Chipmunks!

[daughtersrus]

How do I get rid of them without killing them?

For some reason, we have a ton of them in our yard. They're living under our front porch and I've seen them running around the back yard.

We've tried ammonia rags under the porch and then filling in all of the holes but it's not working. In the morning, the rags are dragged out. When we fill in all of the holes, they dig new ones.

They're not really doing any damage that I see but I'm really afraid that one will get into the house. You have to pull our front screen door shut (we had a bad storm a few weeks ago that damaged the door) and they kids have a habit of not doing this. I just don't want to be chasing Chip or Dale around the house.

Thanks!

 

[AKL_Megs]

When I was young, my mom used to take big lawn bags and bait them with peanut butter or cheese, wait until they scurried inside, and would quickly swoop up the bags and we would take them in the bags to our neighborhood park and release them!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Being they are harmless just let them be.

Moving them from their "home" takes them away from their nest, especially this time of year so your cutting off their shelter & food supply.

 

[PatsMom]

We have two families of chipmunks living in our woodpile just outside our downstairs door. We've never had a problem with them getting in the house. Watching them will amuse the cat for hours! That is what he is doing right now.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Get Disney to hire them...

Mikeeee

 

[JESW]

Try mothball flakes....

 

[mrsv98]

Being they are harmless just let them be.

Moving them from their "home" takes them away from their nest, especially this time of year so your cutting off their shelter & food supply.

Harmless my Aunt Fanny!!! They dug so many holes and burrows under our front porch that the slab cracked in half and we had to spend 2k on a new porch!

We have them all over and really I haven't seen anything that really keeps them away. Our neighbor uses mothball flakes and that seems to help for a bit but unless the entire neighborhood uses them all at once, they just relocate until the smell is gone and then come back.

Good luck, if you fine any good remedies I am all ears!

 

[DawnCt1]

I plant tomatoes and they chipmunks share them with the rabbits and it keeps them both busy. Of course we have hardly any tomatoes left but its a small price to pay to keep them outside digging holes.

 

[SAHDad]

Being they are harmless just let them be.

Moving them from their "home" takes them away from their nest, especially this time of year so your cutting off their shelter & food supply.

No, they are more certainly not harmless. Even if you ignore damage to the foundation or a poured slab, here was the "harmless" progression here;

Chipmunks dig burrows under enclosed rear porch.

Woodchuck summarily evicts chipmunks.

Skunks evict woodchuck.


Yeah, that was harmless.

OP - I don't know how to get rid of them without killing them. Frankly, I've never looking into non-lethal methods of disposal for the little pests.

 

[dawson5]

we've used have a heart traps and set them loose at the local soccer field. A local pet & feed store used to rent them out weekly, I think buying one at lowe's is something like $25. Neighbor has luck with the mothballs, it doesn't stop the rabbits from eating his flowers though. In the past we've had problems with moles, a landscaper friend recommended using cat urine in the area. Might work with chipmunks too, not entirely sure. (He said in the case of the moles, cats were their natural enemy, they smell the urine and hightail it out of there.)

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

we've used have a heart traps and set them loose at the local soccer field. A local pet & feed store used to rent them out weekly, I think buying one at lowe's is something like $25. Neighbor has luck with the mothballs, it doesn't stop the rabbits from eating his flowers though. In the past we've had problems with moles, a landscaper friend recommended using cat urine in the area. Might work with chipmunks too, not entirely sure. (He said in the case of the moles, cats were their natural enemy, they smell the urine and hightail it out of there.)

Wow! I'd much rather have some cute little chipmunks than have to deal with the stench of cat urine in my yard! LOL

 

[Morganpics]

I agreee that they are NOT harmless. We cannot open the garage doors without having at least one hightail it in, and then we have to wait and watch for the little pest to leave. We are still deciding just what to do, but it probably won't be non lethal. My approach to all the little four legged critters that belong outside is if you stay out, it's ok. You come in once, you'll be dead. Flame away. I'm not called Annie Oakley with a 22 for nothing.

 

[KristaTX]

You can send a couple to me to look at. I am not sure I've ever actually seen one. We don't have chipmunks here, so to us they seem like they'd be cute and playful (like Chip and Dale), but I'm sure they can be nuisance in real life.

 

[Chipmunk89]

Why on earth would you want to get rid of me!?!

 

[cjlvsccm]

How do I get rid of them without killing them?

For some reason, we have a ton of them in our yard. They're living under our front porch and I've seen them running around the back yard.

We've tried ammonia rags under the porch and then filling in all of the holes but it's not working. In the morning, the rags are dragged out. When we fill in all of the holes, they dig new ones.

They're not really doing any damage that I see but I'm really afraid that one will get into the house. You have to pull our front screen door shut (we had a bad storm a few weeks ago that damaged the door) and they kids have a habit of not doing this. I just don't want to be chasing Chip or Dale around the house.

Thanks!

We had to hire a "critter getter" when squirrels had found a way into our attic. In addition to his services of eliminating access, baiting and trapping, he recommended that we put steel wool (stuffed tightly) into any holes that we might later find. He said squirrels/ chipmonks/ mice can't chew through it or get a good bite grip on it, so they either leave or find another way in. Sorry to say, they may or may not be determined to live where you do.

Don't know what to suggest about the door, other than new hinges or a new door.

Of course, if you have any hawks around, they might take care of them too! We've seen Animal Kingdom in our front yard all too often.

 

[mrsv98]

Of course, if you have any hawks around, they might take care of them too! We've seen Animal Kingdom in our front yard all too often.

Speak of the devil, or um, raptor, this lovely fellow was sitting in our tree on Saturday afternoon having a nice chipmunk snack!

DD, 9yo, got the pics and said it was amazing watching him. He was in the tree for at least half an hour! Now, it he could only eat a few more....

 

[daughtersrus]

Thanks for the suggestions.

We do have a hawk nest in a tall pine tree in our back yard but I think that he's too busy feeding the field mice in the field behind our house.

The chipmunks are getting brave. Last night, DH and I were sitting on our front porch (it's not very big at all) and the little critters were running back and forth from under the porch, through the landscaping in the front and around the side of the house. I watched them go under the fence into our backyard and then come back up front. They stop and look at us but quickly go about their business.

A friend had a similar problem and baited them with sunflower seeds. He placed an almost full bucket of water with a small board going down to the ground on a angle. He placed the sunflower seeds in a trail going to the board and then up it. He also put a few into the water. The chipmunks would follow the seeds all the way into the water and then drown. To me, this is just torture but it doesn't look like we're going to get rid of them without killing them.

 

[C.Ann]

I love chipmunks - and would much rather have them around as opposed to squirrels..

Having said that, train them.. In the past I have trained chipmunks here with peanuts (still in the shell) to come when they're called.. After they've been trained, they'll walk right into your hands and then you can put them in some sort of container where they can be released elsewhere - rather than killing them..

They've never caused any problems here, so I would never try to get rid of them.. I think they're cute!

 

[Chicago526]

Other than digging in our flower beds looking for food, they haven't done any harm here yet. I love watching them! We have a basement so lots of luck digging under our foundation! But we do have a very small slab for our front porch, so I'll keep an eye out for holes. I didn't know they dug deep enought to cause foundation damage.

I do know they love bird seed, so if your looking for bait for traps, you can try that.