Well isn't that just great, hollysplace -- more pollution from the U.S. coming up to our neck of the woods... :)

April, with your comment about English Sparrows and European starlings I would guess you're into birds. I hate those 2 birds. Nothing but trouble.I agree with you on the disposal method for chipmunks. Although I use a pellot gun.
Greenthumb - how about one between the eyes after you trap them? You can pick up an air pistol for about $25.00. BB's are about $2.00 for 300. One shot in the head brings death instantly.
I don't enjoy killing the critters, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch rodents destroy my property. For years we had 1-2 chipmunks around the house. This year I killed 25+. I don't know what was in the water this year but those things bred like crazy this spring. My neigbors all complained of the same problem. 25-30 chipmunks can cause alot of destruction in 1 year.
For the person who commented about bird feeders inviting rodents onto the property, not if done correctly. I have 3 different feeders. The chipmunks very rarely venture that far from safety. Plus my wifes gardens offer plenty of food closer to thier dens.

Mike,

Yes I DO have some say in how you decide to treat animals. If I witness someone abusing animals...I report them to the police. Very simple. The cops don't care what YOU think. In my town, you would definitely be spending at least a few hours at the station explaining yourself. If the cops think *you're* bad enough...well, the STATE will press charges. I wouldn't have to lift a finger beyond that 1 telephone call, though I'd gladly witness.

Please tell me how you drown anything "quickly." It takes at least a minute or two, and that is NOT quick enough. Being unable to breathe cannot be pleasant. Think about it. Suck a bunch of water into your lungs, Mike. Half a cup or so. When you're done coughing and gagging, tell me how "quick" it is, ok?

Neither drowning or death by cat could be much fun for the victim...but I don't think I'd want to drown, from having read accounts of people who have almost drowned. Hell, I have almost drowned. Didn't much care for it.

I'm not allowed to have 10 cats, either. But I had them. I decided to take in the cats that my idiot neighbors had dumped outside, un-neutered. I now have 8, BTW. My 2 oldest have gone to the great catnip patch in the sky. Since my cats are not ever allowed to go outside...who's going to come into my house to count heads?

I have a yard with bird feeders, birds, squirrels, 1 chipmunk and 1 rabbit, not to mention raccoons and opossums. And some pretty good native plant gardens, with some rare plants. They don't bother my plants. I put out little plops of used cat litter here and there. That's all I do. No killing, no red pepper, no problems. Easy.

Sanitation has almost everything to do with having pests in your house. I lived in Chicago for 25 years, the whole time in multi-unit dwellings. I KNOW about roaches and mice. If you keep food available, they will come, winter, spring, summer, fall. They like an easy meal. A cockroach can live on a greasy thumbprint for a month. Per the cockroach brochure given out by the City of Chicago. Boric acid is a real easy, low toxicity way to deal with cockroaches. I used to buy it by the case. MY apartment wasn't unclean...but some of my neighbors were slobs.

Yes, mice tend to come indoors in the fall, seeking warmth. That is not a sanitation issue, and that's what cats and rat terriers are for. April

In case anyone was wondering...my c'munks are happy, healthy, and STILL ALIVE!!!! Just don't step on my grass....there's holes EVERYWHERE!!! But we are living peacefully together...until I break my ankle..lol...oh well!!! So people....it's all ok....peace p.s. if they get inside my house...GAME ON!!!! (whatever that means but i will not be happy)...but I won't kill them because I'm sure I won't be able to catch them!!!

Sorry, April, but you're a bit naive; if you think the state of Illinois would do anything to anyone for killing rodents, you are nuts.

I won't be back to this thread because, frankly, there's no point in arguing with you when you apparently have no idea what you're talking about and you know nothing about the laws in Illinois (or any other state for that matter).
Bye,
Mike

For the Raccoons....I recommend Moth Balls. You can set a trap for the squirrels, and transport them to a place a few minutes down the road. We did that at our cottage.

BTW I am in Toronto (Mississauga)

Squirrels can be troublesome! A couple was returning from vacation of two weeks, they went to bed and never woke up. Sometime during the two weeks, a squirrel bypassed the guard on the vent on its way down, it got stuck and died, stopping up the vent so not fumes could escape. When the couple came home, they turned up the themostat to a comfortable level and went to bed. Carbon monoxide had built up to dangerous levels (the gas cannot be smelled), so when they went to bed, the gas overcame them, if only the squirrel hadn't been in the vent.

April, obviously you still don't get it and are a victim of denial. Death is a part of life. Everything dies. Your choice of cats and rat terriers is still death by being ripped apart and eaten. Don't you think that would be terrifying to the animal being eaten? I have to agree with Greenthumb. If you called the police about someone "torturing" a chipmunk, they would consider your call a nuisance.

If it makes you feel any better by letting your pets do your dirty work, by all means choose that route. Do not condemn anyone else here for other options of pest control. Even a simple mouse trap for mice can be torture in your world. If the mouse doesn't die immediately and starves to death in the trap, would that make it torture? Maybe so but you will never see mouse traps taken off the market. They now make mouse traps where you can't see the mouse at all just for people like you who can't deal with the reality of death.

I haven't killed any chipmunks myself, even though they like to dig up all of my tulip bulbs, and prefer to use other options. However, even if I did, there are plenty more of them out there and it wouldn't hurt a thing. I had no problem with my neighbor when he shot 3 squirrels that were running around both my house and his and living in his roof eves.

I also have to disagree with someone's comment about birdfeeders and chipmunks. No matter where you have a birdfeeder, it will attract chipmunks and they do come out from cover. Food is a great motivator. I have watched a number of times a resident chipmunk climb up my painted steel shepard's hook and jump to the birdfeeder. The good thing about having the birdfeeder this summer was the chipmunks did seem to be less interested in tulip bulbs. None of the other common remedies deterred them one bit so I was happy to feed them with the birdfeeder instead of loosing all my bulbs.

Regards to Alice:

I am a *man* and the .22 works fine. Headshots w/scope, quick, painless.

I also LOVE animals and WOULD NEVER DREAM OF TORTURING THEM!

I don't mind a few chipmunks, but when they start marching past my lawn chair in platoon formation by the dozen, its getting near thinning time.

What I do mind is people who sit with their quivering fingers hovering over the 911 ready to call the cops when the slightest thing is "out of order."

I do not advocate the killing of anything for reasons other than self defense or survival PERIOD.

I have several lovely deer that visit my yard to feed on a daily basis. ALL of my friends hunt, and I DO NOT. For that I get alot of razzing but I stand by my beliefs.

These "Mighty Hunter" friends of mine are constantly bugging me to shoot one of them come November, but I tell them to be *men* and go out into the woods and find their own deer.

The only reason I would ever kill one of these deer is if the local market closed and I needed meat to feed my family.

Having said that, I also advocate control of VERMIN such as rats, red squirrels, and chipmunks. (among other pests)

I also have several greys and two awesome black squirrels who come to feed everyday despite the presence of my two young but lazy (spoiled) cats. BTW we have a plethora of lovely songbirds and woodpeckers despite Leppy and Pepper's attempts at catching them.

The red squirrels got into my garage attic and destroyed the spare seat for my wife's minivan and my little boat seats. The chipmunks inhabit the cordwood piles on the perimeter of my property, but get braver and closer as summer progresses. The first year we lived up here they got into the shed and garage and destroyed many things, (including the cones and grille cloth on a vintage pair of stereo speakers.)They have tunneled everywhere to avoid the cats.

I tried trapping with havaharts, but there are too many, and as previously mentioned they always come back unless you take them really far away. This is inhumane as well because they will often die slowly from being relocated to unfamiliar (occupied) territory.

To repel red squirrels and chipmunks I use mothballs or naptha crystals placed in a ziplock bag and perforated with a nail.

All forms of mammals HATE mothballs this works well at keeping them out of parked vehicles, and other smaller spaces.

When their numbers grow to annoyance level, out comes the 22. The tails go to cat toys, and the carcasses are devoured by the trusty squadron of crows who inahbit the woods behind my property. Crows are natures clean up crew.

As far as calling the COPS goes? Well I myself prefer a neighborly chat to getting the law involved in ANYTHING nowadays. They are only interested in generating revenue for the courts, and I like to take my nightly walks without having to look over my shoulder as the neighborhood SNITCH.

Cheers,

Bretski

WOW! Never in a million years would I have believed a simple search for chipmunks would I have found so much anger! Hmmmmm - what is this world coming to? I simply wanted to chase a couple chippies somewhere else because they are burrowing UNDER my concrete sidewalk and causing it to sink! I know that there has to be something that would cause them to move out! I will NOT have a cat - only because their natural tendencies are to HUNT and I like the songbirds that come to my feeders. I would NEVER keep a cat in the house all it's life - THAT would be cruel as far as I'm concerned. I am simply looking for SOMETHING that chipmunks don't like and repels them - I saw eggshells mentioned and moth balls and a formula with Dawn detergent and castor oil. I think I'll try all three and THEN hook a hose to my tail pipe on my trusty old Subaru and route it to the hole and see if THAT works cause they are going to cost me alot of money otherwise and I don't HAVE alot of money! IF they want to move to my wood pile on the back of the lot, that is perfectly acceptable but until that time, it's WAR! My dogS are fascinated by them and just simply are not fast enough to catch them but maybe somehow I can let them know they are NOT welcome here!

This is an old thread, I know, and I doubt Alice is still looking in. But I have to respond anyways. Her hypocrisy is astounding! She wants to call the police on someone killing (not torturing like she calls it) a rodent,which isn't against the law, but she defies the law by having 8 cats. She knows it's illegal, but is doing it anyways since no one is entering her house and counting them, she says. Good thing she doesn't have any nosy neighbors such as herself. It's easy to be judgemental when not in someone else's shoes.Chipmunks can and have caused dangerous situations for homeowners,and something should be done in those circumstances. I don't think anyone here is running for the rifle anytime a chipmunk grabs a tulip bulb. Maybe they were here first, and we are encroaching on their turf, but, hey, survival of the fittest. She calls a rodent killer "mentally ill?!!" Well, that's calling the kettle black. Ha!

Hi all,
Just a quick note to my fellow chipmunk trappers. They can, on occasion, carry some fairly serious diseases. When you trap them they will often pee in the trap, and sometimes will get your floor mats etc. Consider the urine potentially infectious. Make sure to use gloves when handling anything that they may have peed on and wash your hands well afterwards. Protect yourself from bites from fleas they may be carrying as well. Wearing gloves and washing your hands is an easy way to protect yourself.

I myself have all the critters in the yard. I live in the country so I figure that I envated there habit so I need to live with there way of life. No I dont want them in my house they dont like to be caught I found out last year. I had a bird and squirrel both get in my house though the chimmney so that was a treat. The chipmuks, squirrels, racoons are in my yard daily. I have made squirrels there own feeders and mommy squirrel has decided to use my bird house for her home. I dont mind I figured the bird house had been not used for several years and the squirrel is now putting it to good use. Its fun to see the mother with her young in there each year. I hope you can learn to live with the critters or find a way to move them without hurting them.

The anger in this post is unbelievable! April is not insane, just a little naive. Time and maturity will cure that.

I am of the same mind as gardenmaker. I love the critters, but I realize they can cause problems, if left to multiply out of reason. If left in their own natural environment, do they multiply like that? Maybe the thing to do is leave the food supply the way nature would. Is it upsetting the balance to change the food supply by providing additional, as in bird feeders, etc, and that causes the over population? Just a thought. I don't think they multiply as easily when there is a shortage of natural food in any given area.

Flooding the holes has gotten rid of my rabbit problem. They didn't come back.

Having read all of this I know I should just let it be but...
I live in Blue Lake N of Muskegon. This is my second year out here and I had always lived in the city before. I just love it out here in nature! We are on 20 acres of a mostly wooded lot and are surrounded by forestland. Chipmunks are a part of life here. Last week I saw 5 little baby chipmunk heads popping out of a rock pile. I have spent hours watching thier frist days out and about. Way too much fun and I just LOVE the little guys, I feed everything out here, birds, squirrles, chipmunks, deer, turkey etc. I have noticed this week with all the chipmunks emerging from thier nests that it looks like a population explosion! There are baby chipmunks EVERYWHERE! Now I assume this happened last year too but I was too busy to notice, this year I am working from home. I don't remember having a population explosion that lasted, I mean I must have 25 - 35 new babies running around this year. We have nesting bald eagles and several kinds of hawks, foxes and cyotes. My guess is nature is taking it's course (as it should be) I would NEVER kill anything and was delighted to see a baby rabit today. I love cats too but they shoould be kept indoors while there are so many baby creatures out there right now. I will be hartbroken if the neighbors cat runs off with a baby bluebird!
The thing is if you live where there are chipmunks, then you most likely have moved from the city into an area that belonged to the chipmunks and other critters FIRST. You have taken over THIER habitat and you have no Godly right to kill them. If you are going to live IN nature then live WITH nature and let NATURE take its course! Lord help us if People ever decide Eagles are a "pest"!
Peace be with you all!

Get yourself a Jack Russell terrier. Mine disposes of chipmunks and moles on a regular basis. It is rather disgusting but is an effective deterrent. By the way, I'd only recommend this course of action if you have a fenced in yard. Otherwise, your Jack will be long gone hunting the elusive rodents...

Lisa11310.
I am with you there.Its not our backyard its their backyard.

My name is April, not Alice. I'm 46 years old and on the far side of naive, probably further from naive than *you* are. If you NEED TO DROWN ANIMALS..it's torture. Drowning animals trapped in a cage is not quick. It's totally barbaric. And *you* have a problem..and I hope and pray *you* don't live in my neighborhood.

The neighborhood children cause a lot of damage to my plantings..at what point do I start drowning them? After all...They're RUINING MY PLANTS! ...sob....They like them, they play around in them, and I'm fine with that. I just tell them they are welcome to any flowers I have, but please ask first, and this has worked really well.

And if I saw *you* drowning animals...*you* can bet your fanny I'd call the police. I don't live in a big city, and it would give the cops something to do. I know my local police enough to know that they don't take kindly to cruelty to animals, either. In fact, they take a rather harsh view of it...something about being handcuffed and thrown really hard up against the back of the cop car.

In fact, some guy in town here thought it would be a good idear to drown his daughter's rabbits...oh, he was mighty sore the day after he was arrested.

My indoor only cats bother nobody. My house doesn't smell, indoors or outdoors. My cats are not going to rip up *your* garden. Because they'll never see *your* garden, unless they can see it from the windows, let alone wander around in it.

Funny, I don't seem to have the problems with rodents tearing up my plants that some have. Perhaps my endemic rodents are a bit thick and/or lazy, or I have feral cats and coyotes and raccoons. But that's right..who wants raccoons or coyotes or feral cats, they're vermin to be dispatched, too...

OR...the blood-meal and cat-urine soaked litter works. Not as much fun as trapping and drowning, I guess. April

I live on the edge of town, and there is a field directly behind my house, and lots of wooded areas including a conservation area all around me. We see raccoons, skunks, rabbits, deer coyotes, and the odd fox or deer here (a deer ran into the side of my daughter's car recently, in fact). I used to have a lot of trouble with birds and squirrels eating my cherries and blueberries..then I read about an option for dealing with this problem and tried it. I put my dogs fur and my cats fur into a piece of cheescloth. I hang the cheesecloth from a branch, or fence near my beloved fruit. I NEVER have a problem with missing fruit now. They just don't go near the cheesecloth. If this didn't work I would have had to try something else, but it works very well for me.

Susan

I'm not taking sides here, I'm just giving a news update - Wisconsin is considering a bill to allow people to hunt and shoot domestic cats as vermine. Two states already allow it.

Here is one news link below. If you do a web search there is all sorts of controversy surrounding this issue - everyone from PETA to the NRA is jumping into the fray to argue their side.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050412080709990012

warfarin

A chipmunk has been living in and destroying our house for over 3 agonizing months. We contacted local vector control and a pest control company which tried live traps, mouse and rat traps, black box traps, and finally sticky boards (as a near last resort). He totally ignores anything with peanut butter on it, and loves corn, but will not go into a trap to get it. He piles the insulation from our walls and other things that he's hoarded in there on top of the big overlapping sticky boards. The only one who's been trapped on them is me!!
Right now he's boarded up in the wall, but we expect that he'll chew his way out before he dies. If that sounds awful, it's only because we've gone from being totally sympathetic about the cute little guy to wanting to fry the little devil. He's pulled the insulation from under the refrigerator and the stove, torn up the carpet, cut up several phone wires, fax wire, and mouse wires in our office, chewed out the grout around the tile floor in our kitchen and is constantly chewing anything he can get his teeth on inside our walls (extremely noisy!!). He can now travel from one side of the house to the other in less than 5 minutes through wiring holes he's enlarged in his constant chewing. When he first came in (through the dryer vent) my husband had a large bag of corn for the squirrels on a shelf in the office and by the time he thought about it our little invader had stored away half of it, so he hasn't gone hungry. Despite being forced to keep a practically sterile kitchen, he was still getting water and our son recently suggested that he might have been drinking out of the toilets though after reading these postings I wonder if that's possible.
My son wants to let him out of the wall, so that he doesn't die in there and create a terrible smell, but is totally against the bucket idea (inhumane). I, on the other hand, can hardly wait to get the little bugger in the bucket!! Hopefully, he won't ignore that as well. I would also like to know how to affix the diving board to the bucket. All the way across seems the easiest method, but is there a more effective way? If we let him out of the wall to avoid the smell I want to be ready. Thanks

Rat Hell- In my youth my uncle had a small chicken farm. He had a rat problem. To keep the population of the rats down he would back his truck up to a hole, insert a hose into the hole, and place all the neices and nephews armed with croquet mallets at all the other holes. Start the truck, and like magic, the groggy rats would exit the holes and the young rat killers would bash their heads in. Not very nice but very effective. A memory I will cherish forever. mp

There are some points that need clarifying as I see it.

First, the natural habitat of all animals (including human animals)is outdoors - no vents for smaller animals to get stuck in, carbon monoxide, roofs, pretty little gardens, sidewalks to tunnel under, etc. We are not only destroying the planet with so-called civilization, but all of the animals in it, including ourselves. I like the luxuries of modern living but we should remember that we are the most intrusive animal on the planet (in my opinion - and perhaps David Suzuki's).

Second, the ultra-sonic devices that you simply plug into an electrical outlet keeps rodents out of the house. No poison, drowning or bashing in of heads.

Third, it's well documented that children who torture smaller animals are much more likely to injure/kill larger animals (humans) when they grow up. If children see adults killing animals in horrible ways - what are they learning? and does this peak their curiosity to try it themselves or with their friends? Let's be a better example for them.

And, with respect of hunting. I have pondered this issue and I have discovered that although I do not like to hear about hunting, I have much deeper disdain for modern commercial farming methods...animals stuck with antibiotics and hormones, fed unnatural foods, shipped by truck (in extreme temperatures)...and slaughtered in horrible ways.

I'm so glad to read of others who share my fondness and respect of animals. I do hope that those affected by rodents will try the ultra-sonic devices - they really do work. (Just be careful not to use them around caged indoor animals like guinea pigs.)

Thank you.

Peace.

ahughes, if you haven't noticed it doesn't take much of a *man* to learn how to fire a weapon. You see it in the news everyday, besides, if you want to sit there with your .22 waiting for a chipmunk to pop his head up out of his or her hole good luck.
I have chipmunks digging around the foundation of my house, trying to nest in the aircleaners of my cars, and my house being on a hill I'm waiting for the nest they dug in my front yard to become a mud slide with my home going for a ride.
Does anyone have a better solution for killing the rats, I mean , chipmunks quikly and less torturelike than the intentional drowning.

to all trapper/transporters, be aware that not all people want your problem wild animals dumped in their area.

As much as I hate squirrels and chipmunks, I would really hope you all consider being a bit more humane towards killing them.
Grab a bunch of peanuts and drive them towards a ravine, river or a forrested area.

I assure you, they will not come back if you leave them tons of peanuts.

If you're in a already bad habit of killing them, then I suggest you get a leather glove (like welders do), grab them and crank their necks. However, I would really suggest you all not use DROWNING as a means of killing them.

Thanks

I read through "Chipmunk Hell" have a bit of a problem with them and squirrels myself

.
They sure are happy these past couple weeks, picking up walnuts and chestnuts, burying them everywhere and of course my newly planted spring flowering bulbs.

One did drown accidentally in a half pail of water I had sitting out by the side door, overnight. I was surprised that it didn't just climb out but guess it couldn't.

I sure don't think they are cute, and they have begun to dig holes in the grass as well.

I am hoping to get rid of the ones in my yard, and went shopping today with a plan. Not going to write about it here, as I don't want any comments.

My yard is in the city, but it is fenced with a six foot fence and gate. The back yard that is.
I have always lived on the edge of town and there my neigbours, from an older generation, mostly, had no hesitation in trapping or otherwise eliminating chipmunks, squirrels, skunks , raccoons and what ever else.
They liked birds, and though most everyone had cats they where kept indoors.
My first time having a problem and I for the most part enjoyed to read what you all have written
What I can't believe is that people actually feed them.I see the peanuts around that they sometimes miss burying.

We have a chipmunk problem and we just moved out of the city so this is all new to us. Will they try and come in the house for the winter? So far the only thing I have noticed is holes in the ground and that all of the sudden there seem to be a lot more of them. I am not too worried about them outside but I don't want them to destroy our house and chew through things to try and get inside.

Their also less frightened of humans which leads one to think what will they do instead of run when your near them, this passed weekend I was lifting two 50lb clay pots full of soil and dracenias into my house, one of the dam thing stood still on the steps of my house and waited and I screamed at it, attempted to kick and make a commotion and suck and nothing worked until I put the pot down and picked up a rock.

I agree with the comments about their not being a natural predator for chipmunks in suburbia their everywhereeeeee nowadays I remember 2 years ago when their was 1 cute chipmunk outside now theirs thousands and their getting uglier as the days go by their growing little double chins from eating everythingg!

Wow...four years later and I still have not done a thing in regards to the chipmunks. They are still multiplying at an exponential rate but this thread has just gotten way out of hand and context. I LOVE animals but I need to protect the ones I have (dogs by the way, I'm allergic to cats :). I am proud of the longevity of this thread because when I first searched four years ago, there was nothing about chipmunks at all! So, any new ideas??? By the way, I'm now wintering in Arizona (anyone who was in WI this past eternal winter can understand and thank goodness for remote work situations)...any advice on scorpions? :)

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. When they started to tear up planters on a second floor bedroom deck I became alarmed (climbing to the second floor) But last week when i found one digging in a potted plant in a screened-in porch that was it! They were no longer cute, they were vermin over running our property.

Like many on this thread I too feel 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. A animal control professional I spoke to (off the record) indicated that "electrocution" is the fastest, cleanest way to do what has to be done. With one "zapper" I have eliminated 21 munks in approximately 10 days. It's clean and easy to maintain. I place a mother-load of sunflower seed at the back of the chamber and flip the switch. On some days I have caught 4 ... it seems as soon as I empty the trap and reset it, there's another one.

Interestingly, a University of Ohio critter management site I visited indicated that 10 chipmunks or more per acre is considered an excessive chipmunk population. I have caught twice that number all in the area around my back deck, so I assume I am dealing with nature being out of balance, at least as far as the chipmunk population.

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

Well it would seem we are not alone in the Chipmunk department. About ten years ago I spotted a munk in the garden. He was so cute. Each year we seem to see four or five skipping thru the yard. Well last year we tried to do a vegetable garden, something pulled up the corn seed. Hummmmmmmm This year we tried again. Cucumbers, carrots, beets all disappeared as soon as they emerged from the earth. When they started eating my Cosmos and other flowers that was the last straw for me. So we got two chipmunk live traps. We stopped counting, after trapping number 60. The grand children visited in late June, and they decided to spray paint the munks tails, before we carried them off. They painted 16 of them. Blue red white orange etc. Not a single painted chipper has been re trapped. So one would have to know that they are not coming back. Today is the first day we have not had one in a trap. We had been catching from two to six a day. We figure we have trapped nearly 80 by now. AND after re locating the first 60,(and the grand children having returned home) we rigged up a gas chamber from the lawn tractor and YES, we are putting them to sleep. Gas prices being what they are, is just to costly to keep carrying them off. Please let that be the last one in our garden.

Kill them. There are too many of them. There are almost no predators around our yard.

They are animals, animals get killed and eaten all the time. I've seen how predators deal with their prey, sometimes they start eating their prey while their prey is still alive. So, I'm not worried about chipmunks going peacefully to their deaths.

Having said that, I see no reason to go out of my way to make an animal suffer, that kind of behavior diminishes me. So, I've gotten out the air gun, it drops them in their tracks. Also, I have found that a peanut wired to a rat - not a mouse - trap is very effective, my experience is that they are dead within seconds.

Bottom line: They are animals, and animals are of far, far less value than any human. I'm not going to project human traits onto them, they were not created to be concerned about things like happiness or finding fulfillment or living well. If there are too many of them, simply kill them, and then go back to the house and sleep well.

I am another person with WAY too many chipmunks in my yard. Ive lived with it for 2 and a half years.

Because, like many people I did not want to hurt them. Now look what happens - They will destroy you and your home if you let them. They're wild animals that would gladly chew your face off if they could. Many "wild" animals are only friendly towards humans because they associate us with food.

Disney movies have completely ruined our generation from understanding animals.

Animals kill animals. Humans kill animals. And unfortunately, humans kill humans. This has been going on since the beginning of time - and it will always occur - and believe it or not, it is not always a bad thing. I propose that one is more likely to have a mental disorder if they are afraid to kill something that is destroying thier home or property (lacking survival instincts).

Now, after having observed the chipmunks for a couple years and read a few of the threads here - Ive come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no way at all to control chipmunks aside from killing them. Unless you want to transport about 50 of them a month to a location several miles away. I cant possibly imagine who would have the time for something like that.
I buried their holes constantly, put rocks in them, etc.. Theres no deteering them. There is no way any spray, moth balls, pepper, etc would ever deteer them.

I still dont want to see these things drown or suffer in any way..but its either that, electrocution, or poison. There is no other option. The electronic things you plug in to repel pests DO NOT WORK. They were in my house when I moved in. I caught 4 mice in the garage (by the units). They do not work.

The chipmunks have found a way to tunnel through my foundation into my garage. (which is attached to the house). I'm sorry..but they cant be in my house, or destroy my house. That is where I draw the line. If that isn't enough for you to kill a chipmunk - you may seriously have a mental disorder

For the garden this year I plan on using an electric fence with a strand very close to the ground. They pretty well destroyed my tomatoes last year. And this is not a garden I grow "for fun". This is food for me and my family which requires a lot of labor to maintain.

Sorry if I sounded preachy or went on too long. I just get kind of bothered by some of the nonsense regarding animal control. And I should mention that I HATE animal abusers. And yes, theyre are a lot of them out there. It disgusts me. I never understood why someone would hurt something for no reason. I agree, that it is probably a sign of a mental disorder..but do not lump rodent control in that category.

get a cat that likes being out side...

Or, try this. It has worked WONDERFULLY for me.

dln949

Here is a link that might be useful: The Rat Zapper

Why not just enjoy them as part of the natural habitat? Think of the holes as aeration! Eventually Mother Nature will get their numbers in balance.

Here is another way to deal with chipmunks. Trap them live but don't take them to someone else's backyard. Save up ten or twelve make chipmunk stew for dinner. Do a search for chipmunk stew and you'll come up with a number of tasty recipes. Especially good for those who don't like to kill animals except for food. This will "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak. Someone told me chipmunk stew tastes something like rabbit...or did he say rat...now I'm not sure.

Hahaha, Ed! I live in farm country. Some critter messin' with your livelihood (I mean getting into the feed and depriving my animals), you get rid of the critter. Laura Ingalls used to eat blackbirds and muskrat. Why not chipmunk pie?

Wow...I started this thread July 25, 2004...I haven't checked on it in a while but I am shocked at the length of time that has passed (7 years) and the amount of responses. Think this could be a record of some sort? :) There have been songs written about it. Seriously...should I be getting some sort of royalties...? :)

I actually did just recently lose my job due to it being "eliminated"...me along with the position apparently. No worries though...I'm going with that everything happens for a reason. I started this thread innocently enough and the response has totally blown me away.

I. by the way, LOVE animals and recently had the extreme displeasure of watching a young wolf die from a solar light stuck on his snout which he was unable to remove despite my frantic words out the door that he could do it. He suffocated. There was nothing I could do as there were four additional wolves out by him along with some very agitated bear sows with their cubs. It was heart wrenching. The farmers want to kill the wolves now as they sometimes get a hold of their livestock. I understand their perspective; however, I cannot condone it. The chipmunk dilemma seven years ago now seems so small in the grand scheme of things.

So yeah....totally crazy though now as I mentioned living "up north" as we say with almost always mellow black bears, frisky wolves and coyotes, squirrels of every color and creed (red, black, "flying", grey, etc.), deer, turkeys, cougars have been spotted by the river, and to top it off my own badger. Yes, they can be vicious! Not mine though...we have an understanding of sorts.

So glad I could keep the conversation going and I hope all of my friends on this thread that understood my initial benign intentions are doing well.

I've moved on to attempting to "train" my badger that likes to hang out and sleep under my shed. I've been told that it can't be done but oddly enough we have been living peacefully together. Don't worry I'm not an idiot... I keep a safe distance...um, kind of... :)

Keep on posting...

Over the last few months I have had some serious damage done to my yard, landscaping, and sidewalks by chipmunks which seem to be "dividing and growing" daily. At first I thought the one or two I saw was "cute"--even feeding them a couple peanuts. Boy, was I stupid.

I tried to dissuade the chipmunks by repellent powders, letting my indoor cats roam the backyard, and filling their holes but as everyone already knows none of that works. Meanwhile I am having hundreds of dollars of flowers uprooted and/or eaten, holes dug everywhere, and undermining of my garden edging and walkways.

I bought two Havahart 0745 traps (from Amazon) and within 15 minutes of unboxing them had a chipmunk trapped.

My initial plan was to "relocate" the chipmunks, but with experts saying you need to move them anywhere from 2, 5 or even 20 miles away, I quickly realized that with the large number of chips I'm dealing with that it would be a logistical nightmare (and probably not very nice to the homeowners in the new area) to try and relocate them.

Like Alice, I too believe that drowning is a cruel way to exterminate even vermin/pest animals. This is why I bought the Havaharts and didn't use the bucket of water method. I won't go so far as to call someone mentally disturbed if they do so, but I will certainly call that person ignorant (not utilizing a more humane method of extermination or realizing the panic and suffering the animal goes through) and callous for being able to stomach the thought of an animal desperately struggling for air.

So rather than dumping the chip off in someone else's yard, I immediately ran out to the local big box store and purchased a pellet gun--you can get a decent quality rifle for less than $60 most places. I came home, loaded a single lead pellet, aimed between the bars of the havahart and performed an instant and humane extermination.

If one lives "in the city", you can buy a air-powered pistol instead of a rifle, making it less conspicuous. They are practically silent, relatively inexpensive, and readily available.

Lastly, drowning animals (even vermin) IS considered by most local laws to be inhumane and cruel. See below for an interesting story of a man in NJ that was arrested, charged, and fined for animal cruelty for live-trapping squirrels and drowning them in the cage. More interesting? He was turned into police by his wife. Even more interesting? This particular link is from Field and Stream--a hunting enthusiast site. Read the article comments, though...even among hunters Drowning is considering cruel by most and even "sick" by some.

Here is a link that might be useful: Man fined for drowning squirrels

Chipmunks were destroying my vegetable garden, destroying most peach and apricots on the trees, and tunneling under the garage undermining it. I agree that the "Rat Zapper" is an excellent solution, coupled with a plastic "The Better Rodent Trap".

I have wild strawberries growing all around the house and driveway. In twenty years I ate three strawberries, each only the size of a pea. But I am writing about a big coon that got hisself trapped in the Havahart. Carried him down from the upstairs porch, what a smell, what an angry critter. As I was trying to release him and make a dash for the house, I felt two little paws grabbing my ankles and looked down and he was chewing the cage sides and a spittin and a hissin. Now, I wasn't of a simple mind to straddle the cage and lift the spring door and let this half coon half badger out with me havin to hop toward the stoop and in the front door by the light of a small led flashlight layed on the ground. I placed an almost empty jar of peanut butter next to the cage and then I slid a spade/shovel under the trapdoor and headed for the house, with a commotion like Dillinger bustin out of jail behind me. Is there a safe way to release an angry coon, should I wear a mask and some of my wife's perfume. He's out there with his empty peanut butter jar and not sure if he got a good look at me or just my ankles.

Let's be sane.

The chipmunk population has exploded and these are pests that can cause serious damage not just to your yard and plants but to the structure of your house and other property.

So a few question to those who criticize others for killing chipmunks:

1. Think it's "torture" to drown or electronically zap a chipmunk? Then why isn't it torture to take the chipmunk in a metal cage, drive it 20 minutes away and then drop it dazed and confused in some foreign environment to fend for itself?

For this reason, relocating wildlife is actually illegal in many states, including in the state where I live. It is NOT illegal to kill chipmunks, even by drowning or other methods that would be be either appropriate or legal for other animals. You cannot be arrested for drowning a chipmunk anymore than you can be arrested for killing a rat in a snap trap or poisoning ants with ant traps.

2. Why isn't it torture to let your house cat tear the chipmunk limb from limb?

3. Why all the outrage about killing chipmunks in particular when there is nary a peep about killing rats or mice? Is it because chipmunks are cute and rats, well not so much?

4. Can we assume that all the people who claim they abhor killing any animal are vegetarians and that they never use leather products? Because if not, someone's killing animals for you every day.

Unlike future psychopathic children who torture animals for the enjoyment of watching an animal suffer, adults who kill pests, be they mosquitoes, mice, rats, or chipmunks, are using lethal means as a last resort to protect themselves from the serious damage that these animals can do. We choose the most humane method we can find, and that may include drowning, and we derive no pleasure from having to take this action. Most, if not all, of us would use effective non-lethal means to repel chipmunks, if such a method existed.

April...?

please don't poison no mo' dem

cockroaches.

jus ain't right.

Everyone needs to think about their story when you stand before God one day!

Will you have the conviction you have here when you are talking to the one who created them.

Hey, I inherited 2 havaheart mouse traps! Whatda*??? WHO is going to relocate mice??? First off you'd have to check them everyday or they are going to starve to death which is what my sticky traps do. I find I've caught a mouse when I smell the decay. Sticky traps are gruesome compared to spring loaded snap the neck traps. Havaheart mouse traps are idiotic.

Chipmunk chewed a hole in my car fuel line.

Chipmunk knocked the ACC belt off my wife's car when she went to start it. The dead varmit was still in the engine compartment after it was towed to the repair shop.

I do believe feral cats will take care of the chipmunk population but some people are against feral cats. I remove the front claws of my cats ( is your god okay with that?) and they never leave the house. The cats still catch mice in the basement.