How to Get Rid of Chipmunks And Some Help with Animal Tracks

From In the Garden

How do you get rid of chipmunks? Now who in their right mind would want to get rid of the cute little rodents? Me! I agree with everyone else that chipmunks are the cutest little critters in the garden but in my garden they cause a lot of damage-and I'm not talking about the garden. We have a pole style garage in the backyard that has been under attack by these little critters. They burrow under the garage floor and make tunnels that are then used by not only the chipmunks but also by the voles. And wherever you see one chipmunk you can bet there are probably about 2-5 other chipmunks you don't see. They can really cause damage and when they find a comfortable home with lots of birdseed (yes I feed the birds), cover, natural foods in the form of plants and seedheads and fruits, and a safe warm place to live (under the garage) chipmunks can multiply out of control. I don't like them in my garden. My cat can't even keep up with them and I've had difficulty ridding my garden of them until....I learned how to use the small animal critter cage. 


Has anyone else ever used a live trap? I've had this HavaHart small animal trap for about five years and each year I'd try to trap the chipmunks and all I would ever catch would be birds! Well of course that is not a desirable catch because I like the birds. They don't damage my home and are all around good neighbors, unlike the chipmunks. I couldn't figure out how to catch chipmunks until a good friend from garden club told me she could catch a chipmunk a day simply by placing the cage somewhat in the brush or toward perennials where the opening is somewhat obscured. This keeps the birds from accessing the door and provides cover for the chipmunks to wonder inside the trap. As for as bait I sometimes put sunflowers, peanut butter, or apple pieces in the trap but most of the time this is not even necessary. We can easily catch a chipmunk a day here. As soon as we get rid of some chipmunks more move in. It is a never ending battle.


Once a chipmunk was trapped we were faced with what to do with it to rid our garden of it. Humanely disposing of them was an option we really did not want but was an option. Enter a good friend who kindly volunteered us the use of her 20 acres to release the chipmunks. Sometimes we drop them off on her property sometimes out in a public park but always a long way from our home. We hope this little chipmunk is very happy in its new home by a lovely stream down the road about six miles. And, we hope it does not have radar like some animals and finds it way back to our yard because it will be caught and moved again.


A late addition to this post is this picture of tracks I found in my vegetable garden. I can't figure out what kind of animal it was-or even if it animal tracks. I only found two sets like this in the vegetable garden (where the dogs cannot go). Can anyone help me out with identifying these tracks?

From In the Garden

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone...
in the garden...