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debcoo2229

how to kill chipmunks

debcoo2229
11 years ago

I have messed with these chipmunks for over three years now - hav-a-heart traps (driven them 8 miles out of town) - they are causing a lot of damage to my home and my yard. I am afraid my front side walk will collapse if I don't do something immediately.

What is the best/fastest way to kill - yes, kill - these invasive pests?

Please do not respond with 'no kill' advice. I have had it with them.

Deb

Comments (31)

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    11 years ago

    A rat trap baited with peanut butter protected so no bigger critters get at it.

    tj

  • debcoo2229
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I have had a rat trap outside along the side of the house (where they run) with peanut butter for three days. They haven't touched it!

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    Google ' chipmunk bucket trap '.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    they tunnel ... as you know..

    find the entrance ... get a very large plastic pot.. 25 gallons or so ...

    place trap next to hole.. invert pot.. and hide it in the dark ...

    i doubt they will gratuitously walk onto a trap ... but the scent.. in the dark.. seems to work ...

    one other thing.. find the hole.. find many holes.. lightly crush them with your foot.. and come back every day or so.. and find out which are the active holes... i use irrigation/miss dig flags.. to remember where they are .. and then bait the active holes ...

    the are hyperactive little bat-turds.. i once thought i had an infestation numbering in the hundreds.. trapped 3.. and my problem was gone ...

    ken

  • Kimmsr
    11 years ago

    Moving live wild animals without a license from the state is illegal in many places and could subject you to large dollar fines if you are caught. Moving live wild animals to new territory is not a good idea since the native wild animals there will often kill the intruders to protect the available food source. Placing poisoned baits is not a good idea since you cannot control which animal, a pest or a beneficial, gets that poison.
    If there is a wildlife rehab nearby they may take live chipmonks to use as a food source for their other wild animals.

  • debcoo2229
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    thanks Ken,
    this sounds like a plan!

  • susanzone5 (NY)
    11 years ago

    I do what Ken does but I put a heavy rock on top of the container so it doesnt blow over. Also, I use sunflower seeds as bait and prop the bucket up an inch or so with a stone. This always works for me. I like big snap traps.

  • debcoo2229
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    thx for the advice -
    where do you all get your 25 gallon containers?
    black?

    thx again,
    Deb

  • Kimmsr
    11 years ago

    Most states have laws that prohibit discharging any firearm that close to any dwelling, even your own. Be sure you know what laws or ordinances apply to you.

  • ab2008
    11 years ago

    It's also why I mentioned depending on their location. Myself? I live off the back roads, kind of in the middle of nowhere, woods around etc, so most folks can get out, do as they please for the most part, target shoot etc and doesn't bother anyone.
    Things are different here, than in MI. The last thing the police are worried about here is a chipmunk being slaughtered in all honesty lol. And rightly so, there are more important things to worry about usually.

    But with that said, if you have neighbors on both sides, and live in a traditional neighborhood, please don't get out and start shooting lol.

    Another thing you may want to check into is, a motion sensor sprinkler perhaps? I think amazon has one called scarecrow. It basically detects movement and gives a few quick squirts of water. That might help, just turn it off before you step out there of course..

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    11 years ago

    25 gal container..

    most good nurseries have a recycle bin for pots ..... just get the largest you can.. and yes.. i have a brick to put on top also ...

    or buy a tree to plant.. in a large pot.. lol ...

    the idea is simply that you have room for the hole.. the trap.. and some ground.. for him to search around in ...

    a 25 gal is the equivalent of an old wood bushel basket ... but that would probably not be dark enough ...

    a cardboard box from the grocer might work .... until it got too wet ... tape some plastic on it.. to water proof it a bit ... [think dollar store plastic paint tarp] ....

    did you find the holes yet???

    ken

  • susanzone5 (NY)
    11 years ago

    You can use a 14" black nursery planter pot. 25 gallons isn't necessary.
    I also use a shotgun sometimes. A .410 goes only 50 feet, has no kickback. I live in the woods.

  • sweetpea5899
    10 years ago

    I am so frustrated! I am trying to sell my house and these little critters could jeopardize that.. I have tried traps with pb.. Chipmunk pool.. Everyone that does the pool talks about having one within minutes.. I have had one for 3 days... Nothing.. They eat the seeds on and around the plank but do not get in.. I work full time and don't have a lot of time to sit around trying to catch the critters and since my house is for sale - cant really go off and leave traps and stuff in plain view in case someone comes to see the house. Is there some quick and easy solution - something to just put in their holes?

    Thanks!!

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    hire a professional

    here in MI we have trapper bob

    google your brains out.. until you find someone.. wherever you are ...

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • KansasCityKitty
    10 years ago

    Just a word of warning... If you kill them, you will become a chipmunk in your next life.

    Apart from that, why not catch and release? Thats what we did when I found a nest of TEN baby possums, plus mom underneath our porch.
    Get a cat?
    spray whatever they're destroying with chili pepper spray?

    Everything in nature is there for a reason...i.e. bug control, etc.

  • KansasCityKitty
    10 years ago

    Just a word of warning... If you kill them, you will become a chipmunk in your next life.

    Apart from that, why not catch and release? Thats what we did when I found a nest of TEN baby possums, plus mom underneath our porch.
    Get a cat?
    spray whatever they're destroying with chili pepper spray?

    Everything in nature is there for a reason...i.e. bug control, etc.

  • Khristov12
    10 years ago

    Try this for chipmunk elimination.

    Here is a link that might be useful: chipmunk / rodent bucket trap

  • iamzinnia
    10 years ago

    Get a Cat. No kidding, thats what I did. Gets rid of all the little critters in the garden, and it's natures way."

  • iamzinnia
    10 years ago

    Get a Cat. No kidding, thats what I did. Gets rid of all the little critters in the garden, and it's natures way."

  • curtisshops
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I have a cat, but too old now. We live very rural, big problem with chipmunk nests in the cars. Going down the road and the car bursts into fire?? Cuddly, right. Have had them in the car's HVAC unit and on top of the engine. Need "final solution" for these critters.

    (Someone read this and asked me to delete it, said maybe this was the chipmunks final solution for me. OK, I get it.) So this is an edit, not a deletion. I had just gotten back from the "city" 5 hours away, and getting the damage to the car repaired. I've been battling this issue for years, an earlier repair to the HVAC unit was $700. But I use hav-a-hart traps and relocate them. And of course I don't mean final solution for chipmunks, just for my vehicle. I live in the middle of the outback of So. Utah, 98 miles from the nearest stop light. By choice. Best hiking in the U.S. And I love nature, just trying to have a better boundary around the house and vehicle. Also tried moth balls, peppermint, cayenne pepper chilies, and Not So Soft. Nothing works so far. Any suggestions Jim or Houzz Team?

  • User
    7 years ago

    I've used Havahart traps but I'd rather just kill them. And it would be good to be able to kill a lot of in a short period of time. I tried the bucket and ramp set-up with sunflower seeds but squirrels commandeered the bucket and ate all the sunflower seeds. Does anyone have experience setting up bucket trap that gets chipmunks but does not become an all-you-can-eat buffet for every squirrel in the neighborhood?

  • kitasei
    7 years ago

    I am overrun by chipmunks too, but haven't noticed any damage they do. What exactly is the problem?

  • Cj Gavin
    7 years ago

    I have had the best luck with 'have a hart' traps. A little peanut butter smeared on the trip plate with sunflower seeds dabbled into it is irresistable. After they are trapped, I submerge them in the trap in a garbage barrel with about a foot of water. It's the most humane way I know of culling the herd. And for those morons who keep asking why? How would you like it if an elderly person tripped, fell, and broke a hip on your brick walkway which seemed perfectly safe - only to find a half dozens bricks had a gaping hole beneath them? The chipmunks set a perfect human trap. I'm only returning the favor. They don't know enough to live away from humans and unfortunately, our presence as destroyed the habitat of most of their natural predators (foxes, coyotes, wild cats, etc...)

  • curtisshops
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I posted early (curtisshops - March 18th) with a photo of the damage the chipmunks were doing to my vehicles. Not only is it a fire hazard, it cost me $600 to totally dismantle the HVAC unit and clean out their nests (and a couple that died in there.) I have been using have a heart traps, but lately the munks get in and eat the peanut stuck down with peanut butter and leave w/o springing the trap they are so light, so my catch rate keeps falling and falling.

    I finally resorted to a rat zapper, several brands available to look at on Amazon, or wherever, and it is working! Photo is my 4th kill in 2 weeks. With lots of voltage, it is pretty much instant numbing and clean kill, notice the rigidity, spares you and the animal the drowning routine. I think I may have found the best option for us living as remote as we do, even more humane than a cat. I love the wildlife that we share with out here, and have 100's of chipmunks and lots of other critters on the ranch, they are incredible breeders, but I just need them to stay back a couple hundred feet away from the house and vehicles and not do damage. I'm ordering a couple more units for around our compound.

  • ac49770
    6 years ago

    kimmsr's comment is cool but wanting. You have to kill them and can do so safely with rat traps, & pbutter with sunfloiwer seeds mashed in. You just need a bit of it stuffed under the bait-hook. Don't need a pile of it; just a bit with two or three pbuttery seeds lodged under the little bait-lip

  • Monica Galiger
    5 years ago

    In my state of Connecticut it is not illegal to kill Chipmunks. They do pose a major hazard to home structures. No different than killing a mouse in the house. I have a have a heart trap which ironically is not having a heart when you do it I do. I had so many I didn’t even need be in the trap they just ran in and I caught them. I have a Rubbermaid bucket which I called the dunking tank. Once I catch them I submerge the trap and within seconds they drown. I toss them in the woods in the food chain takes care of it Yes they are cute but distractive

  • John Grant
    3 years ago

    Anyone who thinks its wrong to kill chipmunks has never tried to stop them from causing damage. I've grown trees from seed for over 20 yrs and chipmunks are the single largest problem I have every year even though I've tried everything. With no protection they'll completely destroy seed beds in a few days while hoarding food. The best measures so far?...water trap/bucket with sunflower seeds, 1/2" mesh chicken wire, and owl with rotating head on a frequently moved pole (they won't go anywhere near it). Good luck

  • Oliver Strefanski
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Well, if I had chipmunks in my yard I would enjoy them, I wouldn’t kill them or try to get rid of them like you. You can if you want to, I don’t know where you live and I have never seen chipmunks before. I have heard that they cause a damage and some people have enough of them, but they are also really adorable (also, as I said, I’m not bossing you around so do what you want)

  • Dave Stump
    3 years ago

    Ohh how I hate chipmunks. I’ll try absolutely anything to eliminate them. I just don’t have a lot of time to dink with trap management so I’ll need to stick with traps, bait, a 22 and I’m calling a pest service.

  • Roy Jenkins
    3 years ago

    In the process of dealing with these destructive little SOB's now. My yard is completely honeycombed with tunnels. Any advice on how to get rid of the tunnels would be appreciated. I read chocolate is toxic for chipmunks? Maybe I'll put a ton of chocolate chips out around the yard. My immediate neighbors don't have pets. My yard is overrun with squirrels too so maybe kill two birds (rodents) with one stone(fatal dose of chocolate).

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