Chipmunks In The Garden
One form of wildlife some like to watch outdoors, but many would rather not have in our gardens, are chipmunks. Knowing a few facts about chipmunks may help prevent them from eating bulbs, damaging young plants, or causing more serious structural damage.
A wildlife publication from Penn State University provides a concise summary of chipmunk biology, as well as control methods. From this I was interested to learn that chipmunk burrows may extend 20 to 30 feet. There is no soil around the openings because chipmunks carry it away from the burrows in their cheek pouches and scatter it away from the openings. The burrows are complex, usually with chambers for nesting, food storage, side pockets and escape tunnels.
There usually are two generations of chipmunks borne a year, with two to five in early spring and again in late summer. So if your landscape seems to have many, this is why. They may range over about a half acre, but only defend about 50 feet around their burrow opening.
Chipmunks gather and store food, often seeds, throughout the year. If you have seen clumps of sunflowers coming up in flower pots or the lawn, or small bulbs blooming far away from where you planted them, you can thank a chipmunk! This is one of their purposes in natural woodlands, to sow seeds for forest regeneration. Although chipmunks mainly eat seeds, berries, nuts, insects and mushrooms on the ground, they also can climb trees to gather these or to prey on young birds and bird eggs.
Chipmunks do not hibernate during fall and winter as woodchucks do, but remain rather inactive, subsisting on their stored food. You may see them active on warm, sunny days. In addition to their damage in gardens, chipmunks can cause structural damage from burrowing under stairs, retention walls, or foundations.
Exclusion can be used to keep chipmunks from buildings and some flower beds. Fill openings at building foundations, fill and caulk openings, or use one-quarter inch mesh hardware cloth. Cover annual flower beds with this hardware cloth, at least a foot past the edges. You can cover the wire lightly with soil to hide it.
Where bulbs may be damaged, if planting a whole bed, first dig out all the soil. Then line the bed with similar hardware cloth before refilling and planting. Cover the top with the mesh cloth until spring when the bulbs emerge. If planting bulbs in individual holes, place some sharply crushed stones or shells in each hole before refilling. This will help deter their digging. Such products often can be found, just for this purpose, at feed and garden stores.
Habitat modification may lessen chipmunk damage. Try not to continuously connect, through vegetation and plantings, wooded areas with garden beds and homes. Such areas, wood piles, and debris provide protection for them, plus their openings are hard to find under such cover.
Spilled bird seed from feeders is a common attractant for chipmunks, as around my own home. Place bird feeders 15 to 30 feet from buildings or gardens. Keeping grass cut short around such areas will provide little cover for them and encourage them to burrow elsewhere.
Taste repellents, such as those for squirrels, can be used for chipmunks too. These can be used on bulbs, seeds, and foliage not meant for human consumption. These need to be reapplied, can be expensive over time, and generally don’t provide complete control even though then can lessen damage and be useful in small areas, and on specific choice plants.
Trapping is an effective means of control around homes and gardens. Common rat snap-traps are used by some, if isolated from children, pets, or non-target wildlife. If using these, place boards or a box over, with small opening for the chipmunk, to prevent birds from getting caught.
Many prefer to use a live-catch wire mesh trap, then transport them several miles away so they don’t return. Another alternative for live-trapped chipmunks is to humanely euthanize them. If transporting, first check to make sure this is legal in your community. Release them in wooded areas where they wont bother other homes, avoiding contact with them during the release.
If using live traps, a variety of baits can be used including peanut butter, seeds, raisins, or breakfast grains. Place traps in areas, and along routes, where the chipmunks are seen. You may want to wire the traps open a couple days to condition the chipmunks to them, before setting. Check traps often to remove captured chipmunks and to release non-target animals such as birds.
A wildlife publication from Penn State University provides a concise summary of chipmunk biology, as well as control methods. From this I was interested to learn that chipmunk burrows may extend 20 to 30 feet. There is no soil around the openings because chipmunks carry it away from the burrows in their cheek pouches and scatter it away from the openings. The burrows are complex, usually with chambers for nesting, food storage, side pockets and escape tunnels.
There usually are two generations of chipmunks borne a year, with two to five in early spring and again in late summer. So if your landscape seems to have many, this is why. They may range over about a half acre, but only defend about 50 feet around their burrow opening.
Chipmunks gather and store food, often seeds, throughout the year. If you have seen clumps of sunflowers coming up in flower pots or the lawn, or small bulbs blooming far away from where you planted them, you can thank a chipmunk! This is one of their purposes in natural woodlands, to sow seeds for forest regeneration. Although chipmunks mainly eat seeds, berries, nuts, insects and mushrooms on the ground, they also can climb trees to gather these or to prey on young birds and bird eggs.
Chipmunks do not hibernate during fall and winter as woodchucks do, but remain rather inactive, subsisting on their stored food. You may see them active on warm, sunny days. In addition to their damage in gardens, chipmunks can cause structural damage from burrowing under stairs, retention walls, or foundations.
Exclusion can be used to keep chipmunks from buildings and some flower beds. Fill openings at building foundations, fill and caulk openings, or use one-quarter inch mesh hardware cloth. Cover annual flower beds with this hardware cloth, at least a foot past the edges. You can cover the wire lightly with soil to hide it.
Where bulbs may be damaged, if planting a whole bed, first dig out all the soil. Then line the bed with similar hardware cloth before refilling and planting. Cover the top with the mesh cloth until spring when the bulbs emerge. If planting bulbs in individual holes, place some sharply crushed stones or shells in each hole before refilling. This will help deter their digging. Such products often can be found, just for this purpose, at feed and garden stores.
Habitat modification may lessen chipmunk damage. Try not to continuously connect, through vegetation and plantings, wooded areas with garden beds and homes. Such areas, wood piles, and debris provide protection for them, plus their openings are hard to find under such cover.
Spilled bird seed from feeders is a common attractant for chipmunks, as around my own home. Place bird feeders 15 to 30 feet from buildings or gardens. Keeping grass cut short around such areas will provide little cover for them and encourage them to burrow elsewhere.
Taste repellents, such as those for squirrels, can be used for chipmunks too. These can be used on bulbs, seeds, and foliage not meant for human consumption. These need to be reapplied, can be expensive over time, and generally don’t provide complete control even though then can lessen damage and be useful in small areas, and on specific choice plants.
Trapping is an effective means of control around homes and gardens. Common rat snap-traps are used by some, if isolated from children, pets, or non-target wildlife. If using these, place boards or a box over, with small opening for the chipmunk, to prevent birds from getting caught.
Many prefer to use a live-catch wire mesh trap, then transport them several miles away so they don’t return. Another alternative for live-trapped chipmunks is to humanely euthanize them. If transporting, first check to make sure this is legal in your community. Release them in wooded areas where they wont bother other homes, avoiding contact with them during the release.
If using live traps, a variety of baits can be used including peanut butter, seeds, raisins, or breakfast grains. Place traps in areas, and along routes, where the chipmunks are seen. You may want to wire the traps open a couple days to condition the chipmunks to them, before setting. Check traps often to remove captured chipmunks and to release non-target animals such as birds.
Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com
Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor University of Vermont
posted by Article Exposure at Friday, October 13, 2006
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