodent Trap” by Intruder. I have been battling these chippies for 5 years now. Tried the live traps, repellents, etc. I’m done being “humane”. Get the Intruder rat trap and two Intruder mouse traps. Be SURE to tie them to something secure; otherwise, if the trap catches them but does not kill them, you will never see your trap again. I’ve learned that you must put two Intruder mouse traps on either side of the chipmunk trap if you want to keep mice from cleaning out the chippie trap. Mice are not heavy enough to set off the big trap. My problem is on and around my deck; once I have killed enough mice then the chipmunks go right to to the big trap and hopefully die. Sometimes they just get caught by a leg or a tail and they protest loudly but I just wait for them to expire. My husband thinks I am cruel but I spend too much money and effort on my flowers and plants to let these little SOB’s ruin everything! I hope this is helpful to all you bothered by these little destructive pests.
I know I am in for the battle of my life because i love birds and have feeders, but they are ruining my work in progress flower gardens to boot. I am going to get those traps and also set up the 5 gal. traps as well. I live in the country in SW PA so this will be a yearly fight.
Jerk I have them too but you don’t kill thrm
I read somewhere that soap pieces would keep chipmunks away from flower gardens. Is this true?
Well what’s the response to the soap pieces please?
Irish spring in the planter and still someone digging. Got get the bucket out again. Works great. Although the squirrel sits on the edge eating the seeds and watching the chipmunks drowned.
Soap pieces (Irish Spring) do not deter chipmunks but do seem to keep the deer away!
22 rifle works if your a good shot and the neighbors don’t complain.
That seems to be the easiest way!
I’m trying them all
I used fox urine crystals. They work good, until you run out.
….until you run out. Does that mean they disappear after awhile? Does rain dilute/melt them? Where did you get them? Expensive?
I just bought a house w a pool and kept finding dead chipmunks in it. Until we got a bag of fox pee crystals. One bag lasts about two weeks (rain and I guess effectiveness goes away). Totally been working.
Irish spring, is the soap, tried it before, it helped will try again, do not like the ” chipper dipper
Well, I’m off to try the Irish Spring & the dryer sheets. My hubby wants to kill them because he loves to feed the birds & knows that has to stop to reduce the chippie population on our property. I can’t stand the thought of killing them. (So far, lol.) But this morning, one just totally destroyed a big planter I worked my tail off on yesterday. I see they’ve dug into my other planters too & around my tomato plants. One bit the tops off every bloom in the planter then just left them lying there! Didn’t even have the decency to eat them! This means war!
Did the dryer sheets work?
Returned yesterday from a two week vacation to find a third one in the house. Destroyed the window sill in the dinning room trying to “get out!” Just caught him in my rodent trap that I put below that window. Still can’t bring myself to killing them. Will release him in the county park five miles away. Rodent trap worked for me, but might not for those who have lots.
I too have battled the rats with racing stripes for over five years. They would go under my siding and do who knows what kind. Of damage. Tried all three sizes of haveHart traps. Never caught a one! Spring the trap every time. And by the way in New York State it is illegal to relocate them but ok to kill them. Resorted to the drowning in a bucket and got a few but not nearly enough. This year we got a new male dog in March. I had seen the pesky critters and then two weeks after he joined our family I have not seen a single one. Has anyone else found dog urine a deterrent?
Ugh, I’ve just realized today that the culprit of mass destruction in my yard are chipmunks. They are everywhere. Thru research, I think the only effective way to start getting rid of them is the 5 gallon bucket idea. But the thought of finding them dead grosses me out so much. Help!!!
Got to get tough.They do so much damage!
Tried the hot pepper, garlic powder, mixture of all stinky herbs, habitat trap (could not help releasing the poor frightened critter), gassing the burrows with the end of a hose attached to the running car, smoke bombing a major hole, etc. Nothing prevents them from digging up the garden and flower pots! On a return vacation trip, found a dead one in the basement toilet. Everyday its more destruction. The only thing that helps is the 5 gal bucket, sad to say.
Ya, I think that’s what I’m going to have to do. They are all over the place. Very destructive. Thank you for your input.
Irish Spring works if you want to feed them. They ate all if the cubes and everything they touched.
Got to use the bucket and sunflower seeds. Got do it before they get in the strawberry bed.
Has anyone tried mulching over the dirt? I have been weeding for my mom and we put mothballs out. They helped for a few days, but now after heavy rain, they are ineffective, even getting moved outside of the flower bed. There are also squirrels digging into her flower planters on her back rail. I read that the critters detect freshly dug dirt, so after weeding the other day, there were holes and more bulb gone. we picked up some cayenne pepper and are going to try putting it directly on the dirt.
H2O bucket is not an option.
If the garden is mulched over as early as possible in the garden season, will this work? possibly?? Mom needs help!
Mulching doesn’t help. They make nice little holes right thru it!
Actually mulch doesn’t stop them at all. We put down mulch ehen we moved in a year ago, and noticed holes immediately the next day. I had no idea we had chipmunks. I absolutely do not like rodents of any kind and I cant enjoy my new home because they act like im the visitor. I love my patio but cant sit and be comfortable because they come out while your sitting there. There aren’t many of them but enough to make me very uncomfortable.
What is “chipper Dipper?” I HAD 250 lilies in my garden all
in buds & some blooming. We went away for a family funeral for 5 days now have 62 left!! A couple years ago I had a dinner party planned, my refrigerator was too full so I put a lemon pie in a tupperware pie container on top of a chess freezer in the garage. When I went to get the pie there was a “cute” little chipmunk IN it!! Our guests thought it was histericle. No dessert. It’s been war ever since.
We have Mulch, which we replace every year and the little devils just bury holes right thru it. Irish spring does not work. I recently put down dried garlic and that seems to be working…so far
I have had success mulching container plants with unmilled spagnum moss. They don’t seem to like digging through it.
I’ve got grandparents. And of course grandchildren little chippies. They have no respect. I’ve flooded them out. They built whatever back must have at least thirty tunnels in my yard. I can’t bring myself to kill an animal thou. Iam in chippies hell even know there names. help?
I bought poison “earthworms” for moles but pushed them in chipmunk holes. Any thought that might work? I thought my problem was moles and voles (they have been for years) but I think chipmunks have gentrified my garden and moved the moles and voles out. If the “earthworms” don’t work, it may be time for the bucket.
I fixed the bucket with water and boards. They ate the sunflower seeds, but didn’t fall in the water. I wondered just how to get the “smart” little critters to fall into the bucket until I read some more sites today. Need a board on a stick over the bucket to tip when they walk out on it. Enjoyed reading the comments.
Eva D., I read somewhere that it helps to place a piece of paper over the top of the bucket and put some seeds on top of it so that when the munkies step on it, they fall into the bucket (but then, you have to replace the paper). I can’t bring myself to do it though and I keep hoping for a better suggestion.
Try floating a layer of sunflower seeds on top of the water – enough to where it looks dry. It’ll look dry to chippy too, and he’ll jump right in. After his fight is over, the surface smooths over, and it’s ready for the next one. Seeds last a couple of days before getting waterlogged. Got three chipmunks and one mouse the first night I put that bucket out, two more chipmunks the next night, etc.
I’m done with these chipmunks!! I’ve tried everything humane and now it’s time for them to die!! They ruined my entire garden, pulled out and ate my bulbs. Going to the farm store right now to buy some poison!!
Mole pellets didn’t work and I made a bucket trap and in half hour I killed my first chipmunk . They are not cute – they are destructive rodents that also raid the bird feeders
that’s what I’m thinking – rat poison!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we shot them with a beebee gun one summer – killed a lot – we still have a tonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn it’s because of the damn birdfeeder and I love feeding birds
we put black mesh netting over our pots to keep them out – that works but you can’t put that EVERYWHERE!
unfortunately when the rat poison kills them and then an owl or hawk eat them they will also be poisoned and die please don’t use poison
Thank you, PF! Please don’t use poison. Many other innocent animals including household pets might eat the dead rodents. Kill or deter are the only options.
No rat poison. Don’t give my wife any ideas!
You people are horrible. Get a feral cat. We had thousands it seems a one feral cat got rid of them. Put the fear into them for sure
Deleted, how do you “get” a feral cat?
I would love a cat…feral or otherwise. However, we live right on Coyote paths, where they cut through our property to the woods. And Fox in the area as well. When a house cat gets out accidentally we are all out searching and setting humane traps to trap them. I actually saved a chippie, fed them by hand in my new birding section. Now? I just bought 300.00 of Iris bulbs because mine were all eaten! They destroyed hundreds of dollars worth of our gardens. It is now war. I CANNOT watch any animal die. Will NEVER use poison (not only my birds, but there are many beneficial insects, some endangered now due to poison). I will try the dryer sheets and urine. My husband will do with the bucket solution only if all else fails. PS: My previous Boston Terrier was raised with three cats. When I met my husband he couldn’t believe she was a “mouser” and no more rodents in the basement! I’ve been whispering in my 10 yr old male rescue. He says Nope-and can I order 2 barkboxes from now on? lol
That’s funny. You love birds so you kill chipmunks which are much cuter than birds.
Will squirrels fall into the bucket treatment??????
No, they are bigger where they can reach out. They sit on the edge and grab down for seeds.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I accidentally did not type in my name so my comment came up as anonymous. It’s been a few days with chipmunk problem. There’s been about 14 caught. My neighbor placed a trap and is helping me. I have the 5 gallon bucket that is successful as well. Very gross, but there is no alternative since they have become so destructive.
I have had tons of chipmnks, rabbits, and squirrels for years. This is the first year the chipmunks have gone crazy in my flower pots. I’ve tried moth balls, red pepper flakes, jalapeño peppers and old cds hanging by string in the pots. None of those worked. Someone told me to try hair from your hair brush. This actually worked pretty good, but I only had enough for a section of one pot and I have about 35!. I’m going to try the dryer sheets and soap. I can’t kill them even if they are killing my flowers and tomato plants. It’s just weird they started killing my flowers this year. Probably because we don’t have any stray cats wondering around my house anymore.
Chipmunk and squirrel problem here– The garlic, the cayenne, red pepper flakes, dryer sheets, coffee grounds, mothball…Do these also deter bees?? I LOVE the bees and want them in my garden!!
Might Just Get A Cat
Please don’t use poison, unfortunately when the rat poison kills them and then an owl or hawk eat them they will also be poisoned and die please don’t use poison!!
Our whole neighborhood is infested with chipmunks. One day my husband took a stand by our garage door with his .177 pellet rifle and killed 22 of them on our wood pile alone. The next day they were all gone. Picked up by the coyotes and foxes. Now his air rifle is sent out to be fixed and the varmits are procreating like mad at three litters a year with no one to keep them in check. Grrrrr. There are hundreds out there chirping, whistling and making all kinds of noise beside destroying our yard and our stamped concrete walk. You can poison them, trap them, soap them, mothball them, but putting a bead on them with a scope & a spot on air rifle, killing ’em dead in a second, gives the most satisfying feeling of all. Can’t wait till that air rifle comes back.
Just tried old dryer sheets, took a handful stuffed them down the hole, used a stick to make sure they were down there. Minutes later the Chipmunk returned and would not go down the hole.
If the chippy doesn’t go down the hole won’t he just burrow another hole?
Yep…exactly what happened here!
May have squirrel or chipmunk in attic. How do you get rid of them
Irish Spring worked great until they had to change their formula a few years back. that is why it is not as effective
Squirrels don’t like sound. Plug your radio into an extension cord and find a talk radio show. Put it up in your attic and leave on for about 2 days. Check to see that they are gone and then close off any openings) air vents etc. with thick wire meshing. Good luck.
Wife has several bird feeders and extensive flower garden. Chips and squirrels eating everything, including squirrels raiding bird nests. Cayenne pepper worked last year, not this year Bucket worked extremely well but is not humane and daughter convinced me to try something else. Pellet gun was very effective until neighbor ratted me out to DNR. I need something to move ALL the pests to her feeder and garden Repellants do not work and always need to re-applied.
After researching for a way to combat the chipmunks terorizing my flower beds, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at these responses. I mulched under the deck and the next day there they were. My aunt told me to put vicks on q-tips and stick them in the openings. Then they moved to my raised flower bed i just did. More vicks tonight. We will see tomorrow and they won’t be stuffy lol. My next option about them not liking sound is to have my husband whi can sing very well and loud, stand out by the garden and sing for a while. He won’t help me clean the house, so at least my aunt and neighbors will enjoy it. The other is keeping the turkey vulture around more who likes to walk around the driveway. Stolls into garage and hangs out. The squirrel saw him and was sprawled out in the driveway frozen and chipmunk on a rock sat there like a decoration. That was pretty funny::-)
I’m finding some of these remarks amusing, also. Yours is pretty funny, too. 🙂
I dropped a smoke bomb down one of the holes in my yard because of my chipmunk problem. The next day the casing was pushed back above ground, and a new hole was dug. After trying several things, I just got an electric rat trap and put peanuts on it. It’s a no see trap, and it indicates red when set, and green when a kill has occurred. Just dump it and reset it.
Omg I haven’t laughed so hard in a while! I too have this dreadful little cute critters terrorizing my flower bed! Grrrr!!! I’m tired of sweeping and covering holes! With mulch, my walkway looks like a tornadoe hit it three to four times a day! I’m at my wits end. Help!
I’ve just started getting chipmunks burrowing under my siding so I brushed my shedding cats and put the fur by the hole. So far, so good! Going to try the dryer sheets for back-up. Once I think they’ve vacated, I’ll fill the holes with steel wool. My handyman taught me that trick to keep mice out in the fall. Works great!
Going to try your suggestions. Thanks!
I, unfortunately, will have to go to the chipper dipper. I don’t like the idea, but….. my husband is going to try the .22 on them.
Has anyone tried using the bucket method, but instead of filling it with water just put some of the black sunflower seeds on the bottom once it falls in it will be stuck in there, then you can humanely release it in the wild. But it will need to be at least a couple of miles away. To lure them in the bucket use the sunflower seeds along a plank then drape some sheets of toilet paper across the top so that when it jumps on the toilet paper to get the sunflower seeds that you place on there the chipmunk will fall into the bucket. I heard this will work. I’m going to try it has anyone given this a try?
If the bucket is dry, the critter will simply jump back out. You want the bucket half full – the water level is too low for it to reach the rim and pull itself out, and too high for it to do anything but swim until it tires & drowns.
Unfortunately I will be trying the chipper dipper and my husband will trying his .22. Those little suckers need to pay.
I live on the 4th floor and have a critter which I think is a chipmunk that does his business in the corner of my patio. I scrubbed patio with bleach, tea tree oil and ammonia and left small containers of each out to no avail. On to the dryer sheets Irish Spring and cayenne pepper.
If you have a relative that is a good shot, and patient, and has money, Buy a Crosman MARAUDER pellet rifle in .177 or .25 caliber, you will need a scuba tank, and an adaptor to connect the rifle to the tank. This is a long term investment, great for country living. This Marauder air rifle has baffles, is legal and VERY quiet. Check Pyramyd Air company or other online info. I have had both calibers and the .25 is even good for larger pests if hit in the rib cage. I live in the country and have had mine for ten years. 15 yds is max for me, age 73, with 4-12 scope. Hope this helps somebody, not for everyone. The crows, one raven two vultures eat my “road kill”.
What’s the bet way to get them out of the foundation area and crawl space? Been pretty successful will my BB gun but only making a dent in the population.
Would really like to see how to set up the “bucket”.
I use a deep empty bucket wiped inside with veg oil, a thin metal rod or wooden dowel, empty soda can and a cardboard or wood plank. Drill 2 holes at very top of bucket (across from each other) and one in the bottom of the soda can. Run rod or dowel through 1st hole of the bucket, then through the soda can, and then through the 2nd hole of the bucket (leaving at least 2-3″ of rod sticking out each side or it will fall into bucket). I use peanut butter on the can and on the plank with seeds. The chipmunks jump onto the can, it spins and they fall into a waterless bucket. I remove the rod and can, cover the bucket with a towel and bungee cord, then take them for a ride to release in a wooded area. It’s humane and inexpensive. If the bucket is deep enough and the sides are well oiled, they can’t get out. I too was sick of them picking me clean of my tomatoes, flowers and tubers, but I don’t have the heart to kill them.
I used to think that chippers were so cute- but now our yard and shed are over run with the critters. I’m going to try to trap and release and see how I make out before anything else drastic. Thanks for all the comments, and cures!
Lived here 7 years, saw my first “1” LAST WEEK. Destruction so far is pissing me off. I cant do the bucket, but I’m going to try the hair.Going to the beauty shop to collect. Used it in the past for other critters and got lax. Also, i’m trying dryer sheets tomorrow. Will b darned if it gets my tomatos or Peppers. Ha! if it tries the ghost peppers!
Why don’t you just feed them? We’ve been here for 11 years with no issues to our house or 4 cars, sometimes they eat some tomatoes but nothing major. We feed them & the bluejays peanuts. No destruction to our large veggie garden (asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce family, squash family, peas etc). At 1 point we had a family of 7….
I think they’re living in my bedroom wall. I’ve seen them running across my yard near my bedroom area. I’m not okay with this and don’t know how to get them out for good. I was going to do eat poison because I don’t know how else to get rid of them. I’m reading some things on here but none that seem like they’ll help my problem. They don’t care if I bang on the walls. I’m losing it!!! I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep because of them.
Has anyone tried the U Scram product they mention in this article?
Going to try the dryer sheets now.
I want to cry…they are shearing off plant stems in my flower gardens. I’ve had gardens for 8 years and it has never been this bad.
They are hiding/living under my deck (next to the flower gardens!)..but it’s a ground level deck so I can’t get under it.
We have the little critters digging in our new landscaping. Everytime we cover a whole, they just dig another one. They seem to be burrowing under the sidewalk next to our garage.
Hate to use poison as we have a small dog but this is getting out of hand. He has now dug up an area next to one of our in ground sprinkler heads that was just replaced.
Husband tried to live trap them–no success.
Going to take some dryer sheets out there and see what happens.
Dryer sheets I put out did nothing. 🙁
Losing plants stems/stalks everyday.
Waiting for the U Scram product to arrive…hope it helps.
Just started seeing them after the cicadas arrived. I have health problems and cannot get out and do some of these that have been suggested–I need an easy kill. They are hanging around my foundation and moving fast. Does wood mulch attract them? Has anyone heard of Milky Spore???
The ‘chipper dipper’ idea sounds like the more effective way, but why fill the bucket. Catch and relocate!
The ones we have can jump four feet from fence to feeder and climb up and down the shepherd poles with ease, run across roofs and fences in a flash…… Critter rider, mothballs, cayenne pepper did nothing. Without the water they would jump up and out.
No good – they just jump back out. Sorry.
You can’t fill the 5 gal bucket! It has to be low enough they can’t reach up and grab the rim to pull themselves out! Sorry folks this is the one true method that works! One season I caught over 70 in a Have a Heart trap, spent too much time driving them to a different wooded area, let alone the $ on gas driving there and back! They have destroyed all my flowers and every year when I get my car inspected I have to get 2 different new filters plus it takes all day to get the nests and damage they did out of my car! So, yes it’s mean but they don’t live long at my house! Cute yes, but I feed the birds year round. I’m not feeding an animal that is destroying anything it wants to!
I camp in the woods and have for years but this year they are inside my camper cannot poison have small children help! I put all food away once I knew they were coming in! Desperate to get rid of them, tried Irish spring and dryer sheets electric sound maker…help!!
My sister said if you catch them they need to be released at least 20 miles away or they find their way back! Trying moth balls and rat traps…I hate doing this but we are overrun
I have had it! I want them dead….all of them!! The chipmunks have had an incredible population explosion this season….they always bothered me (after I got over how cute they were when we first moved out to the “woods” and saw they damage cause). This year it is over the top. But I MAY have an organic remedy. My uncle used the old water in a bucket and walk the plank trick and got 11, but then no more. They are tearing up my yard, under my air conditioner support, shed and house foundation, in my front flower garden (huge garden), and scratching up my gorgeous mahoganey deck. But the most irritating of all is my vegetable garden. I have a chicken fence all around, but they dig from under the garden…there is a family in there. They do not go to the buckets I placed so carefully, and I got one using the sticky paper, but they are keen to that now and cover it up with dirt. They were eating my tomatoes just as they are turning red, so I started picking them orange, now they are eating them just before they are orange and are poking holes in the ones they don’t eat.
REMEDY: This may not KILL them (as I would wish at this point), but it can help the problem….I’m trying it tomorrow. One garlic clove, one hot pepper, one pint of water, one drop of dishwashing liquid, and one drop of vegetable oil. Mix and shake well…strain garlic and pepper and place in spray container (that chemicals have NEVER been in), and spray leaves and veggies. An organic remedy, but something that you will need to keep doing…NEVER USE MOTH BALLS…THEY CAUSE KIDNEY CANCER TO US AND PETS. I am going to use more than one clove and pepper..
Hi Elisa. Did the garlic spray work? For the first time in the 12 years that I have lived in this house, chipmunks are actually eating my beautiful potted geraniums. As in gnawing the stems completely off and eating them. I’ve witnessed it and am at a loss. I read that they might be eating plants to quell thirst, but I have always kept a low birdbath out that I have seen squirrels and chipmunks use, so that isn’t it!
Pepper flakes and ground pepper don’t work. I can’t imagine why after all this time, they are actually eating my mature plants.
Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I got them in basement, gonna try bucket and gun. Getting a urine smell after rain too.
Wow…fellow warriors in the chipmunk battle. Here are my failed remedies.
I’ve been battling chipmunks digging holes outside my back door for years. I’ve tried ceyenne pepper, pepper spray, pouring cement, mustard powder, covering the area with a tarp, catching and releasing with Hav-A-Hart trap( caught 4 in 2 days,) covering the hole 5 times a day, filling hole with water, on and on and on.
I’m not comfortable drowning or rat trapping so it looks like they win…I just can’t justify killing 10 or 20 of them to prevent holes in walkway and herb garden digging.
You have to admire these little guys.They never quit !!
Ok it’s war… I’m so tired of these little critters. They have gotten into the insulation in my basement. I think they mate have the babies in the nice warm scratchy insulation. It’s to the point that the insulation is starting to fall down into the crawl space. Chipper Dipper set up and I even provided them with a glass of wine before they’re demise . Those B’s are about to die. Oh and all my efforts planting the daffodils thinking these would keep them away. No go, they ate all 100.
I have to give the UScram products a Negative report – I set out a series of the the cork stands around a porch on the back of the house – and resprayed them regularly for several weeks – did this twice about a month apart – the little monsters are undeterred – still living under the porch and digging their holes.
I use blood meal or dried blood around the area of new plantings. My neighbors cats have been very helpful. Chipper dipper and rat traps worked in the garage. I haven’t seen a chipmunk in weeks.
Having a cat does not help. Somehow one got into my house! So So creepy. I have two cats. They don’t react AT ALL. I’ve got to get my courage up and set a trap someone loaned me. Reading your stories above absolutely terrifies me that I’ll have a chipmunk problem in my new house and yard. Someone said the bigger problem for me is figuring out how it got into the house in the first place. I just don’t know.
Trap, neuter, release to stop population from growing!
An old Yankee remedy, cotton balls soaked with mineral oil, seems to work well. Stuff soaked cotton balls into chipmunk holes and cover the hole with dirt. Continue as new holes appear. They will eventually disappear.
Thank you so much for all the useful information and wisdom from experience!
How do you empty out the 5 gallon bucket? Onto/into what?
I have been told by someone who gardens to buy Bubblelicous grape and only grape bubble gum. Put the gum into the holes. The smell draws them and their systems can not handle the gum. I think they are cute and like to watch them above ground, but I have way too many underground that you sink when you walk. Besides, they are eating my Hibiscus roots. I haven’t tried this, but leaving now!
Prozap (zinc oxide) problem solved in 24 hours
Zinc phosphate my bad
Where can zinc phosphate be purchased?
The little BASTARDS where under my garage,then they actually dug a hole right up through the asphalt. Not dirt but hardened asphalt KILL,KILL, KILL EM ALL.
SOMEHOW
thank you for all the helpful comments. going to try mothballs and bucket. have to get them out of garage
Try getting some plants that really bring in the neighborhood cats like catnip and cat grass if you have somewhere inconspicuous to plant and where you don’t mind cats spending a bit of time (not your edible garden). Cats are generally not agile enough to get birds on a feeder as long as you are putting feeders up pretty high. You can get cat grass and catnip seeds in stores with a large seed display like Home Depot or any local garden store. Also, we found that seeds really brought in the chipmunks and eventually gave up. We have switched to enjoying a bluebird box mounted on a metal pole and hummingbird feeders and hummingbird perennials / annuals. All look really pretty too as yard decorations. Bluebirds moved in during the second year and now we see them all the time up close. Hummingbirds like bee balm and a nice long row of tall garden phlox (the type that are like 3 feet tall). Lupine is great too. Salvia is another great one. At the garden store, ask one of the ladies or gents that looks older than a high school student. They will likely be there long enough to have been seeing them all the time in certain areas of the store. All birds also love water misters for bathing. You can put them on a timer linked to your hose for when you will be watching. They learn. We choose happy hour through dinner time on our porch in summer. Now we live in peace with the chipmunks because we aren’t feeding them bird seeds to multiply to a million. We still have them but not a million without the bird seed.
I have an item called a Rat Zapper. There are two models…the Classic and the Ultra. I have the Ultra and would recommend it. Yes, the chipmunk dies. No, they don’t suffer. The trap is run by 4 D-cell batteries. The bait (I use bird seed) is placed in the far end of the Rat Zapper. I put three seeds at the entrance to entice them to enter. The chipmunk takes the three seeds and is on his way to the prize at the other end. He walks across the metal plate and dies instantly. On the top of the Rat Zapper Ultra is a green light the blinks on once to tell you the trap is armed. When you catch a mouse/rat/chipmunk/any critter who enters, there is a red light that blinks on the top to notify you of your catch. The company also sells a plastic Tupperware-type of box with a hole cut out in the end. For outside use, you put the Rat Zapper inside the plastic box because the Rat Zapper itself is not waterproof. I have used this method to catch mice in the house, rats that showed up under my bird feeders, and the dreaded chipmunks. I have also caught a few squirrels. The trap is easy to clean. You get a lot of zaps out of 4 D-cell batteries. When the batteries run low, the red light blinks quickly to let you know it is time to change the batteries. Check out this machine. Mine is currently 6 years old and still going strong. These zappers are not cheap, but they are not messy, no animal suffers, no animal needs to be driven to a far away place and released…they die, I take them out of the trap with a plastic grocery bag and put them in the trash. Super easy!!!
I have tried just about everything mentioned here. about 3 years ago we paid a lot of money to have an expert trap them and take them away because we couldn’t even open our garage door unless someone stood guard outside. In 2 weeks the guy caught and relocated 75 chipmunks! It was great BUT a few mild winters where they didn’t hibernate and we have them again. I have put a rag drenched with Ammonia down their massive hole and they dragged it out, they are wise to the pail and plank..next I jammed steel wool down the hole…got that out and found it on the lawn! They methodically dug up everyone of my tulip bulbs. I have tried the hot pepper, the gum, all of the things mentioned….death is the only real viable cure. They are rodents; worse than rats. They have ruined our gardens, our lawn and nothing works against them.
I just ordered new bulbs and plants from qvc . They weren’t cheap I thought I’d wrap them in chicken wire and stuff scouring material around them and on top. Add a little coffee grounds , pepper, soap all that what do you think ???
Here’s one thing I found that actually worked to “relocate” 7-striped chipmunks from a critical area of my property: USED cat litter down the holes, with big stones (about the size of my fist) used at the top of the hole as a “stopper”. I did this about 5 years ago, and it’s kept the chipmunks away from the grass near my toolshed–at least I’ve seen no more tunnels over there. (My dad had warned me that they were getting too close to my toolshed and that if I didn’t do something they’d ruin the concrete. Waa-laa.) My only remaining problem is that after 17 years, I can see that the chipmunk population on my property is getting out of hand. About half my yard is full of trenches. This year’s project is to relocate them from my 1.25 acre property (surrounded by cornfields) to a wooded area with a ditch about half a mile away (though some would say that’s too close). I’ve hired a pest control group and they come once a day and bait the humane traps (catch and release) with peanut butter, nut and seeds. We take those caught down to the wooded area near the ditch. I know most of you feel that killing is the only way, but I’m squeamish and feel like there’s gotta be a better way. I guess we’ll see.
My suggestion is to do the plank/bucket half full of water method…but to put peanut butter around the inside of the bucket above the water, and to use a dowel over the top with a can with both ends removed slid onto the dowel. You coat the top and bottom of the can with peanut butter…they go to eat it, and the can rotates and they fall in.
Killing Chipmunks doesn’t eliminate the problem as they just reproduce more and faster to replace the ones gone. I live in a wooded area with many oak trees. So it’s impossible to eliminate the food source.
We had to hire a pest abatement company to attach metal mesh around our front door stoop and bay window as these are common areas that Chipmunks burrow in. Chipmunks were able to get into our basement in these areas and kicked in about ten 25 gallon shop vacs of dirt onto our basement ceiling tiles last winter. They don’t want to live the house but wanted to heat from the basement into their burrows.
Four thousand dollars to keep them out of the house and 2 thousand dollars for the new ceiling tiles. We also cut down the bushes around the house so they have less places to hid. None of the Scent products on the market will deter them. The fake owl with moving head only frightened the UPS driver. The chipmunks not so much.
We moved into a new development in Massachusetts 2 summers ago. No chipmunks till this summer. And they are proliferating. 2 or 3 run by my front steps every minute or 2, apparently feeding in my neighbor’s yard, then running to holes in my yard. My house is surrounded by woods on 3 sides. They are very bold, and continue their routine, detouring only a little when we are in the yard.
I tried a pail with ramp & plank & water — they knocked the plank into the pail 3x, but escaped.
I tried pails with water with a rod thru the center of spinning plastic bottles and plastic jars, with peanut butter on bottles/jars — no luck.
Just before sunset tonight I removed the planks, rods, jars & bottles and filled pails half full of water with sunflower & other seeds floating on top of the water. One pail has a ramp to the rim with peanut butter & seeds leading up the ramp to rim.
The other 4 pails are next to the 12″ wooden walls of a raised planter containing flowers & veggies. We have found holes in the soil of the planter and now have 4 pails around the planter, each half full of water with seeds floating on top of water, and seeds on top of planter soil, leading to side of the buckets.
One online story says chipmunks will follow a seed trail to the rim of the pail and fall or jump in, attempting to get seeds in the pail, and drown.
Tomorrow we will see…
My observation: they seem to be active only during the day.
I’m impressed with the Youtube video of the man who compared methods and caught over 30 chipmunks with the small Hav-a-hart trap!
I saw videos of the pail method working with mice, but none showing chipmunks being caught.
We have no problem killing such pests, tho they are cute. They will all die (probably an unpleasant death) some day anyway. I am simply choosing the date for them — especially when their numbers become objectionable or their behaviors too destructive.
People have killed animals for food and other reasons for millenia. Most people are OK killing insects. Chipmunks are just bigger…
Jesus ate meat (effectively endorsing the practice). Psalm 8 teaches God has given mankind stewardship to rule over His creation, placing all other creatures under our feet. Good stewardship would seem to include eradicating destructive pests.
Hope to find something effective before they start destroying veggies and other valuable plants, and begin getting into outbuildings and dwellings. Seems irresponsible not to respond to a known growing threat.
I have more chipmunks here in town than I had when I lived in the boonies! I was willing to share but they want it all. The bucket works! All I do is 1/3 full of water – enough sunflower seeds to hide the water – 2×4 piece for them to climb up. I didn’t even bait the the plank, just put the pail close to where you see them and you will get them! The squirrels will eat some but you have to replenish the seeds eventually anyway. I bought a cheap pair of tongs at the dollar store to take out the little dead guys so I don’t have to touch them at all. I stopped counting after 30! I stopped after not seeing any for about a week, came out this morning and three plants dug up and dead, trap has been reset.
The chipmunks here are a bit destructive, but they displace the mice. Until I started encouraging the diurnal chipmunks, the nocturnal mice overran the property after dark. Either rodent puts burrows throughout the lot, but chipmunks sleep as much as 16 hours of the day, and when they’re happy, they live in the burrows here, putting the mice out of their homes.
The mice here carry several serious diseases that are communicable via their contact with food stores. Everything they get into has to be tossed out. The chipmunks are more particular about the sorts of foods they forage after, and much less apt to chew holes in bags, boxes, plastic containers, and wooden barriers. The mice chew compulsively even when they aren’t hungry.
It’s either this, or trap and kill every rodent, and that takes too much time, energy and money. I really don’t like making a daily chore of cleaning up all of the dead rodent carcasses. The chipmunks are gregarious and not very destructive, and active only during waking hours.