Chipmunks wreaking havoc on my gardens!!

I used to think they were cute and amusing to watch. Now I'm having evil thoughts as I consider ways to get back at them for all the things they are destroying in my yard! I planted 200+ bulbs last fall. Just the other day, I noticed little holes everywhere! Upon closer inspection, I realized the brats had dug up EVERY bulb and eaten them all!! (They seem to enjoy crocuses the best.) They tunnel through my garden beds and tunnel behind the liner of my waterfall.

Is there anything I can do to cut down on the number of chipmunks that make my yard their home and personal playground? I definitely have more than I had last year - they seem to love all the rock walls and the stream. I don't want to kill them - most likely new ones would just take their place anyway. Anyone have ideas??

I have exactly the same problem. I hope someone has a good solution.

Songs, you may find some helpful information on these past threads dealing with chipmunks, squirrels, rats and moles:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/627924/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/654903/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/647716/

Thank you for the links. I actually did a search on chipmunks before posting and nothing came up. Actually, the search function never seems to help me much - I must be doing something wrong...

I don't think it works well. DG seems to have switched to a Google function; maybe it'll work better.

I've had trouble using the search function too. It doesn't seem to accept boolean logic like other search engines.

I just noticed this thread. If you go into best animal repellents, under classic threads, you will find lots of help. But I am reprinting here what I wrote there:

You might try Milorganite for chipmunks. They were repeatedly digging up new plants, both in the ground and in pots on my porch. A one time small sprinkling of Milorganite in pots or on new plants COMPLETELY stopped the destruction for the rest of the season. I still see them running around my yard, but there is no chipmunk damage. Whenever I install a new plant, I just sprinkle some on top.

Please try it - it works.

Donna

Thanks! I sometimes use Milorganite anyway (it does smell though, and I wouldn't use it on edibles), so I'll definitely give it a try.

Just a very small sprinkling does the job! Perhaps an eighth of a teaspoon. I actually still have chipmunks that run through my garden (they're cute if they're not chomping), but I have no damage.

Donna

I just bought a motion sensor activated light/radio combination thing it has worked fabulously for deer maybe the same type of thing can be used for chipmunks. I also have a motion activated rainbird sprinkler that works fairly well except I keep forgetting and it constantly is spraying me.

I've also found that sprinkling crushed pepper flakes in pots that I have planted outside helps keep the little buggers from digging in the pots.

The quickest and easiest way to get rid of chipmunks is a chipper-dipper. I noticed a big increase in the number of chipmunks around my property last fall and this spring they are digging everywhere. I picked up some sunflower seeds after work today and just put 3 dippers out less then an hour ago. In a few days the problem should be solved.


early_bloomer

early_bloomer, please explain - I'm missing something.

Thanks,
Brenda

Brenda, A chipper-dipper is a 5 gallon bucket filled one third to half-way with water. Add a few handfulls of sunflower seeds. (still in the hull) They float on the surface making it appear to be a bucket full of seeds. When the chippies jump in they drown. I sit mine along my split rail fence or against a tree so they have easy access.

early_bloomer

Ouch. Not my style.

Wow, me either.

Ditto.

That is quite an idea for a last resort. Never heard of it.

It sounds better to me than using poison or snap-traps... sometimes populations get so unbalanced in areas that lack natural predators that measures like this aren't unreasonable, even if they seem harsh. Chippies are just so darn cute, though... they'd have to be doing major damage before I resorted to lethal controls... Yeah, I'm succeptable to the "cute factor" -- I'd have an easier time killing a groundhog than a rabbit (I'm running a relocation program for both this summer).

Milorganite does not work for me. I even caught a chip eating another one of my lilies and sprayed him with Liquid Fence. He laughed and ran off. Satan.

I'm really sorry to hear that Muddbear. Maybe they're like the disgusting squirrels were when I lived in Chicago. I tried to stop them from eating the liles in my pots by pouring cayenne pepper all over them. One morning I heard a strange sound, and looked out to see a squirrel sitting in the pot, its face covered with pepper, sneezing, and continuing to eat the lily. I never found anything to beat them.

Maybe it's an urban phenomenon. The red winged blackbirds here 40 miles from Chicago swoop down to within 3 feet of you and make horrible noises when you are near their nests. In Chicago, they fly right down and peck you on the head. I bet they hang out with those obnoxious chipmunks in your garden, and the two of them party with the cayenne eating squirrels.

Donna

I thought the "chipper dipper" might be a bit harsh for some people. I don't mind a few chippies around but I don't want an infestation. They were digging everywhere, even in the pots sitting on the decks and were running around on the roof of the house and in the garage. They can do a tremendous amount of damage. They love bird eggs and will even kill baby birds. I sat in my gazebo and watched one attacking a robins nest a couple of weeks ago. It must have succeeded because no birds hatched from that nest. A photographer in my area found an unusual bird and was photographing the nest from a blind. He got in his blind one morning before daylight. He heard a commotion, and snapped the shutter just in time to capture a great photograph of a chipmunk biting the head off of a baby bird. It went from one bird to the next, killing each one and tossing them out of the nest. A chipper dipper doesn't seem so harsh if you think of chipmunks as rodents--rats with better fur.
I left my chipper-dippers out for a 3 days and caught 16 chippies.

early_bloomer

You're right... a few of them are cute, but an infestation is too much of a cute thing.

I've been using mouse traps. Every day my husband has to reset them. I'm only missing 2, and I don't see anything running around the yard with a mouse trap attached to it. They eventually stay out of my pots.

can you eat them if you catch them with a chipper dipper?

I'm going to assume you're making a word play on "chips and dip" and "chipper dipper"... chippies are pretty tiny, and I don't think I'd eat anything that sat for very long in a bucket of warm, stagnant water.

Where do you all pick up your Milorganite at???

I got mine at a garden center. The kind that sells annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. Specifically, it was Milaegers in Racine. I've never seen it in Ace Hardware or similar stores.

Donna

Iris,

I stand corrected. I went to the Milorganite website for a retail finder by zip code. Here is the URL:

http://www.milorganite.com/storefinder/

And I found that Ace Hardware, Home Depot and True Value have it in my area.

Plug in your zip code, and I hope you find similar results.

Donna

Thanks Donna! :)

Ok, I am trying the dipper. I put it by the root of an old stump they walk on. In one day nothing. mmmm, they may be too smart here for that trick. I will wait and see.