How to Get Rid of Chipmunks - Best Non-toxic Tips in 2022

 

How to Get Rid of Chipmunks - Best Non-toxic Tips in 2022

Chipmunks in their appearance do not cause a sense of threat, they are cute and fluffy, and children are happy to get such a pet. However, not everyone shares this point of view, especially summer residents in those regions where these rodents are found in natural conditions.

If an animal was seen on the site of a country house, then a real invasion can be expected soon. Therefore, it is important to take timely preventive measures that prevent the penetration of rodents, and if this happens, you should click here to know how to get rid of chipmunks.

Chipmunk Features

The rodent has an outward resemblance to a squirrel, their habits are also close. However, if squirrels prefer to live in trees, then chipmunks tend to spend a lot of time on the ground, where they dig well-camouflaged minks.

They live in the forest zone, but they can also choose a summer cottage. They rarely enter the house, although ventilation pipes and a chimney become an attractive habitat for them.

Life Cycle And Reproduction

Chipmunks grow up to 10-15 cm long. The decoration of the rodent is a fluffy tail, which can reach 10 cm. Body weight is 120-150 gr. A distinctive feature is the presence of dark stripes on the back.

The coat is colored gray-brown or red-brown. The eyes are protruding, which provides the animal with a maximum viewing area and helps to hide from a predator in time.

Chipmunks are active in the morning and evening. During the cold season, they hibernate, but they do not sleep very soundly and wake up regularly to eat.

Chipmunk Stocking Up Food

They have little subcutaneous fat, so the animals have to prepare provisions for the winter. Rodents wake up and leave their minks in the spring with the onset of heat, but they do it gradually.

First, the animals come out of the minks located on warm slopes, and then all the rest. If a cold snap begins, then they all hide until the onset of stable warm weather.

Under the spring sun, the animals are lethargic, lead a motionless life near their burrows, and feed on tree buds. In summer, their activity increases, they become mobile and move around the range.

On hot days, they hide in burrows, leaving them only early in the morning or late in the evening. If the chipmunks live in a thicket, then in the heat they can lead an active lifestyle under the trees. Feature habits - they do not like rainy weather.

The chipmunk burrows in tree roots. It also prefers rotten stumps, sometimes hollows. He likes to settle and live in deadwood and windfall, where he can successfully hide from enemies.

Prefers proximity to water, for example, and settles more often near streams and rivers. He can perfectly climb trees and quickly run on the ground.

Mating begins after hibernation when the female beckons the males with a whistle. Pregnancy lasts a month, after which babies are born. Usually, there are 3-6, but the number can reach 12.

Chipmunks are born blind and bald but develop very quickly. After two weeks, the fur coat grows, and after 3 weeks, the eyes open. Feeding lasts only 60 days, and already 4 months after birth, the animals leave the mink.

New offspring are ready for breeding after 11 months. At home, they can live up to 10 years, but in nature - only 2-3 years on average. This is due to a large number of natural enemies.

Food

The animal prefers plant foods, although it can sometimes include insects in its diet. Does not refuse mushrooms, nuts, or acorns.

Depending on the season, the menu includes young grass, fresh shoots, and buds. It likes to eat coniferous vegetation.

Often, with its appetite, it harms a person, ruining plots. He likes cereals and other crops - peas, sunflowers, corn with buckwheat.

Getting into the garden, the animal can climb a tree and eat apricots, and plums. Do not refuse to visit the cucumber garden.

Harm To Humans

In the area where Chipmunks are found, people normally use scarecrows, check everpest.com/collections/all, to drive Chipmunks from their food both at home and in the garden because Chipmunks love to dig holes that can be several meters in size. Animals do not refuse food, they can “help” the summer resident in harvesting. 

It is with these factors that the harm is done to a person is associated:

• The omnivorousness of animals provokes the risk of damage to the garden - they eat bulbs, roots, flowers, fruits, and berries.

• Undermining harms lawns and flower beds, not only seedlings suffer from the actions of rodents, but also stairs or decorative components on the site.

• Fertility and the possibility of compact living of single individuals with offspring can lead to the colonization of the site by rodents.

• Economic damage - farms located in the territories of Siberia, the Urals, and the Far East, in the north of Russia can be seriously attacked by the Asian chipmunk, especially in settlements close to the taiga and forest plantations.

• Bites - such cases are infrequent, and the animal itself is not too aggressive, preferring to hide, to come into conflict. But when children try to catch a rodent or when they enter a person’s home, attacks are possible. In addition, there is a risk of contracting rabies.

The Best Ways to Deal with Chipmunks

The animals are very shy, they quickly run away at the first sign of danger. By digging holes, they carry the earth behind their cheeks away from future housing, and the entrance is carefully masked. Therefore, finding a mink is not so easy.

1. Chemicals

Using strong chemicals on the site is very dangerous. Therefore, it is recommended to use softer means:

• Naphthalene balls - should be scattered near the house, in the area with plantations, and near rodent burrows. This drug will not lead to the death of the animal, but it will scare away the garden. True, carefully watch the children so that they do not pick up these balls.

• Place objects around the perimeter of the site that will scare away animals with their smell. For example, blood meal is scattered near the roots of trees and shrubs. Around the holes, you can lay out sticks with chewing gum, which has a strong smell.

• Preparations containing capsaicin - a substance secreted from chili peppers.

• Castor oil repellent to repel.

• Regular treatment of the area with a repellent containing predator urine.

2. Mechanical Traps

The most suitable option for getting rid of problems with chipmunks is prevention. For example, you can use a not very costly grid with small cells.

It is used to protect crops, various cavities, and pipes. It is also advisable to use a galvanized mesh with 6 mm cells. It should be buried up to 15-20 cm deep to avoid the possibility of undermining. Fencing around the perimeter of the site.

If the animals have entered the garden, and you want to know how to get rid of chipmunks in your summer cottage, then it is advisable to explore such options. The easiest way is to purchase a rodent trap.

• Metal Cage Trap For Small Rodents

After that, you need to scatter grains, and seeds, luring the animal into it. After being hit, the chipmunk is disposed of.

There is also such a trap option - take a bucket, and fill it halfway with water. Put it in the garden, leaning a board on it.

• Bucket Trap For Rodents

Seeds are thrown around the bucket, on the board, and into the water to lure rodents. The trap can be made from a metal mesh. To do this, take a cut of 300x500 mm. Holes should be 6-12 mm.

By bending a piece of mesh, get a rectangular cell. Fasten the edges with spring rings. One end of the cage is closed, constructing a door. The cage is placed in places where animals are present.

Effective, but dangerous for children and other animals, is the use of rat traps.

• Rat trap Swissinno SuperCat

They should be scattered around the garden, periodically checking the condition.

3. Ultrasonic Repellers

Another way to get rid of chipmunks in the country is to use devices that emit ultrasound. Such devices affect the nervous system of animals through ultrasonic-type pulses with a frequency of over 20 kHz.

As a result, rodents have a desire and need to leave the impact zone. To exclude adaptation, the frequency changes in the range of 20-70 kHz. The device is placed in the center of the room. You need to put it on the floor or a wooden stand within 1.5 m in height. Required voltage 220 V.

Ultrasonic repeller Weitech WK-0600

The initial duration of use is up to 2-3 days, and then after a break of several days, the device starts up again for 12 hours. The repeller should work until the rodents disappear or weekly for prevention.

Among the popular domestic brands, experts advise using products from Typhoon, Tornado, and Christon. Positive feedback characterizes the devices Grad A-550, and Elektrokoter, as well as the universal model WEITECH WK-0600.

You can learn more about the data of the device by reading our article from everpest.com/products/everpest-lightning-pest-repeller for details.

Conclusion

Chipmunks in a cage as a pet are very cute. Such a pet will delight your child. A rodent in the forest will not cause harm either. However, if the animal ends up in your garden, on a personal plot, it can cause quite serious harm. Therefore, it is necessary to take timely measures to protect the house from rodents.