Chipmunks often find great ways to get into homes and cause a lot of damage. So how do you stop them? Here are 3 effective methods that will help protect your home from unwanted visitors.
Chipmunks are a nuisance, and they can be difficult to get rid of. If you want to stop them from digging, there are 3 effective ways that will work for you.
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Chipmunks are cute at first look. They look like little squirrels. Chipmunks are tiny, fragile rodents that scurry about. Chipmunks are fairly frequent in yards, despite the fact that they are more usually found in woods.
They may take up home under patios or sidewalks, along stone walls, or in special gardens. While they aren’t renowned for causing harm to property, they are recognized for digging to get to food or for refuge.
While digging isn’t a major problem, it may cause unattractive damage in the yard that has to be repaired. Some people believe that chipmunks burrowing in the yard might do major harm, and they will hire wildlife control companies to catch and kill them.
Chipmunks may create some disruption with their digging, but it isn’t essential to go to that extreme. There are many methods for preventing chipmunks from burrowing and permanently removing them from your yard.
Prevention
Preventing chipmunks from appearing in the first place is the best method to deal with them. With any insect issue, this is a good rule of thumb to follow since it may be tough to get rid of them after they’ve established themselves.
There are a number of fundamental guidelines to follow in order to keep chipmunks out of your home. The first step is to build L-shaped footers around your house’s foundation.
It’s also crucial to use the same footers for sidewalks, non-home foundations, retaining walls, and porches. This should discourage them from digging for refuge in certain regions.
Make sure any rock or wood piles you have outdoors are clean and free of debris. Any plant development in these locations should be kept down since chipmunks may use it as a food source, cover, or both.
It’s also a good idea to use a plant-free gravel border to surround your house and yard. Remember that chipmunks are on the lookout for food and shelter. Taking away any conceivable route will drive them to look for those items elsewhere.
Plant the bulbs behind some plastic screen ground cover, a wire, or in some bulb cages to keep them from digging up your flower bulbs.
1″ x 1″ mesh should be big enough to give your seedlings the area they need to develop while staying tiny enough to prevent the chipmunks from digging farther.
Plant bulbs that aren’t very attractive to animals, such as Allium or daffodils. If you merely want aesthetic plants, this might be a quick and cheap alternative to installing bulb cages or wire to keep the chipmunks out.
Another option for preventing them from digging in your yard is to use 14-inch-thick mesh hardware cloth around any flowers or garden areas. This will provide enough room and protection for the plants while keeping the chipmunks at away.
If you store firewood outside your house, make sure you have a boundary in place to prevent them from burrowing under the pile. They could find that area appropriate for living, or they might keep digging and end up beneath the house’s foundation.
Avoid allowing shrubs from surrounding forested areas to grow too close to your house. It will not only draw chipmunks closer to your house, but it will also provide them with extra access to your house via those branches.
Finally, make sure you’re not storing any food outside. Birdseed and pet food are the most obvious examples of this. If you must keep them outdoors, make sure they are kept in rodent-proof containers to prevent chipmunks from getting inside.
How to Get Rid of Them
Perhaps you already have a chipmunk issue in your yard. Prevention advice might have been useful in the past, but the issue now has to be addressed.
Having a variety of chipmunk removal options will help you reclaim control of your yard and recover some sort of sanity in your life.
1 – Make use of repellents
While there are no particularly developed chipmunk repellents on the market, there are various repellent strategies that may be used. There is considerable discussion over whether or not they should be used.
That’s because they weren’t designed expressly for chipmunks, however some squirrel repellents claim to work just as well on chipmunks.
Thiram is a popular technique for getting rid of squirrels and, in some situations, chipmunks. Make sure the thiram is sprayed to the stems and bark of nearby trees, as well as your garden’s plant bulbs.
You may also scatter mothballs or flakes across the garden. The odor should stop chipmunks from digging under your deck, or at the very least drive them away from that area of your yard.
You can even build your own chipmunk repellent at home. Simply combine three ounces of Epsom salt, a teaspoon of Lysol, and a gallon of water in a mixing bowl. Ensure maximum coverage by spraying attentively around the possibly damaged locations.
The strong odor should be enough to drive the chipmunks away from your yard, causing them to seek food and shelter elsewhere.
It’s vital to remember that if you use a thiram-based product (or any other commercial product), you should only apply it on plants that won’t be eaten by people.
You may need to reapply the repellents if it rains, since the water might wash them away.
2 – Set a trap and let it go
If spraying your yard with repellents is not an option, you may alternatively catch and relocate the chipmunks. This is a moral approach of dealing with what may be a tenacious critter.
Check your local municipality’s legislation to discover what policies they have in place for moving the chipmunks. Relocation may not be permitted in certain regions, so double-checking before proceeding is the best course of action.
If trapping is permitted, there are a few general guidelines to follow while capturing and moving chipmunks in your yard. To begin, choose a little trap with a small wire mesh around it to prevent the chipmunk from escaping. For what it’s worth, chipmunk traps are typically 10 to 20 inches long.
Place your traps in locations where you know there are a lot of chipmunks. Place them near burrows and road lanes, though the latter may be harder to locate. Because chipmunks dislike regions that are very exposed, the optimal spots will usually be undercover.
Place the bait at the rear of the trap to bait it. This means the chipmunks won’t be able to take the bait and flee. Put some peanut butter near the trigger plate, since this seems to be the most efficient strategy for attracting the chipmunks all the way into the trap.
On a regular basis, inspect your traps. It is preferable to move the chipmunk as soon as possible once it has been captured.
Make sure you release the chipmunks at least five miles away from your house in a suitable environment. You may also look for information on how to properly release them in your local laws.
3 – Make sure bird feeders are secure.
Bird feeders, especially those near to the ground, are another key attraction for chipmunks. They are drawn to the bird seed that spills from the feeders. This becomes a regular source of food for them as well as a big draw.
Keep the area surrounding the feeder clean on a regular basis. Remove any spilt seed that might attract the chipmunks. You may even use seeds that aren’t liked by chipmunks and squirrels to substitute that seed (think thistle).
It’s also crucial to keep your feeders at least 15 to 30 feet away from any buildings on your property, such as the home, a shed, or a garage. They have consistent, rapid access to both food and shelter since they are near to these buildings.
Last Thoughts
Allowing chipmunks to destroy your hard work by digging up gardens or making a mess of your yard is a recipe for disaster. If you take some of the aforementioned precautions, you should be able to keep those adorable but annoying tiny animals out of your yard.
Because prevention is usually simpler than cure, it is preferable to take preventive actions rather than waiting for the issue to manifest itself. Rather of merely eliminating the chipmunks, it is usually advised that you utilize humane removal procedures to get rid of them.
The “mothballs in chipmunk holes” is a way to stop chipmunks from digging. It has been effective for many people, but it can also be harmful if you have pets that eat the mothballs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop chipmunks digging up my garden?
A: There is no sure way to stop them from digging up your garden other than putting a barrier around it.
Do coffee grounds repel chipmunks?
A: Coffee grounds are not known for their repelling properties. I advise you to keep your coffee beans away from chipmunks, as they will find a way into the machine and ruin all of that delicious coffee!
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