In a previous blog post we wrote about an effective trap for removing yellow jackets from your property. This time, let's take a look at the best (and the worst) ways to remove Chipmunks from your yard. We'll discuss using poisons, electronic traps, stopping the bird feeding completely, and finally the best and most humane traps so they can be relocated, unharmed to a nearby park or vacant property.
Why would you want to remove Chipmunks from your yard?
They are cute, fairly quiet and pose no physical threat to us humans. Unless you were to step in a recently built chipmunk hole while mowing the lawn. Or if a chipmunk hole and tunnel were abandoned and worse yet, it collapsed in the rain and now you have a small sinkhole in the yard you need to fill. Worst of all, an abandoned chipmunk hole is a prime candidate for a queen yellow jacket to move into in Spring and start building a new colony of serious hurt.
Okay, okay, I see why you might want to get rid of the furry critters. But why can't we all just coexist? Chipmunks are a type of small-to-medium sized rodents. Rodents are famously known for their ability to breed and populate very quickly. If you are big into bird feeding like we are, you're likely generating a lot of waste seed from birds (above) in the feeders. This waste seed will eventually attract chipmunks, squirrels and possibly some other rodents including mice or even rats. So to put it simply, you're feeding the chipmunks and they are just going to use that food as fuel to rapidly procreate and then replicate. The holes they create in your yard will quickly attract other pests!
The first couple of years we saw a few chipmunks around and didn't think much of it. Then suddenly it seemed like they were all over the yard. It has taken some time to get them back to a much smaller number and occasionally we see one again. If you see more than 2-3 at a time you need to be capturing them and relocating them quickly or the population will literally explode!
My neighbor said I should use poison to take care of the chipmunk problem. What do you think?
Poison has been used for hundreds of years to rid the world of rodents. It works, but there are ecological side effects and we strongly recommend against poisons because a sick/poisoned chipmunk can then be eaten by a hawk or an owl, a raccoon, possum, or even a house cat or your next door neighbor's dog.
Additionally, if it's poison pellets it's very likely that birds will find this poison and ingest it as well, which will certainly end up killing them. Some of the many birds that we see eating from the ground include:
Carolina Wrens, Winter Wrens
Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows
Brown Thrashers
Rufous-sided Towhee
Northern Cardinals
Hermit Thrushes
Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Tennessee Warblers
Another reason you would likely want to consider if the reasons above don't deter you, is the location of the dead chipmunks. You can't choose where they will end up when they finally kick the bucket. They could end up in a downspout on your home, under the deck or front porch in an inaccessible spot. Then they will start to rot and stink. Before you know it, you'll have ants crawling all over in addition to the smell. Nobody wants or needs that!
Okay I see some folks using electronic rodent traps that kill their targets in an instant. How would these work for Chipmunks?
We've seen those around the back of our local grocery store and strip mall as well. These electronic traps are considered fairly humane because they are intended to instantly kill their targets pests, but they are actually designed for other rodents (rats) which would be snooping around in these locations where there may be nesting materials or food nearby. Chipmunks are really after your birdseed and that's about it. Plus, these are quite expensive and require recharging as well. If you have a mouse or rat problem, an electronic trap would be an excellent and humane option for reducing the number of these rodents. But for Chipmunks, we would go another route.
What trap should I use for catching chipmunks?
We have been using a very simple trap, and also a very easy baiting technique I was able to capture nearly all of them and move them to a park just a few miles down the road. I've been using simple 2-door metal traps similar to Havahart branded traps for a few decades now. They are extremely durable, reusable, easy to clean, and simply work time and time again. I have a pair of these traps designed for small-to-medium sized rodents and since we have multiple bird feeders stations, it makes better use of my time capturing and taking them to the park two at a time.
What do you use for bait for chipmunks?
If you already have chipmunks hanging around under your bird feeders, they are used to the seed that they are finding each day. With one of these metal traps, toss a small bit of that seed straight into the trap and just wait about 20-30 minutes. If you try to make it fancy or add something like peanut butter, you may actually make them a bit suspicious and you will have less success capturing chipmunks.
Where is the best place to set the chipmunk trap?
I usually place one of these humane traps under each of the bird feeder stations. The reason i like to place the traps below these feeder stations is similar to the reason I choose to stick with the seed that the chipmunks are used to. They are already going to these bird feeder areas to get seed like they would any other day. They then smell a little pile of fresh seeds and head right for it. It's super easy and takes less time out of your day or weekend.
How do I transport the trapped chipmunks once they've been captured?
Once you've trapped them, you'll want to put on some leather work gloves, and then just carry the trap out to the trunk of your car with the built-in carry handle. I recommend placing some cardboard or a trash bag under the traps though because the chipmunks will be pretty excited about being in your trunk and will definitely eject some seeds from their cheeks. When you get to the park, just carry the trap to some grass or some pinestraw covered area, pop open one of the doors on the trap and wait a few seconds. The little chipmunks will come firing out of the door just like a cannon as soon as they realize they are free again!
I've included a product link below 👇 for the specific trap model we've been using now for several years. Rather than poison, or expensive electronic countermeasures, we strongly recommend you try out one of these Havahart traps instead. Thanks for reading! 🙏
-Birds of West Cobb
(Lisa & Dan)
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