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chipmunks
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Posted by
oldmainer z5 Maine (
knarfme@comcast.net) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 11:11
| Hi Folks...I have a big crop of chipmunks this year in my yard and gardens. Would like some ideas on how to rid myself of a few. Using my Colt 45 is alittle overkill...:-) Franklin |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: chipmunks
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- Posted by tibs 5/6 OH (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 12:32
| Get a cat. My 17 year old female that doesn't do much more than sit on dh's lap keeps the yard chipmonk free. Now if she could only catch squirrels. |
RE: chipmunks
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| Get a .22 rimfire conversion kit for the 45... |
RE: chipmunks
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I've found that the 5 gal. bucket "chipmunk swimming pool" works pretty good. Fill a 5 gal bucket 2/3 with water. Sprinkle the top of the water with sunflower seeds (the black & white stripe ones that float) so that the water is not visible. Set up a board leading from the ground to the rim of the bucket. Sprinkle some seeds on the board leading up to the bucket. The chipmunks eat the seeds on the board leading them up to the bucket. They see into the bucket which looks like it is full of seed. They must think they've hit the jackpot and jump in to have a feast. They can't swim...
Just put the "pool" in a chipmunk "high traffic" area. Just keep an eye for squirrels- they will hang over the edge by their back legs and eat all the seeds. |
RE: chipmunks
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| A pellet rifle works well too, especially the new ones that fire 1000fps plus, some even at 1500fps. The bucket thing works well too, although last year I did that, and it fooled me too. I looked into the bucket, and saw nothing but sunflower seeds. It wasn't until a nice, hot, summer day when the stink led me to a bucket of "seeds" with some dead chipmunks at the bottom. Let me tell ya, it was some kind of stink. If you live in an area where you are actually using a Colt .45 to shoot chipmunks, then just invest in either a .22 rimfire, or a .177 centerfire rifel. If you're joking about the .45, then go with the pellet gun. Joe |
RE: chipmunks
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| I use a mouse trap inside a clear jar (you can use a can too) with a small hole cut into the lid to allow only small critters in. I use peanuts (in the shell) for bait. Peanut butter works too but also attracts ants who will make the bait disappear. If your jars start to move or disappear, I drill a hole into the bottom of a plastic jar and tie a string (knot) so the jar won't walk away. I check em once or twice each day. |
RE: chipmunks
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| Can we somehow work peatmoss into this thread? LOL |
RE: chipmunks
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| Sure we can Wayne! Add a layer of peatmoss to the bucket of water, seeds, and smelly chipmunks to reduce the odor. Alternatively just bury the entire contents of the bucket in the compost pile and watch the sunflowers grow. Thus avoiding peatmoss and controversy. Ain't gardening and composting fun! |
RE: chipmunks
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| Compost the whole bucket, water, chipmunks and seeds. I agree about the peat moss, throw some down on top for good measure, some shredded leaves and you are set. |
RE: chipmunks
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| oldmainer , if you think your Colt 45 is a little overkill try a King Cobra.Slightly less powerful but could be just as deadly. |
RE: chipmunks
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| I tried the bucket method last year, and while I caught a few, I stopped after reading a few different times that it takes a couple of hours for them to drown. I think they're cute...at the zoo!!!...just not digging around my foundation. They already caused the front door stoop to collapse, and I just want them gone. But I just can't stand the fact that it takes them that long to drown. I've had better luck with the old fashioned rat traps. The mouse traps are too small and easy for them to trip. If I'm going to kill them, I want the quickest way. |
RE: chipmunks
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 19:42
| When DD was little, she couldn't say 'chipmunk' she said 'chip-a-munk'. I am a pretty down to earth kind of farm boy (had to put down a few animals) but there is no way I could kill a chip-a-munk. In fact, every chip-a-munk around here has a name, it's usually Chirp, sometimes Dale. Now rats I could pummel to death no problem. I hates rats! Lloyd |
RE: chipmunks
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| My 3 year old calls them "chinkmunks". I catch the chinkmunks, and "relocate" them. The girls think I take them to the woods, but I actually relocate them somewhere much farther away. Relocation is actually not a good thing, as you will just be dumping a "lost" chinkmunk into another chinkmunk's territory, where it'll be chased into the next chinkmunk's territory, and so on. During this process, the original chinkmunk will not be eating, drinking, or sleeping, and usually ends up dead. So, relocation isn't usually "humane", as some would like to think. Shooting them is still the fastestm most effective way to dispatch them. I've heard that the rat zapper traps work good too, but you don't get to flex your shooting skills with a zapper. Joe |
RE: chipmunks
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| This year there seems to be a chipmunk population explosion and they are running around everywhere. They are digging holes all over, digging in my seedlings, and they might have eaten some Sunflower and Cucumber sprouts. They are cute, but they can be quite destructive to property and as a general rule I don't like having that many rodents near the house. My cat has killed at least a dozen of them so far, but there are more where those came from. Three times I've accidentally left the garage door open, and a chipmunk has wandered into the garage, maybe attracted to the smell of bird seed. I then close the chipmunk in the garage and put the cat in there, telling her she can't come out until she catches the chipmunk (which she invariably does). So I'm thinking about trying to lure them into the garage and then let the cat be the "chipmunk trap". |
RE: chipmunks
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| Well, today I have found the winning ticket: CCI CB Long 22 rounds. I stopped on the way home from work and picked up a couple of 100 round cases. I came home to find one of my little buddies emptying out the bird feeder, so I grabbed my 22 rifle, popped in one of these CB rounds, and "click". Yep, it just made a little click, a click that was quieter than a pellet gun, and quieter than even one of those little snaps that you throw on the ground. The chipper dropped, and I smiled. So, if you have a 22 rifle, get some of these rounds, and you are set to go. Note though that due to the lack of noisy power, it won't cycle a semi-auto action, so you have to run the round through manually, which is fine, especially if you're a good shot, and only need to fire once. Joe |
RE: chipmunks
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- Posted by val_s z5 central IL (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 9, 11 at 0:21
| I live trap then drown. Val |
RE: chipmunks
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| The problem I've had with live trapping is that sometimes the little buggers are tricky, and don't seem interested in going into the trap. That was what prompted me to find an idea to shoot them; this lastest rascal just wouldn't go in the trap, no matter what bait I used, or where I placed it. I'd just watch it run right past the trap, over & over. But, for other ones it worked instantly. I also didn't care too much for the drowning part....shooting is much quicker & easier. Joe |
RE: chipmunks
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| Joe, I have my feeders mounted on poles, with squirrel/raccoon baffles on the poles. When installed properly, this keeps squirrels, raccoons, and chipmunks off the feeders. The only thing this type of installation wouldn't stop is a bear, and we don't have those. Not that you still wouldn't want to cull the chipmunk population using your 'winning ticket". But at least I am not providing all the critters with free access to the bird food. Well it seems my "lure" in the garage is working. I put some black-oil sunflower seed in a small container on the floor, and left the small garage door open this morning. Later snuck up to the door, and a chipmunk dash away from the seed. Closed the door, and let the cat in there to do her duty (which she happily obliges). I too am not interested in the drowning part. |
RE: chipmunks
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- Posted by val_s z5 central IL (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 10, 11 at 9:48
| Well...shooting would be a lot more fun but we're not allowed to :-) Bait: Peanut butter with a couple of shelled peanuts stuck into the PB real good. Works like a charm on the dummies I have here. Drownings not so bad if you don't watch. Sure it takes a couple of hours if you let them swim in a bucket but with a good sized wash tub it only takes about a minute. Just dunk the whole trap and walk away. And there's no blood and guts to clean up. Come back later, dump on ground, use pooper scooper to pick up and toss. I use to think they were cute! Val |
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