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annld

The Chipmunks Must Die!

annld
16 years ago

Last year I asked for advice about getting rid of the chipmunks that had moved into my yard. They were ensconced under one of my favorite gardens, and I was concerned that the ground was about to collapse because of the burrowing. I tried a RatZapper -- they were too smart for that. I borrowed a dog and had him do his business around the garden. That didn't work. I thought I had covered up their entrance well enough, but this week, I noticed that they've managed to reopen their front door, and now, the ground really is starting to collapse. So now I'm thinking poison. I would be putting it down deep in their den, so I'm not concerned about poisoning anything that lives above ground. Does anyone have any suggestions, caveats, anything? I feel like that Bill Murray character in Caddyshack.

Comments (72)

  • rhodyman
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hay Illinois,

    Don't condem all rodents. The following are rodents:
    rats, mice, voles, squirrels, groundhogs/woodchucks, prairie dogs, marmots, hamsters, guinea pigs, nutria, otters, porcupines, coypu, springhares, true gophers, muskrat, and beavers. There are 2,277 species of rodents. They consitute about 42% of all mammal species, the largest order of mammals.

    There is no need to exterminate the entire order. Being a rodent doesn't indict the entire order. Most are nut, seed, and fruit eaters, so they are attracted by bird feeders and gardens. They serve a very important ecological function in maintaining predator populations. An animal is only a problem if it is in the wrong place, just like a weed. Weeds are wild flowers unless they are in your garden or lawn. Rodents are wildlife unless they are in your garden or home.

    The first line of defense is barriers. The second line of defense is predators. In Pennsylvania, the main predators are: owls, snakes, hawks, ravens, eagles, osprey, foxes, coyotes, weasels, minks, herons, fishers, shrews, raccoons, skunks, bobcats, domestic dogs and cats, and even animals as large as black bears. Things such as poisons that kill predators make the problem worse.

  • little3dee
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Try 'Shake Away' products. It is harmless to the animals but keeps them out of your yard.

    www.critter-repellent.com

  • dirtdiggindiva
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm a sucker for small animals. We have always had squirrels and they usually don't bother my gardens except for occasionally digging small holes in the grass and emptying my birdfeeders. Oh and this year I have oak trees sprouting up next to just about every other plant in my gardens but that's okay. Now this summer we have a new chipmunk! He is soooo cute. Okay, he does have holes dug around my one bed that is bordered by railroad ties (one is rotting and the hole is his house), but as long as he isn't eating my plants he is free to run and play. I even set out peanuts, crackers, and a water dish for him. Now the real varmits are the rabbits!! I find them to be more destructive, chewing off numerous plants. But the little ones are also cute. I live in the country (kind of) and we have: rabbits, deer, skunks, squirrels, foxes, groundhogs, oppossums, and my little chipmunk(s). Even though somedays I walk through my gardens cussing the critters out for eating one of my plants I figure they need to eat too.

    I personally would be afraid of flushing them out because of drowning any babies. Have you ever seen the have a heart traps? They're usually metal and come in all sizes. You put your bait inside it, they go in to eat it and the door snaps shut. Then you can take it somewhere (legal) and release it. My FIL does this all the time.

    Good Luck!

  • bulldinkie
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Its called a jack russell little rodent police.Maybe I should rephrase that .rodent killers including ground hogs.Some bigger than she......

  • sarahbn
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't think otters are classified as rodents they are in the weasel family

  • coug51eh
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I use the have-a-heart traps daily. I have two sizes. One for the squirrels, and one for the chipmunks. Works great!!! I find that peanut butter with seeds sprinkled on top works the best for the bait. Usually I empty the traps 3-4 times per day. Their last ride is in my car (in style on leather seats with the air conditioning on) to a wooded location far from my home. I've moved over 45 chipmunks and 60 squirrels. I wonder if they recognize each other in their new location??? I feel good in knowing that not one has been harmed in this process. :)

  • anntn6b
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Country cats consider chipmunks a delicacy.

    A friend near Philadelphia had a caddyshack like chipmunk encounter. He collected cat poop and stuffed it down their holes. When he came back after a vacation, the chipmunks had used his house as an escape route and trashed the house. Broken glass. Gnawed muntions. Lots of widespread poop. And little bitty footprints in the dust on a table.

    Do chipmunks eat crocus?

  • annld
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Suburban cats consider them a delicacy, too. My cat brought me a chipmunk a day for about 8 days. I haven't seen one since. That's my boy!

  • sarahbn
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Is he available for rent?

  • fayeraven
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Last year I bought one of the new storm doors with the doggie door built in. Kitty was the first to figure it out. She wants to be sure that I see her prizes so into the house they come. ( She either wants me to see them, or she wants to confine them so that she and the dog can have a play day). Some years I have a few, other yeas not. A DNR man told me once if you have chippies, you DONT have snakes! I've copied the swimming pool recipe and will add it to my recipe file. I did that years ago with a skunk dedorant, but some how lost that one in moving over the years. All I remember is that it had Dawn detergent, mouthwash, and some other ingredient that wasn't tomato.
    Faye in MD

  • in2gardens
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have been able to live and garden in harmony with the chipmunks in the rural area we live in Connecticut. But it seems over the last 2 years or so the chipmunks have taken advantage of any prior agreement we had, getting more and more emboldened. This year when they started to tear up planters in a screened-in porch I became alarmed but when they undermined a sidewalk and a retaining wall that was it. The mason performing the repair work uncovered a munk burrow that ran about 10 feet and almost a foot high, cleanly excavated.

    They are no longer cute, they are vermin over running our property, and not only costing serious money for repairs but they're creating a hazard as well.

    Like many on this thread I too felt guilty about eliminating chipmunks ... but have become increasingly frustrated and desperate when the population exploded and over ran our property and garden areas. Destructive, brazen and invasive is ALL an understatement when I see what these cute little critters have become.

    While I feel I need to eliminate them I want to do it as humanely as possible, and since it is illegal to relocate them in the state of CT, the Hav-A-Heart trap presents the dilemma of having to "off them" yourself and watch them die.

    I think I have solved the problem ... the RAT ZAPPER. An animal control professional I spoke to (off the record) indicated that "electrocution" is the fastest, most humane and cleanest way to do what has to be done. I bought my first "zapper" and eliminated 21 munks in approximately 10 days. Since then I bought 2 more and now there are almost 50 critters that no longer make their home in the area around my foundation, sidewalks and retaining walls.

    Granted the "pool of death" (the bucket) does work, but this is cleaner, more convenient ... no bucket to maintain/seed to replenish. I place a little pile of sunflower seed at the back of the chamber and flip the switch. And location seems to be important. Under shrubs and near visible, active holes seems to be most effective.

    Interestingly, an Ohio State University critter/pest management site I visited indicated that 10 chipmunks or more per acre is considered an infestation population. I have caught almost five times that number, so I assume I am dealing with nature being way out of balance, at least as far as the chipmunk population.

    If you're getting more and desperate, try the Zapper, it works.

  • longlegggs
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My husband dug down a few inches down and place wired around down on the ground the perimeter of where the groundhogs dig. It worked. They get frustated and leave.

  • rebow
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't have chipmunks but the moles/voles/mice dig around under my sidwalks. Yesterday I filled the void under there with expanding foam. My inside cat used to be allowed in the garden until he brought an eviserated pregnant squirrel inside the house and scattered fetuses all over my family room. Then it became apparent that he also had received tapeworms from the critters he was eating. No more outside kitty.

  • ajpa
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't suppose the coyote from the other thread could deal with the chipmunks in this one? :)

  • otempora
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pesky chipmunks thrive.
    Cute, but Armageddon looms:
    Tasty Alvin hash.

  • annld
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Chipmunk haiku! Very nice!

  • uptightbuyer
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This subject is like a subject on smoking or gun control, some people passionately for, and some people passionately against. Anyone who has had their grounds overrun with chipmunks will do anything to get some control. Every new spring planting is half way out of the ground next day, they seen to love to burrow in fresh tilled soil. Our chipmunk population is so bad this year they are running over my feet!! I was climbing the steps from our back garden and nearly fell over two chasing each other coming down. Our local pest control uses gas bombs and poisoned bait but they charge $400 so I am going to try the flushing and swimming pool methods combined. Thanks for the tips.

  • greengardener07
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I wish this topic would just go away!

    Use deterrents to control, do not kill, the animals.

    Get a dog or a cat to scare them off.

  • eibren
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cats are very good at eliminating them.

    We haven't had any since some feral kittens were born under a shed in a nearby yard.

    A few are cute, but too many can even undermine a foundation to a house.

  • altoonianpa
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know this is late...Havaheart is a good trap to catch chippies. We had one get in our house for days, outwitted 4 cats and a dog. We got havaheart, added some peanut butter and in caught it in a few hours! Released it, and all was well. You can get them at a wildlife rescue for renting ($10 and they will refund you once the trap is back...at least ours did). Total cost, gas for the car/peanut butter. We let ours out in our yard, but you could take it to some woods and it will be fine.

  • little_byrd
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    About 6 years ago, I bought a house. It was pretty run down; I had to gut most of it and start form scratch~ a year long project that was time consuming and expensive; but in the end, I was happy. I had a beautiful home to raise my family in, and a lot of land to grow the bulk of our food on it.
    i'm an avid gardener. Each year i'm the first on my block outside planting; and by the time harvest comes around, i end up with enough to feed my own family, donate some to our food bank, can a bunch to carry us through the winter, and even some to take to the local organic famrer's market. I don't make a lot of money~ i run a small business selling handmade, natural fiber clothing and other handmade homewares geared towards making a sustainable and eco-friendly life a little simpler. Because if i learned anything, living sustainably and eco-freidly, is a lot of work. Of course, all it takes is one look at my sons to remind me that it's worth it.
    Since i don't make a lot though, you can understand why my garden is so important to us- it's literally the lifeblood of my family.
    I've been gardening organically since before it was trendy~ i grew up being taught that you could either take the easy road, spray some toxic chemicals that you haven't the slightest clue about on your plants, or you could take a little extra time, do some research and figure out what pests eat what crops, and what beneficial bugs eat those pests; so that you can plant insectary plantings that will encourage the beneficial bugs to your garden.
    I also leanred the importance of planning where you put your garden~ not putting it in an area frequented by "rodents" is pretty effective; and a little foundation work at the beginning of the season helps even more.

    Now- on top of the gardening I do, which means I tilled, dug, planted, and harvested~ there were also some wild plants growing on our property that bore fruit. blackberries, apples, pears, etc. So i took the time to prune and fertilize them with compost; to help them along.
    Technically, they're not "mine"- they were there before me, but i do take care of them, and in return, they take care of me.

    For the first few years, my homestead was pretty peaceful. We had neighbors; and they had a couple kids, and in the summer, sometimes they irritated me, but for the most part, i tolerated them b/c they were cute.
    Then one day a letter came, saying that the property our house is on, was not properly parceled at the sale; and that actually, a third of our yard belonged to said neighbors.
    The neighbors didn't make a fuss about it though- i guess they figured there was room for both of us.
    So we went on our merry way. Then, one day I saw the neighbors in my yard. Turns out, the husband got laid off, and they were really broke; so they had come to pick som eof the fruit off the wild berry bushes and trees on the property~ the property that we bought, even thought technically, the neighbors were here first, and owned it first. I didn't make a fuss then~ what's a few measly pears, right? But then it happened again. And again. ANd all the sudden, i started noticing, these PEOPLE were messing up MY yard. Because, I paid for it, right? i mean, i gave the realator money, i signed the contract, so it's mine, right? Even if they were here first? I mean, I PAID for it for cripe's sake! I signed a paper! I tried explaining to them they needed to buzz off, but they didn't speak english. So, After this happened a few more times, I got mad. So, I went to their house while they were sleeping; and I sealed up all the neighbors doors and windows, except one. ANd on that one, I loaded the hose, and started flooding the inside of the house were thy were now trapped. I waited till the morning, and when it came around, i saw I had taken care of the problem~ i mean, sure, those kids were cute and all, the way they liked to play around on my yard; and the parents were just trying ot feed their kids and all, off the plants they'd been eating from on MY property, even before I bought it- but hey, this was trespassing, right? What gives them the right? Don't they understand legal terminology and money?
    Now, a friend of mine told me, that drowning them was really rather mean and cruel, and electrocuting them would have been a much more human way to handle it. So i'll have to remember that for next time.

    Sounds insane, right? guess what? So do you.
    This isn't about tree hugging or animal rights~ this is logic people. you moved into the habitat, not them. And going on about all the easy ways to dispose of them is nothing but sheer laziness. I probably grow ten times as much as the majority of you; and i don't garden just for "fun" either. Like the chipmunks, i'm trying to feed my brood. But with a little effort, i learned there's a lot of simple ways to deter them. If you're telling me you don't have enough time to pick up a book; figure out what plants and beneficial wildlife will deter them from that garden space, or that you can't rent or make a human trap, put it in your backseat, and release them a few miles out into the country or the parks, then perhaps you should re-evaluate your prioroties.
    I find generally, it's people like oyu who are also using toxic herbicides and pesticides instead of taking the time to plant a few insectary planting for beneficials. You're the same people who don't rotate your tiny little crops, to allow the soil to replenish it's nutrients, avoid erosion and displace chemical run off from your chemical filled easy way out. Did oyu know vinegar will kill just about any kind ofweeds? And it won't harm wildlife or the ozone layer or my kid's lungs or bodies.
    Pick up a national geographic, turn on the discovery channel; you'll find that right now, the state of our soil is so depleted of nutrients, that it's estimated in another 30 years, when the population has grown, we'll be unable to provide enough grain to feed everyone.
    Get off your butts, do some research. ANd before anyone gets on their animals aren't people high horse, go to the library and re-check that. Because 1) we are, in fact, animals; and 2)many animals are more intelligent than a 5 year old toddler. That's been proven time and time again in SCIENTIFIC studies and trials. So, tell me: do you think a five year would notice if you drowned them? They provide about as much valuable purpose as animals; but we don't kill them off do we?
    Something ot remember about the circle of life: sure, natural selection, the survival of the fittest and the food chain are all part of it. but so are you. When you kill off just one sdpecies; you also untip the balance of their position. Suddenly there's too many of something it once controlled, and too little of something it once enabled. Look at our honeybee population's decline; look at the invasive insects and wildlife that were once population-controlled by wildlife that we managed to snuff out b/c they got a little "inconvienent". Every single thing on this earth is connected; and when you mess with one part of it, there's a ripple effect.
    And if you STILL think you're so much better than the rodents and the animals, ask yourself why it is you have no issue with torturing and killing small furry woodland creatures? Because pests or not, last time i checked, that was one of the main character traits of sociopaths and serial killers. What's next? Gonna kill me b/c I turfed your lawn?

  • nhlivefreeordie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    They are rodents, without a cat, any method to eliminate them is fair game, on YOUR property. Just because the are cute doesn't give them a pass, they do lot's of damage as do mice and squirrels. I am not going to tell you how to get rid of them as others have done, you have enough options here, but the intrusion by other folks telling you how you should feel about them is way too much. Bottom line is, it is your property, handle it as you see fit.

  • little_byrd
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Right. It's "your" property b/c you handed some money over to the last guy who lived there, and signed some legal doc's in court right? If some spanish speaking stranger showed up and moved into your house, and claimed that it was theirs, just b/c they paid someone else, and signed a paper in court, would you move out? Nope.
    The idea that land is personal property is ludicrous anyways, this is why people like you have screwed up the climate and the ozone layer for our generation~ and now expect us to fix it for you.
    Maybe if you hadn't been so lazy and so greedy, you might have resolved these issues years ago without harming anything~ stop being such a beougeousie *%#$! who thinks everything they stake their claim on is theirs. The earth doesn't belong to us; we simply living on her. The land you live on? "your" property? The stuff you bought, so it's rightfully yours? guess what? A few hundred years ago it belonged to the native americans. But some bully punk moved in, in search of religious freedom, shot and killed the natives, and took it; all under the guise that they found it, they paid for it, and they signed some legal documents. Is it any more theirs than than the natives? Nope. But at one time, you considered us "redskins" little more than rodents too.
    Get off your high horse. Thanks to you, we lost our land, our beffalo, our way of life. We lived here for thousands of years, hunted what we needed to survuve, used everything, wasted nothing, and by the time oyu got here, there was plenty to go around. Than your pompous, greedy hands got incontrol for a few dozen years, and guess what? killed off all those pesky buffalo; save a few you threw in your "national parks"; destroyed most of the land with your horrific gardening skills (which you wouldn't even have if my anscestors hadn't taken pity on you and fed and taught you).
    Yeah, but you're right. it's all yours. Cause you were there first, right? And they're just rodents right? I'll remember to tell my kids that the next time they ask what happened to great grandpa, and their anscestors. Cause that's what you said we were a few years back.
    nothing but laziness.

  • nhlivefreeordie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well Well, welcome to socialism 101, do folks like you ever get tired of being wrong? There is no problem with the ozone layer, there is no global warming, or haven't you been keeping up with recent scientific findings. Just as a side note, to celebrate Earth Day I cut down 8 48" diameter maples ( on MY own land ) to make way for my new vine garden, have a Happy INDEPENDENCE Day ;-)

  • little_byrd
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you are actually so ignorant and uneducated that you don't realize the ramifications your ill-begot methods have wrecked havoc on the environment, than i'm fairly certain you're beyond reprive. even your ultra-conservative, imperialistic, bourgeousie republican set recognizes that global warming isn't just a myth; b/c they've finally managed to open their eyes wide enough to see what's in front of them.
    I have kept up with recent scientific findings, thank you for your concern; i have a degree in environmental science, and while i chose to do something else in the end, i have a strong passion for educating myself on the ever evolving issues you speak so unintelligably about. Pick up a few issues of national geogtaphic from this year; it's estimated that in 2020, if the population boom continues to climb as it has, we will most likely be facing some of the worst famine seen since the irish potato famine. Why? Is it because there's not enough to go around? No, there's plenty to go around. But instead of trying to work with the earth, people like you have instead chose to rape it; refused to rotate crops, use natural, non toxic methods or figure out how to throw your garbage in the blue containers. Our landfills are so overfull with waste that they are riding around in barges aimlessly; and have even resorted to disposing of it in the atmosphere. The gasses emitted by the waste in those landfills have slowly but surley caused a gaping hole in the ozone layer.
    Instead of rotating crops and giving mama eart time to replenish the natural nutrients she provides in her soil, you've chosen to plant, year after year, on the same barren rows; contributing to the loss of sustainability in the soil itself to produce a healthy crop; the crops from there suffer from disease and other pests, b/c they aren't receiving the proper nourishment. It also has caused erosion; which then contributes to run off~ all those toxic chemicals you've sprayed on your food are now slowly seeping into the water supply for natural habitat in the area. between that, and continued cutting, you've forced the few remaining wild species into smaller and smaller places; where less food is availabole, and they are left with no choice but to come into public- something they prefer not to do; but you've left them no choice.
    Or perhaps you should pick a copy of archaeology magazine; where oyu can read about the process of carbon dating tree's; and find out how the levels of toxicity have reached an all time high. Or maybe the smithsonian's article on how, in another 10-20 years, we will no longer be graced with beauty that is the northern lights; due to decreased barriers and thinning layers of protection that once mirroed the sky. About how it's expected the bulk of snow capped mountains and well traveled ski slopes in south america will suffer so much loss in temperature, that snow will not be suffieicent enough to allow for it.
    Maybe the news? Perhaps reading is a bit challenging for you. Turn on the tv~ discovery, natonal geographic, animal planet; the weather channel; find out how the polar ice caps are melting, and large percentages of polar animals are becoming stranded on the once impenatrable glaciers; now permeated by the effects of gloabl warming; broken off to the point that they cannot provide strong enough foundation for these animals to use them as their primary hunting grounds.
    Maybe you could look into how your greed and lack of effort have drained the majority of our world's oil supply; and about the foolish few who see fit to destroy some of alaska's last great frontier; for eternity; just to harvest the last dregs of oil in their path; oil that is in such small quantities, it cannot sustain the USA for more than 3 years at most.
    Why not try picking up a farmer's almanac and stepping outside; taking notice of the shifting weather changes and the frequency with which severe weather has come through. Or maybe you just thought global warming meant it got hot outside?
    I spoke nothing of socialism in my prior entires; but it doesn't surprise me that omeone like you would fear such a thing; it may actually require you to work an honest day's labour and force you to consider you're impact on it~ or maybe the thought of it just bothers you b/c when you're forced to realize you're not the only person in the world, you finally recognize how very small and irrelevant you truly are in the scheme of things.
    But i suppose those of us who spent years studying with the best in the field; those of us who bothered to notice that with one trifling exception, the world is composed of other people~ and even your right wing, corporate american fat cats and politicians ~ are all wrong. no, there's nothing wrong with wasting and outsourcing your gluttony for excess; and sending it off on a barge in search of someplace not alrady sullied with your other garbage; the stuff you just couldn't find the time ot put in the blue bin instead of the white one.
    And yes; you must be right~ my ansectors and i; the ones who fed yours when they were starving for lack of knowledge on how to work with this land instead of on it; the ones who you shot mercilessly and left bloody and without spirit on the dirt b/c you wanted to move in; and b/c you paid someone for it~ i suppose i was wrong about that too. Tell that to the infants who died of starvation and exposure, the ones you left to suckle on their dead mother's breasts in your feilds of blood.
    I guess you're right~ WE were the ones who wanted to leave our homes; leave the lush lands that we'd lived in peace with; to be corralled into deserts too barren for you to squeeze any kinf of profit out of. We were the ones who wanted our mothers and grandmothers ot be systematically steriolized without consent or knoledge in your hospitals when we went to give birth.

    And congratulations on cutting down more trees on earth day; you've done your grandchildren a wonderful service~ now what had once possibly been our hope; those bothersome and irritating trees that consume up to 13lbs of carbon dioxide in a years, that would have otherwise given your granchildren clean, healthy, unpolluted air to breathe. i'm sure when they're children are born and they're starving from your total lack of reverance for anything intelligent, scientifically, agriculturally or environmentally correct, they'll lok back fondly on the lazy SOB who was such a small man that instead of just taking two minutes to humanely remove or prevent small animals from entering HIS planet, preferred to fill their lungs with water and cause them one of the most painful deaths possible. Perhaps they'll have been fortunate enough to have avoided you long enough that when they take their first psych class in college, and learn how one of the most significant and common practices of sociopaths and mentally depraved people are one and the same.
    I pity you, i do~ your life must be so very tiny and empty and unfilling; that you've nothing better to do than spew rhetoric and tot total strangers simply b/c you're threatened by the fact that they're more educated than you.

  • john_causmac
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    yes, nhlivefreeordie has a valid point. It's that people like us will be forever cleaning up after people like him; he's far too busy listening to himself talk than to actually have educated himself on anything.
    I'm not a young man; i've watched this argument rallied for decades; and while there are still a small few wingnuts out there who believe global wamring, the holocaust, and the opression of the native americans are all conspiracy theories, rest assured, the strongest skeptics and deniers of gloabl wamring have finally admitted that global warming is in fact a harsh reality. they're forgivable, however; they have admitted they were wrong and made strides to retrofit their previous actions.
    someday, while the wingnuts are choking on their own fluids filling up their lungs as a direct result of their use of toxic chemicals and utter lack of logic, they will be privvy to all those chipunks they drown.

  • nhlivefreeordie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a pathetic way to go through life, spouting socialist propaganda on a Gardening forum. LMAO.
    While you are worrying about every little thing that you as a human have absolutely no control over, I will go about doing things as I have always done, the great thing is if the economy, or some other catastrophe ever takes place, there is comfort knowing that your types will be the first to perish. But thank you for demonstrating perfectly what I had already told several others that have been watching this little exercise, absent of any real data or facts, you resort to personal attacks, because you are neither knowledgeable of the subject, or sure of your convictions. Sooner or later perhaps you will realize your errors, until then, keep worrying, I will keep enjoying.

  • skycrowdog
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Little byrd:
    Pay no attention to the ignorant fool in the corner. he knows not his subject, and has simply resorted to slinging mud at you.
    I commend you for what you said- and i also thought your initial reply about the neighbor's house anology was hysterical- good for you.
    nhlivefreeordie says :
    "What a pathetic way to go through life, spouting socialist propaganda on a Gardening forum"

    ironic, because from what i can see, you were actually replying the subject on hand, and debating the right answers and actions in regard to it. nhlivefreeordie, on the other hand, has not oferred any sort of answers relevant to the post; he has simply secided to attack you. Seeing as, he has nothing to offer or ask on the subject, HE would be the one with nothing better to do than spout propaganda.
    Then he says:
    "While you are worrying about every little thing that you as a human have absolutely no control over"

    Tsk, tsk, tsk. yes, i can see how we have no control over anything. We should certainly keep doing the things that science and history have taught us are causing damage- after all, we have no control over how much waste we as consumers contribute. No, we can't do anything about that! Recylcing? what good can that possibly do? it couldn't change anything- like eliminate the need for bigger and bigger dumps, and creating more fossil fuel output from the trucks and barges carrying it. No siree.
    ANd we certainly can't control what kinds of cans we use, even though it's been proven that CFC's damage the ozone layer. Not to mention, there's no way we can stop deforestation, which has been proven to have a direct (negative) correlation to weather patterns and global warming; not to mention loss of habitata, which in turn, forced all those pesky animals into our gardens, where they really wouldn't prefer to be, but have no choice, since their homes where destroyed ot make paper, instead of using a renewable resource, like hemp. i mean, really, we need that space, to build a new strip mall, so we can take our business overseas and put many locals ou of business, and ship in what we could grow right here.
    Then he says:
    "the great thing is if the economy, or some other catastrophe ever takes place, there is comfort knowing that your types will be the first to perish. "

    Well. That just makes about as much sense as everything else he said. Certainly, when the economy crashes, and you're already living off the grid b/c you learned to support your home on alternative, renewable energy; and you're at home eating fresh evegatbles and fruits that you didn't need to buy, b/c you knew how to grow them yourself; without havng to spend tons of money on pesticides and herbicides and whatever else- you will be the first to perish. ic an really see how, living as simply but as sustainably as possible, would get you killed first, lol.

    Laslty, he says:
    "others that have been watching this little exercise, absent of any real data or facts, you resort to personal attacks, because you are neither knowledgeable of the subject, or sure of your convictions. Sooner or later perhaps you will realize your errors, until then, keep worrying, I will keep enjoying. "

    Yes, i can see now how you're pathetic and have nothing better to do than talk about gardening technique, on a gardening site; while he's off someplace, getting livid and ranting about everything BUT gardening; and then geting so pissed off about it, that he starts bringing people over to see it, lol. He's the one with a life, though.
    And that well written, well informed post you wrote, where you not only inform the panel about what's happening, and what are some alternative methods, but cite where you got the information for, well, that's certainly "absent of any real data or facts", as he puts it. Because his is just chock full of it, lol.

    Take comfort, little byrd, in knowing that if and when this planet does suffer a crisis, you will be probably be one of the only few left standing, b/c you learned to live off the land the right way, long before it it was necessary; and that nhlivefreeordie will be emaciated, homeless and starving, bc he was too stubborn or ignorant to actually learn how to be self sufficient, or how to live off the land the right way.
    Namaste, sister.

  • nhlivefreeordie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Two socialist fools and a well written argument do not make anything you say correct, as for science...we have all been shown how often that is wrong.
    Just an FYI, I have no chipmunk problem, they are gone, for this season anyway, ever notice how the "greenies" yards always look the worse?? LOL

  • little_byrd
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow. you're still on this?
    Okay~ i'm going to reply to this once more; after that i'm done~

    1) Whether or not you choose to live a sustainable, eco-friendly life style is entirely your choice. We probably won't see much of it's long term travesty in our life time; but i know my kids, their kids, and their kids kids are likely too; and that's enough to make me want to prevent whatever i can of it, regardless of the fact it takes more work.

    2)If you're not here because you have chipmunks; and you're not here because you have any suggestions for getting rid of chipmunks, WHY were you here in the first place?

    3)I don't know what your yard looks like; or what a greenie is. I know mine is looking terrific though~ i'm the first person on my block out there every year; and when most of my neighbors are just beginning to plant sed, i'm already harvesting crops of cooler weather produce.
    My neighbors often come ot me for advice, because they see how well my plants do. I plant edibles and non-edibles as well.
    For three years running, my garden has been featured in the annual garden walk section of the county paper, LC Arch; and last year i won an award for garden design. I could care less however, what anyone thinks about the way it looks, other than my loved ones. They're the people i do it for; and myself~
    Doing what i do also supplies me with fresh produce through out three seasons. My kids know what a fresh tomato, grown naturally in soil and nutrient-enriched compost, ripened by the sun, tastes like. They don't know what a flavourless beach-ball shaped tomato, grown overseas in the off season, sprayed down with dozens of chemicals that spped up the process, plucked from the vine unripened, put in a fuel powered chamber to ripen, then sprayed with more chemicals to preserve it for the long journey it will then take, in a transport that guzzles fuel and coughs chemicals, to my local grocery shelf tastes like. I'm proud of that.

    I'm also proud, that in addition to providing my own family year round with freshly grown food, free of chemicals, I can also provide some to 2 of our local foodbanks. Every time i bring some in, without fail, they tell me how much it's appreciated, and how they rarely get in fresh produce. ANd while i'm guessing you will consider food banks to be enabling the lazy; i personally think that just because we're in a recession, and some little girl's mom and dad both were laid off, it doesn't mean that she shouldn't be able to eat good, healthy food, that doesn't come from a box or frozen tray. But the most fullfilling thing of all was when this spring, i went to one of those food banks, and had a list of people who came there for food, that had asked if i could call them and help them learn how to harvest seeds from the produce i donated, so that they could try growing some of it themselves. AN article in which my garden was featured hangs on the wall in that particular food bank, and apparently, some of the clients there read it, including the part in which i told the reporter that after the first few years, I rarley hadf to buy seeds, b/c i hatvested them from my own plants once they came to fruit.

    The truth is, i find it very hard to believe that the so-called greenies you know have "bad" yards. People who spend their lived reducing, re-using and recycling, all in the effort to create a more sustainable, eco-friendly, waste-free world really don't seem like the types who would let their yard go. It's a bit of an oxy moron. Perhaps the real problem is, you've judged some people you knew nothing about, mislabeling them in the process, and categorizing them into a group you seem to already have developed a bias against.

    Something tells me, your time would be better spent outside, in your own lawn; or doing something nice for someone else; instead of sitting online and looking for people to bully. And while that's your personal choice; I don't doubt that if you did, you might find that you actyually have some friends who enjoy spending time talking with you. There's nothing wrong with debate; dissent is patriotic. It's the people who cling to their convictions while refusing to consider any other opinions or criticisms who usually find themselves bitter, alone, and hungry for companionship.
    Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

    And for anyone else who's been reading this; that might be ready to drink the kool aid nhlivefreeordie is trying to push on you, here's a little reading you can check out, if interested~ and i whole heartedly encourage you to continue researching, and reading, and to read differring opinions at that; so that you yourself can make a well-informed, personal desicion you can live with, whatever it may be.

    "To wit, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences declared in 2005 that "greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earths atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise," adding that "the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action." Other leading U.S. scientific bodies, including the American Meteorological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union have issued concurring statementsplacing the blame squarely on humans shoulders.

    Also, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of 600 leading climate scientists from 40 nations, says it is "very likely" (more than a 90 percent chance) that humans are causing a global temperature change that will reach between 3.2 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century." (J. Prokter; article in the UK Sound)

    http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=4407
    (article on the US ban of DDT, and the reasons for it, from the EDF)

    http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1011
    (myths and facts on global warming, from the EDF)

    http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1590
    (article on climate change and it's potential effects on your health, from the EDF)

    http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/06-21/global-warming-facts-article.htm
    (another article debunking the "global warming is a myth" theory)

    http://www.globalthink.net/global/dsppaper.cfm?ArticleID=96 (an excellent article that considers the effect climate change may have had on the black plague, and other historical catastrophes)

  • anitamo
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Little bryd...I loved the neighbor analogy. I am overrun with chipmunks, and have basically let them live in peace...under the deck, under the air cond. unit, under the j. maple, under the crabapple, under the ...well, you get the picture. I have plenty of oaks and acorns, so I guess that keeps them happy, because I've never noticed plant damage caused by them. One thing I have a hard time dealing with, though, is their scat. It's all over the front and back porches. Just wondering how lethal it is if our Maltese accidentally consumed some?

  • ravennxx_comcast_net
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was in thre pest control business for 25 years,and the best way is also the safest for non-target animals. Run a garden hose from you car exhaust to the main ground hole,and let you engine idle for about 20 minutes. The burrows are inner connected so you end up gasing all of them

  • Harley1200_gmail_com
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Doing nothing was what I did and I counted over 30 last year. Besides all the other animals in my back yard. Then a red tailed hawk made a nest in one of my trees. I'm hoping it will stay and i want to some how thank it.
    Amazed at the speed and strength. Kinda scary to see it working. What will happen when it see's the groundhog.
    Nothing moves in my back yard now for more than minute.
    My first year back to gardening!

  • philjam
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A rodent "poison" available to the general public is WAFARIN. This is a blood thinner. It is poison only because the dose makes the rodent OD. The amount of wafarin needed to kill a small rodent will have no effect on a much larger scavanger - such a a vulture. The agent thins the mouses blood to the point where it bleeds to death internally. It goes to sleep and does not wake up.

  • rsgal
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had never been bothered by the chipmunks until we were over run this year...really over run. Lots of damage, holes all over the place. I read the forums here and got a ratzapper, and the plastic housing. I used gloves to keep dowm the scent, and use sun flower seeds for bait. It was very effective - I got 3-5 chippies a day. To date, 73 chippies and 10 plus mice. The RatZapper lost efficacy for about a month. I called them and they told me how to clean it (the urine collects and breaks the circuit) and test it. I did as they suggested and am back in business, got 14 in the last 3 days. To tell the truth, it has barely made a dent. I leave the carcasses in the back of my yard and the red hawk picks them up. I like to think of them as recycled.

  • COOP57
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No need to rehash the house foundation, brand new driveway & sidewalk damage when the chipmunk population SOARED over the last few years. We did not know what to do, short of an exterminator, and he said they had to be in the house. We have always had chipmunks, but this is OUTOFCONTROL.
    Found the previous forum that was discontinued "EFFECTIVE CHIPMUNK-GROUND SQUIRREL CONTROL". We started reading it and learned of the 5 gallon bucket method. Started reading it to my husband, and he couldn't believe that people had to go to Home Depot to buy a 5 gallon bucket! Well to say he was motivated would be an understatement.
    Within an hour, and that included a trip to the pet store for sunflower seeds, the bucket was set up right next to my eaten & destroyed tomatoes and unbelievably, in the middle of a very hot summer afternoon, the lemmings I mean chipmunks started walking the plank. They are so confident of their athletic ability; they think they can easily jump from the surface of the sunflower seeds, back up to the edge of the bucket. My husband has been kept busy re-seeding the board and disposing of the remains.
    The bucket method works, and you will try it when you are at your wit's end. Take a deep breath and toss the remains into a vacant area, and the hawks will whisk them away. Oh and they love the mice too, who spend their evenings strolling the boardwalk. This is my preferred method of disposal, the hawks are so neat. Not possible? Freeze them until garbage day (in garbage bags of course). Thinking of keeping some to put out in the winter when food is harder to find for them.
    Note: when using this inexpensive non-toxic method do not leave the bucket anywhere that unwanted victims may use it...children or small pets, although this may alleviate the small non-stop yapping neighborhood dogs problem that many of us have to endure! This may not be for everyone, but remember that farmers will kill anything that interferes with their production, from bugs to varmints. It is their livelihood, and farmers benefit all of us. But I�m not in the business of re-employing my cement contractor over & over either.

  • asif1936
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To lovers of chipmunks. Be aware that chipmunks are the third in order of hosts for lyme disease carried by ticks.

  • japus
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My wife loves chipmunks and feeds them sunflower seeds.
    I told her about them,digging up all kinds of seed in my veggie garden, along with her flower garden..
    She feeds them, she goes shopping, I sit there and shoot them when they feed, a pellet gun rids them for good.
    Dont any one tell me how cruel I am, deer, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, groundhogs, you name it we got em.
    Even a bear, and we live all most in the center of town.
    These pests have caused me more expense, and labor then I wish to endure.
    I'll get rid of them any way I can.

  • greenthumbzdude
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Try rubber snakes!! Snakes are natural predators to chipmunks. Also put up some kestrel boxes.....they should eliminate your problem pretty quick.

  • Khristov12
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Try this method for chipmunk removal.

  • bopper123ny
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Why would anyone want to use any kind of Poison on Chipmunks. Let me tell you a story.we have had chipmunks around for years rabbits and woodchucks and deer you name it we had it.we would always feed them and they never bothered anything.We had five of them well this year i decided to start feeding them right next to the house that was my mistake because i was feeding them to much food and food was constaly around it drew a rat. Well i had to call the exterminator and now i have chipmunks i cant feed and they are getting into the rat poision and to see them litttle babies suffer they do not deserve that . SO PLEASE DONT FEED THEM RAT POISION THEY ARE JUST HUNGRY AND WANT ATTENTION.THEY DIE A SLOW DEATH A THEY SUFFER SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DONT GIVE THEM POSION YOU DONT WANT THEM AROUND TRAP THEM AND CALL A REHABLIATION SERVICE OR WILDLIFE.THEY WERE ALMOST EATING PEANUTS AND EVERYTHING OUT OF MY HANDS THEY ARE HARMLESS AND SO INNOCENT.I NOW BLAME MYSELF FOR WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH IF I WOULD OF ONLY NOT FEED THEM IN THE FRONT YARD. RIP LITTLE ONE.

  • lucillle
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If they were harmless this thread would not be here.

  • japus
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    bopper
    Tell me that story when their in your home chewing through wiring, going through all your cabinets, etc etc.

  • rocketboy105
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have learned that trying to shame someone as a means to getting them to reconsider their actions doesn't work. So,..instead I thought I'd ask some good questions:

    1) If a neighbor had a dog you didn't like, would throwing the dog in your swimming pool be a reasonable solution?

    2) How about someone's cat?

    3) Why is it perfectly fine, to drown Chipmunks or any animal?

    4) Would you be completely "comfortable", watching a Chipmunk drown? Watching it fight for its life, in total panic, total terror, steadily tiring,...but still trying,...and finally exhausted,...breathes water in,....and finally succumbs. Is that something that causes no anxiety at all?

    5) Would you let your 6 year old child watch the Chipmunk drown?

    6) Its illegal to drown any animal in many states; there must be a reason,....right?

    One person in 100 in this country are a Psychopath. I don't think everyone at this site is a Psychopath, but some how, you guys think drowning animals is acceptable. I can't even get my head around drowning animals,..just because its "efficient". Atomic bombs are efficient too, we don't use them for obvious reasons.

    Well,...now my personal story with Chipmunks. I had one that got injured by a a neighbors cat. So,...I brought him inside, and nursed him back to health. What I would ask everyone to consider,...is that (like people),...an animal you don't know,...is seen in a different light, when you have the chance to "meet them",..and get to know them.
    As I cared for this Chipmunk,...I made a number of amazing observations. One,...they dream. I watched him make a nest,...and curl up on his side,..and go to sleep. Then I saw,....his muzzle twitching,...his little hands and feet moving....just like a dog. They aren't just "rats with a bushy tail". When he was healthy, I released him in a nice wooded area. And ever since,...my wife and I feed the Chipmunks on our deck,....and its loads of fun, watching them stuff their pouches,...some of them come over to the picture window and stand on their hind feet,..and look inside our house to see if anyone is home. We have had no problems with them,...no garden problems,...no "wires",...no wood problems. Maaaaaybe,...its cuz we offer them something. I've heard campers hang smelly food items a mile away from their camp site so the bears have something to go after. Guys,....why not work WITH NATURE,..instead of against it. Trapping and releasing Squirrels and Chipmunks works,....feeding them has worked for us,...and we've enjoyed watching them.

    I was even patient enough to sit still on the deck,...with sun flower seed in my hand,...and had a few come eat out of my hand.

    So,...I wish at least some of you,...would reconsider killing them. There are other ways of dealing with them in most cases. They have a pretty hard life as it is,...snakes,...raptors, Owls, and worst of all cats.

    If even one person "rethought" the whole thing,...writing this would feel worth it.

  • HU-822721223
    3 years ago

    What kind of person would even consider killing and causing horrifying suffering to an innocent helpless creature???

  • functionthenlook
    3 years ago

    At camp we have black snakes. They are our friends. They make our shed and furnace room their home and it if fine with us. They keep the area clean of the little destructive rodents. Our neighbor at our house just got a cat and she let's it out. I hope it is a good hunter. If not we will bring some of the black snakes down.

  • Tony Tiger
    3 years ago

    Anyone know if chipmunks CAN cause damage? Anyone have any proof or what damage occurred? This seems like a buch of BULLShist coming from terminator industries.

  • functionthenlook
    3 years ago

    They are destructive to gardens and most importantly, humans. They carry lyme dz.

  • Steve Henning
    3 years ago

    Chipmunks are rodents and can chew through most anything they want to chew through. They, as well as other rodents including mice, dogs and cats, and people carry ticks that can spread numerous diseases such as lime disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and relapsing fever, Owls will eat both chipmunks and ticks. An interesting fact is that opossums kill ticks when they groom their bodies except for the ones they can't reach like on their head. See the PennLive article: https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/03/almost-half-of-deer-ticks-carry-lyme-disease-new-study.html

  • Bethany Chrystal
    2 years ago

    i can't walk through my yard without damn near breaking a frk'n ankle every other step AND I don't even have a garden! my neighbor does. however, it's not only a good trek on foot but there's also Two separate gravel driveways + distance between us, not including mine which also separates us (garden & I) That being said what do ya'll suggest? ive tried sprays, traps, scents & even flushing their tunnels out with water & firing my CO2 pellet gun at 'em as they run out.

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