chipmunks

The squirrels on my deck were regular cultivators of my container plants until I added some organic fertilizer that contains blood & bone meal. The morning after I put some of the fertilizer on the soil surface, the squirrels were sniffing supiciously and wrinkling their noses. Now they go around the pots to get at the pumpkin seeds I put out for them (kitty TV).

Well, blood and bone meal will be the next addition to my tomato pot! That sounds like it would be good for the tomato plant and an effective rodent deterrant. Thanks for the tip, kitty TV! We're just adding a big deck, and next summer I want to have containers on the deck. It will be in the middle of squirrel and chipmunk land, so I will need all the help I can get to keep the little rascals at bay.

Jeannine

LOL! Kitty TV is what you get when you put squirrel food out on the deck so that the kitties can have something to watch. :D

I'll keep my fingers crossed that chipmunks dislike the smell as much as our squirrels.

Do I have chipmunks or worms? I've been noticing little piles all over the yard that look for all the world like earthworm castings, but I've also seen a lot of small holes dug in the same area. It looks like they're dug from the surface, not dug up from below.

And something keeps digging up my containers full of flower seedlings.

Sorry, garden-mermaid! But perhaps giving you a hearty chuckle was worth the gaff.

Here in Minnesota we laugh best when we laugh at ourselves - sort of a Minnesota Norwegian trait.

Meanwhile back to the chipmunks, they make holes in the lawn or flower beds that can be 1 1.2 inches in diameter, or if the hole is a primary entrance, it can be up to 2 inches. They generally abandon an entrance if it gets to be much larger than 2 inches because it becomes an invitation to predators.

White-Hydrangea, your seedlings may be the target of either squirrels or chipmunks. In their world, they are raiding your "cache." If you notice a lot of seedling disturbance, you may also notice a lot of holes in the yard where they have replanted the seeds.

So far so good on the peppermint, by the way. The inside of our garage smells nice and I no longer hear angry chipmunks scolding me for disturbing them when I open the garage door. Now I need to get a cup of coffee and sit quietly outside to see if I notice chipmunks anyplace where I scattered peppermint cotton balls. I hear them in the yard, and they seem to be quite perturbed about something.

It's probably a good thing I don't understand chipmunk language. They are probably saying something along the lines of, "Here comes that %^&*@**$ lady who made our world smell like )(@(*#T^&."

I hope they're adding, "Let's move while we still have time to make a new winter stash of acorns far away from the (**$%^ smelly place!"

:< ) Jeannine

Thanks for the chuckle Jeannine. No apology needed at all.
Happy to hear the peppermint oil is working so well. I'll have to put some in my knapsack when I go hiking, especially at Tahoe. The chipmunks at some of the beaches are so used to visitors that they pounce on the knapsacks and unzip them to get at the snacks.

Day two and no chipmunks! Oh, they are still in the neighborhood . . . I saw one scamper past the bird feeder earlier today. But the family reunion that was meeting on my front walk and dining on my cherry tomatoes has moved on to less smelly places.

I almost miss their antics; they are entertaining. Guess I will have to learn the "control zone" of a cotton ball so I can keep the rascals out of the places where they are destructive and let them be in other places.

The squirrels are giving the house a wide berth, too. Haven't seen a rabbit in the petunias the past two mornings, either.

My big black cat Chloe is definitely bored.

Jeannine

Yeah, I do notice a lot of digging, both in my plants and in my yard. I am so P.O.'d! Tonight I found that the varmints had dug into my new irises and peonies! In spite of the hot pepper wax and crushed oyster shell! They didn't dig the plants up for some reason, but they did make some obvious holes right beside them.

I will go in search of peppermint oil this weekend.

White_Hydrangea, I wonder if "planting" a cotton ball with new bulbs might work. When I plant my fall bulbs - tulips, daffodils, etc. - I notice that someone tunnels down to munch a few in every cluster. When spring rolls around, there are always a few bulbs that don't emerge, or if they do, they are very weak and die back as soon as they come up as though gasping their last breaths. Consequently, the nice clusters of bulbs that I envisioned have a few holes in them!

Yup, I think my new bulbs will be planted with oil of peppermint!

JEannine

I have had great success at ridding my garden and lawn of chippie holes because the ideal chippie repellant lies in the litter pan. A few tootsie rolls down the hole causes them to seek more pleasant quarters. And it's free, if you have cats. Here's a cute pair that moved due to issues with kitty poo.

Wonderful idea, meezerfive, as long as you know your cat doesn't have a communicable disease.

I bet this might work if you "planted" a few litter box "trinkets" with your fall bulbs, too! Might even do double duty - fertilize and protect.

I think I will use the peppermint oil in my tomato plants, however.

Jeannine

Hm. Now that's something I have plenty of. Maybe I should dig double the holes for my bulbs. One bulb, one tootsie roll, one bulb, one tootsie roll....

I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a tootsie roll again, though. Gak!

White_Hydrangea, your comment really made me chuckle! I've had that problem with Tootsie Rolls ever since our vet told me that's what a normal cat's litter box droppings should look like. (Our older kitty was having digestive system issues.)

Jeannine

My kitties are house cats, and see the vet frequently, I'm sure their tootsie rolls are as pure as poo can be.

Come to think of it, I haven't eaten one in years...must be a subliminal thing!!

Just returned from the grocery store.

Folks really wondered about the strange lady laughing at the Tootsie Rolls.

Don't think I'll ever be able to look at a bag of them again without at least a good hearty chuckle.

Jeannine

Jeannine thanks for the info on the peppermint oil. I just got done putting it down the holes in my flower bed, I need more however.

I don't want to get rid of them completely so I am just putting them around my flower beds, so I hope the selectivity works!

Thanks,

Maureen

Please let us know if it works for you!!

I will let you know. I just got done putting down a second batch of cotton balls. This time I covered the holes to see if they get re-dug.

I am pushing the cotton balls as deep as possible with a plant support stick. Is that what other people do? I also sprinkled some bloodmeal around the holes and over the beds in general.

I hope I don't have to start trapping to keep them off the beds. They can have the lawn.

Maureen

Hi Maureen,

I just tucked the cotton balls into the holes near the surface so I could pull them out and 4 or 5 more drops of the oil every couple weeks or so. If I could see that a peppermint-scented cotton ball had been moved, I knew the oil needed to be renewed.

I am quite sure that pushing a peppermint-scented cotton ball down the hole and closing the tunnel would be very effective. Just imagine the power of the smell trapped in that little space!

I heard a chipmunk in our garage one day, so I put several peppermint-infused cotton balls into the corners and along the walls and tucked a couple on either side of the doors. It was a warm day with bright sun, so with the doors closed, the garage warmed up rather quickly. When I went out about an hour later, the peppermint smell was really strong, and a little chippie was sitting smack dab in the middle of the garage floor, looking franticly for a place to run that was not close to one of the cotton balls. He seemed to think I was not as scarly as they were smelly, so he just sat there until I opened the big double door to let him out. I had a good hearty laugh watching him race for freedom!

Jeannine

LOL Jeannine....they are such cute funny little things.

That's good information to know, it's funny how they don't like the smell. I go outside now and the whole place smells like peppermint, I love it!

Maureen

FYI for any interested:

I saw 3 chipmunks in the yard yesterday; one was obviously a baby, sooo cute! They are all over are yard, front and back and the neighbors so I don’t expect to be rid of them, and I don’t really want to be. My goal is to stop them from digging in the flower beds. They can have the lawn. ☺

I had put peppermint oil cotton balls down about 15 or so holes and found that only one of them had been disturbed. It was a rather large hole so maybe it was one of their main entrances? So far none of the holes I plugged have been redug. I did find one new hole that was rather large, and put soaked cotton balls down it and plugged it. Squirrels are also digging shallow holes to bury the million acorns and chestnuts dropping on the yard now. I put more cotton balls down the one hole that was disturbed and a few in the shallow squirrel holes. I also rub peppermint oil on the stones around the beds so the whole yard smells like peppermint. Smells good to me. The battle rages on!

Maureen

Our garage has been pretty critter-free since I started putting peppermint infused cotton balls around the edges. The only time I messed up was when I got so cocky that I left bird seed out there. Guess the mice and chipmunks will brave peppermint to get at birdseed. Once I removed the seed and renewed the peppermint, there have been no more little critters in the garage.

Now I think I have to go to the attic. Some workmen were here, fixing a problem with the siding, and they left an opening near the soffit. I think a bat, mouse, chipmunk or squirrel or may have moved into the attic, so I am going to head up with the peppermint bottle to see if I can convince the critter to move out. We're getting tired of hearing it scratch on things up there.

Where do you buy the peppermint oil? Is there a place you can buy it inexpensively, in good quantities?

I bought it at the local health food co-op. I don't use very much - only 5 drops or so to a cotton ball - so a little bottle of about 4 fluid ounces lasted me all summer. The bottle was under $5.

If you type "100% pure oil of peppermint" into a Google search, you can probably find a web supplier, too.

That's great -- I know just the health food co-op to try. Thanks!

Oops! Correction! Sorry for the mis-information!

Just went out and got the bottle of 100% pure peppermint oil , and the brand name is "Now" - it's a 1 fluid ounce bottle (30 ml). The price is marked at $4.25.

I thought it had to be 4 ounces because it lasted so long. This bottle is made so it only dispenses the contents one drop at a time.

I have been using this since July, and I have almost half a bottle left. When you dispense it by the drop, it goes a long way.

Jeannine

That sounds even better -- I was imagining myself dragging around a gallon bottle . . . .

I got mine on ebay. I'm going to try and find a health food co-op around here; I think I'd like that better, even though the oil I got seems to be good, I would save on the shipping!

I guess my whole yard smells like peppermint because I soak my cotton balls completely before I bury them.

Maureen

I paid about the same price for the 1 fl oz bottle of peppermint oil from NOW.
I put several drops on the cotton ball, but no longer soak them as I find a few drops will be very aromatic. It needs to be refreshed after a few weeks (depending on your climate). I've placed a few drops on a cotton cosmetic pad and stuffed it inside the heater register. I was hearing scurrying near the ceiling, and since I live in a condo, I don't have access to the attic. The peppermint near the heat duct eliminated the sounds. I guess they moved to another unit.

Good thread, very informative! I have chipmunks living under my porch, and now they're getting into my flowers. Will try the peppermint oil as soon as I can find some... already have some stinky bloodmeal to plant. lol

I too will be trying the peppermint oil--I wonder if rosemary oil will work--I have a lot of that already in the house.

Squirrels have hollowed out several homes for themselves in the knots of our maple and ash trees. Two or three of the trees look like they have portholes now and I have seen squirrels come and go.

In addition something has excavated quite a home for itself among the roots of a tree--some of the shallow roots are now exposed--should I cover them back up by dumping a load of soil over the spot?

I think there must be quite a lot of activity going on underground in my otherwise quite neighborhood. I've been feeding birds from these trees and while I knew I was feeding squirrels and chipmunks--I guess I thought they already had a place to go home to.