Although adorable, chipmunks can be quite damaging to your garden. They are always in search of their food and can steal your seeds and fruits from your yard. Apart from that, they can also eat plants and do some damage to your patio. Well, how to get rid of chipmunks? – There are various humane ways to do it. You can use different removal tactics, as well as repellants, without hurting those fluffy creatures.
In this article, you will learn about how to remove chipmunks from your garden or yard since they are damaging parts of your garden. You will learn some useful removal tactics and will also learn how to use some natural rodent repellants to keep chipmunks away. We will discuss essential steps that you can use to make each tactic work. hence, to learn more, read on through to the end of the article.
Getting Rid Of Chipmunks – A General Overview
According to HGTV.com,
“At first glance chipmunks might not seem like a garden’s worst nightmare. But just wait until they’ve chewed up your freshly planted tomato seeds, dug holes all over your garden, or eaten up your tulip roots. Because they’re small and nimble, chipmunks can get into tight places that larger pests can’t, and they’re great diggers, too, so even seeds beneath the soil and plant roots aren’t safe.”
Chipmunks are there in your garden because they have adapted to life around your home. They like the small garden, the soft dirt, and the flower beds. They like those areas that are mulched and are easy to dig so that they can find food in your area faster.
According to MarthaStewart.com,
“Chipmunks like all kinds of nuts and seeds, flower bulbs, and tree bark […] During the dry months, they often shred leaves to get to the moisture in the plants.” To prevent your garden from being targeted by these little creatures, check out our expert-approved tips.”
Their sole motivation to come to your garden is to get some food. These rodents spend most of their time looking for food. These animals love nuts, seeds, mushrooms, acorns, buds, berries, fruits, and some insects. They are also quite energetic at times before winter, as they stockpile their food since food is scarce during that time. During winters, these chipmunks also remain underground.
How To Get Rid Of Chipmunks? – A Few Humane Ways
Getting rid of chipmunks is not that simple. There will be a few chipmunks available per acre of ground.
According to CountryLiving.com,
“If there’s plenty of ground and lots of food (like in your welcoming backyard), populations can be much higher, says Mengak. Some properties can have up to 20 chipmunks! Chipmunks are solitary—except for mating—so that means if you have 10 chipmunks, and they’re all digging their own holes and nest chambers, you may have a bunch of holes all over your yard.”
The following are some of the most humane ways to get rid of chipmunks from your garden:
1. Crete A Barrier
Add a permeable barrier a few inches under the soil or over the ground in this case. You can use wire mesh, gravel, garden fabric, etc. as barriers. This can be an important part of your integrated pest management.
2. Remove Bird Feeders
Birdfeeders attract chipmunks to the lawn. Keep them off the ground. Although chipmunks can climb, they still avoid heights since big birds scare them away.
3. Stop Giving Them Access To Food
Your garden must be full of delicious treats for the chipmunks around you.
Here are a few tactics:
- Remove vegetables from the ground or even low-handing ones.
- When a fruit falls from a tree, pick it up soon.
- During fall, use acorns and pine cones in the area.
- Remove bugs from your garden through regular cleaning.
4. Use A Repellant
There are some kinds of odor that chipmunks do not like. One such odor is human odor, The smell of humans scares them away. In this case, you can consider spreading some clips, old towels, or old clothing in the garden. You can also hang them as barriers around holes. You can also throw in scented items like garlic, peppermint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and hot spices.
5. Use An Ultrasonic Device
These devices emit a low tone that does not create problems for humans but creates enough problems for chipmunks as they will get scared of the tone. It also works for other animals and insects present on your lawn. However, if you have a pet at home, it can also get scared through the sound.
6. Use Natural Repellants
You can plant some plants in your garden that will repel chipmunks from your garden, and these are also easy to plant. The best part is that some of these plants are good-looking and fresh and can actually enhance the aesthetic of your garden.
You can create a barrier by planting:
- Alliums
- Chives
- Daffodils
- Echinacea
- Garlic (works great for underground chipmunks)
- Lavender
- Marigolds
- Peppermint
- Sage
7. Use A Harmless Trap
Trapping chipmunks or any animal is not good. However, if the last few tactics did not work for you, consider using a trap (of course, a harmless one). You can also call an animal specialist if you do not want to accidentally injure the animal. With proper precautions, you can purchase a bait trap that will not harm the chipmunk. Once you trap them, you can release the chipmunk elsewhere (at least five miles away).
Wrapping Up
Hope this article was helpful for you in getting some ideas of how to get rid of chipmunks. Since chipmunks can be destructive to your garden, you must consider using those humane ways to remove chipmunks. Otherwise, these cute little animals can cause real nuisances by digging up flowerbeds, eating out fruits and seeds, and causing damage.
However, there are many repellants that do not work if you want to get rid of chipmunks. Furthermore, there are no commercial repellants that work for chipmunks. The repellants available for deer and wild animals are not effective for chipmunks. Hence, choose wisely. Do you have further suggestions? Share them with us in the comments section below.
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