Dealing with Chipmunks

[Frozen Feathers]

What's the best way to get rid of them??? They are brave little buggers, stealing the grain right out of my animals dishes! They aren't scared of us either, I have never specifically fed them (I think my neighbors have

) yet they my DH walked right up to one and almost got a bowl over it. Missed by inches!

I don't want to use poison, as I'm afraid one of my pets might get into it. Where can I find a humane trap to relocate these guys, does such a thing exist? I'm afraid someone is going to get bit and though it's very rare that they'd be rabid, they might have some other nasty disease we don't want!


Any suggestions.

Ps...we do not own a gun of any kind, so that is out of the question... :|

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Get a few cats! I'm only half-joking here.. I kind of miss the little fellows. Two summers ago one tried to jump onto my car.. missed and fell to the ground. It was hilarious!

I did see one last summer, but none yet this year. My cats are pretty ferocious hunters, though, so I'm sure they've all moved on to greener (and safer) pastures.

I'm sure one of those "have-a-heart" traps would work. Maybe bait it with some sort of birdseed?

-Meghan

 

[therealshari]

Short of removing their food sources, they're next to impossible to eliminate.

I know you don't have any firearms, but here in Utah, we farmers shoot the critters after a while.

We tolerate them to a point, and try to let the young'ns grow up before getting the guns out.

For example, this morning there were Mama, Papa and 8 little one's running around the front yard. They're cleaning up the spilled bird seed right now. If we see them chewing on either flowers or vegetables, then we declare war. As long as they're simply eating bird seed and grass, we tolerate them.

One thing though, they will attract other predators. Yesterday we spotted our first weasel. This morning that weasel joined other unwelcome critters at the business end of the shotgun.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Quote:
Well, if I can catch them, you can have them!!

My cats are silly, only one catches mice and the other two are a little duh... The one that does catch mice I don't dare let out because she's my daughters favorite and of course that's the cat that would be run over or eaten!

I will try traps...I don't mind them around, just not in my pets food. I bought some Bug Fest, which my chickens LOVE (which ended up costing me $9 at Petco, it was only $5 online) and they stole half of it!!! Last time I trust DH to put away anything!! How does someone not understand, "Make sure you put it in the container or else something will be in it!" GRRR Maybe it's not the chipmunks I should be getting rid of??

 

[Frozen Feathers]

therealshari,

So far the only predators I've seen is my neighbors cat... who's pretty much useless. Not sure if we have weasels around here. I can't blame the Chipmunks for wanting a free meal, just wish they'd go raid someone's bird feeder and not my pets food...

 

[chicknmania]

I don't know about in Utah, but in Ohio it is illegal to kill them. They are protected, and I 'm guessing it's probably Federal protection. Here in Ohio we have had a population explosion of them due to the hot, dry weather conditions, which I guess are ideal for them. You can relocate them, but you know at least five miles away is best, or they'll just come back. They are awful cute, and I guess the way I look at it is...you're always going to have pests if you have livestock, and I'd rather have chipmunks than rats and mice. We have a ton of chipmunks in our barn. We pick up whatever food is leftover from the chickens eating when we can; otherwise, we don't worry about it. We have cats, too...and our one cat isn't even interested in catfood anymore. He spends all his time outside; comes in to say "hi" maybe once a day for a few minutes. I don't want to know what he's eating!

 

[Alleyoops25]

Man I would love to have some chipmunks at my house.THose things are so darn cute!!! I think those and maybe squirrels are rodents that I dont mind seeing. But I think you could try putting up a dummy owl and see if that will spook them. I know you cant posion them becuase of you other animals. The only other thought is to go and find a really small live trap (they do come that small) and trap them and the either move them or kill them. Or mail them to me

 

[Frozen Feathers]

You pay the postage!!!

 

[Alleyoops25]

OH I just had another thought, you can go to wal-mart and in the area where they keep mouse traps, and bug spray. THey should have glue boards. THese things are non toxic so they wont hurt your other animals. We use them in our garage, and these things catch everything. My DH's friend used these to get rid of his squirrel problems. Just put the board in an area where they go the most, they will try to go acrossed it, and then they are stuck, the more they wiggle the more stuck they will get. It has worked great for us. And I think this would be the cheapest, and safest beat for you. Like I said they arent toxic, just very sticky. Good Luck!!

 

[chickbea]

Several years ago I had an explosion of chippies EVERYWHERE. I was spending a fortune on food!!!
Go buy the smallest Have-a-Heart trap they have. I was catching a chippie every couple of hours for a while. I relocated them to a lovely pond area and I renamed the road "Chipmunk Lane".