chipmunks, best traps

D270

Hi,
my yearly chipmunk issue is getting worse...they seem to be targeting the oak tree bases and house foundation more than they have in past years.

I trapped and "relocated" (to heaven) 6 chipmunks last year.

I have tried mole gas, the sunflowerseed/bucket method, coyote urine, people hair, and live traps....all very time consuming. The bucket tends to become a food source for raccons and other stuff that is in the yard at night.

Wife has allergies so cats/dogs.

I recently tried an empty can on an axle over the bucket with peanut butter...chipmunk goes for can...can rotates...chipmunk drowns...etc.

I found that rotating bucket trap ripped apart in one night with teeth holes punched thru the can...raccoon or something.

Anything else out there? Currently I use traps from harbor freight with a trigger and spring door. 50% of the time the chipmunks can keep ramming the door and get out. The Hav-A-Heart traps usually need more weight to trigger...also my trap is made from 1" wire lattice..and the chipmunks can wiggle thru that.

Thanks!

algored2deth

I have used a hav-a-heart trap for chipmunks with good success. I bought the small one and it works. Pretty sure I bought the trap at home depot. Used peanut butter and sunflower seeds as the bait.

SimmerDownNow2

My advice is try bringing the bucket in at night. Chipmunks forage during the day, especially dawn and dusk. So you might not need to leave it overnight for the raccoons, etc.

jimmy21

just get a pellet gun. Much more fun. You might be fighting an uphill battle though. If theres like 6 in your yard but 40,000 in the neighborhood

harryc

I have dozens of chipmunks. I never had an issue with them destroying anything so I let them be. What are they doing that is prompting you to take action?
By the way, the bucket method is really the best. Just take it in at night.

D270

Hi,
If they would stay away from digging next to the foundation, under my sidewalk and front porch, and not dig under my 100 year old oak trees...we could coexist.

They won't pay up when my sidewalk cracks, or my foundation leaks...so they must relocate

harryc

Mine behave. They have a couple of holes in the lawn and that's about it. They actually do me a service by picking the little seeds off my deck in the spring.
Now the groundhog, that's a different story. That SOB needs to go!

SimmerDownNow2

I used to let them run around my property, up and down the downspouts, etc. Great fun. Then they decided to nest in my engine compartment in the car parked in my driveway and eat the wires! $350 for a new anti-knock sensor, plus who knows what else they ate? They may have chewed the whole wiring harness. (Can be thousands of $$!. Could total an older car.) So they had to go. Sorry Chip and Dale, but I can't let you destroy my car.

I should also add, relocating them doesn't work, and is in fact, ILLEGAL in Massachusetts and many other states. So there's no other choice, either you pay to have them sent to chipmunk heaven, or DIY.

Duckweather

I think I will invent a catapult, (chipmunk-apult) that will sling them into my neighbors yard, who has a cat. They may get wary and stay away eventually. Just another way to make them entertaining.