Like squirrels, chipmunks are also burrowers and nut eaters that can ruin your garden in minutes. Fortunately, there are many ways to keep chipmunks out of your garden.
If you live off-the-grid, then you will come across these stubborn rodents in your garden at least once in your life.
It is not easy to get rid of chipmunks and tame their destructive nature. Once your garden or flower bed is infested with them, you can write it off and start again.
However, we will give you 9 common effective ways of controlling these rodents.
Contents
What Do Chipmunks Eat In The Garden?
Chipmunks are close cousins of squirrels. So, we would expect that their favorite meals are nuts and acorns. That is true, but these rodents can eat anything and everything in your garden if they are hungry.
Chipmunks can also feed on fresh berries, herbs, vegetables, mushrooms, among others. In severe cases, chipmunks can invade your potted plant and eat on their flowers and leaves to fill their belly.
This is what makes these rodents a threat to your garden.
If you have chipmunks in your garden, you will find your garden plants rooted. They mainly get out at night but it is easy to detect their presence.
Lumps of fresh soil in your garden symbolize their burrowing actions.
Chipmunks have strong front teeth that allow them to chew on everything. If not controlled, the extent of damages they can cause in your garden is unimaginable.
Signs You Have Chipmunks Running Around Your Garden
How will you know you have chipmunks in your yard, but yet they roam about only at night? Chipmunks are some of the shyest rodents we have on the planet.
They will never allow you to set your eyes on them but you can use their trails to know they are in your garden.
The following are the signs to look for if you suspect that your garden is infested with chipmunks:
- Presence of small holes in your yard and trails. These holes are usually dug at the base of your home, walkway, and along the edging.
- Clumps of sunflower and corn sprouts in your garden or flower pots.
- Uprooted bulbs in your garden.
- Partially crushed seeds and grains in hidden places in your yard.
- Small holes in succulent plants such as tomato fruits in hot and dry seasons.
9 Ways To Keep Chipmunks Out Of Garden
Using these methods, you can keep chipmunks from your garden or chase them away. Check them out and choose the most appropriate one.
Building Fence For Your Garden
A fence is a physical barrier you construct around your garden to deter Chipmunks. For this case, you need the appropriate type of fence to effectively stop chipmunks from invading your garden.
Galvanized wire fences are preferred because of their affordability and effectiveness.
Chipmunks, like their close cousins, squirrels, can dig deep into the soil. This means placing the fence on the ground will not effectively protect your garden.
You can checkout our article here on how to protect your garden.
Ensure the galvanized wire mesh is inserted at least one foot into the ground and meshes are of the appropriate sizes.
Use Live Traps
If you have stubborn chipmunks that your fence cannot just keep away, then you can set a trap. Buy a live trap or make one yourself.
Ensure you wear gloves and other protective gear when setting up the trap and releasing the trapped chipmunks.
You are advised to use a trap that will only detain the rodent and not one which will kill it. You can then take it to a far woodland and release it there.
Animal Trap for Chipmunk
Alternatively, you can slaughter it as an off-grid food source if the state laws allow it. Some state laws regulate the trapping and relocating of animals. Please check them out first.
Use Chemical Repellents/Electronic Repellents
With the best chemical repellent, you can keep your yard chipmunk-free. Look for non-toxic chemical repellents to ensure your safety and that of your pets.
Remember, anyone can go to your garden and get into contact with the chemicals.
Animal Repellent
Chemical chipmunk repellents produce scents that keep the rodents away. Electronic repellents, on the other hand, generate a disturbing sound.
Both electronic and chemical chipmunk repellents can effectively repel other rodents and insects. Choose the best and safest repellent.
Create Smells That Chipmunks Hate/ Natural Repellents
You can also use natural repellents to deter chipmunks. These repellents also emit scents that rodents hate, and they include the following:
The Human Smell: Human Hair
Human hair releases an odor that will keep chipmunks and other rodents away. You can bury human hair clippings in your garden bed or spread them around it.
Human hair clippings are only effective after about a week. This means you will need to replace them, especially after it rains.
Grow Herbs And Flowers
There are flowers and herbs that you can grow in your garden to double as chipmunk repellents. Check out this list of plants that repel squirrels.
Since chipmunks and squirrels are closely related, these plants are effective in deterring them.
Use Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds will fool chipmunks that they are in danger and flee the area. They produce a smell that will effectively keep these rodents away.
However, coffee grounds should only be used for acid-loving plants such as blueberries and azaleas because they are highly acidic.
Recycling Soapy Water
Soapy water can repel chipmunks, mice, rats, squirrels, and rabbits. To use it effectively, mix 2 teaspoonfuls of oil and soap water. Shake the mixture well and spray it on your garden.
Use Devices To Emit Sound Waves
Electronic devices are effective in keeping chipmunks away from your garden by emitting a sound wave at a particular frequency.
NIKAND Gopher Repellent Ultrasonic Solar Powered
- Use a 100% kid safe, humane approach to prevent your property from moles voles shrews gophers and destructive ground rodents. Rest easy knowing your entire lawn is protected even in rain, the mole vole repellent unit is waterproof & corrosion-proof.
- For optimal performance we recommend that during installation of the yard mole repellents be placed on every 96 feet on your lawn. Moles and gophers and other burrowing rodents are chased away unharmed.
- Mole repellers emitted 3-4s sonic pulses for every 30 seconds, it penetrates the soil and also forces pests to evacuate the area through which the sound is travelling. After which your garden will be free from rodents.
These sound waves can only be detected by rodents such as chipmunks and not human beings. They will flee the area where they pick up the signal because the sound is irritating.
There are solar-powered electronic rodent-repelling devices you can buy, but ensure you get only ones that will not disturb your pets. Place them at strategic places in your garden.
Attracting One Of Their Predators
Using predators might seem cruel but is sometimes appropriate in getting rid of chipmunks from your garden. This is done in three phases. Identify a predator you want to use and attract it to your yard.
The most common chipmunk predators include owls, hawks, weasels, coyotes, bobcats, dogs, cats, and foxes. The attracted predator will either catch and eat chipmunks or scare them away.
Once your garden is rodent-free, you perform the last phase of chasing away the predator if no longer needed.
Buy Models Plastic Predators
Predators will generally scare away their prey. If you are afraid of attracting predators to your yard, you can buy plastic dummies.
Chipmunks will not wait to find out if it is a real predator or not. They will simply move out of your garden to another place.
Landscaping Changes
Changing your landscaping design or habits can also help in eliminating chipmunks from your yard or garden. First, you need to avoid anything that will attract them.
That means you should not grow nutty plants or vegetables in your yard. Instead, think of flowers and herbs that repel them.
Chipmunks also like hiding places if they are not in their burrows. Mulch in your garden is a perfect hideout. Tall grasses in the yard are also attractive to these rodents.
They can have their holes there without you noticing. Cut tall grasses and adopt chipmunk unfriendly landscaping habits.
Provide Food For The Chipmunks
Chipmunks will destroy your garden only if they are hungry. If you are not bothered by their holes and burrows in your yard, then you can consider feeding them.
Provide nuts and vegetables that they like eating.
However, feeding chipmunks is not an effective way of controlling these rodents. The more you give them food, the more they will multiply.
With a large number of chipmunks in your garden, expect many tunnels and burrows. These might damage structures such as houses. Also, they can overwhelm you and become destructive.
Word of Caution
Some ways of getting rid of chipmunks from your garden discussed here are regulated by laws, and their efficacy varies. For guaranteed success, do the following:
- Check that the state laws allow you to trap and relocate chipmunks. If not, use alternatives. If yes, use nuts and seeds as bait to lure chipmunks into the trap.
- Always use safe traps that will not kill chipmunks. Also, you can poison the rodents, but that is not recommended. Think of other humane ways to keep chipmunks out of your garden.
- Combine two or more methods of deterring chipmunks to better keep your garden chipmunk-free. If one approach fails, the other will likely work.
Conclusion
Use natural deterrents to keep chipmunks away from your garden. You should check with the authorities before using other methods such as trapping or killing chipmunks before doing it.
As always, thank you for stopping by the Em Offgrid to read our article. We hope you got the information that will help you keep your garden chipmunk-free. You can also check out our other posts about living off the grid.