where do chipmunks live?

16 years ago

I didn't know where else to post this, so here goes. I have 2 adorable chipmunks in my garden. They sneak some birdseed, no harm. Tonight, as I moved my sprinkler in my perennial garden, I believe I saw a chipmunk running up the cement foundation of my house into a space between the foundation and my aluminum siding. I had to bend down, and when I did, I saw a gap in the corner where it looked like some of the concrete had been dug out. On the ground, there is a pile of what looks like brown dirt. This gap was not there before, as far as I remember. It's right near where my faucet for the outside hose is, so I am in that spot several times a week. I went back a few times, and whatever is in there was poking it's head out a bit. Couldn't get a good look at what it is, but it was brown and tiny. I know there is something there, because shortly after, my dog was going mad smelling the spot and running in circles and whining. If he gets the chipmunk, he will kill it, he had a vole tonight and almost dispatched that before it got away. I don't want to kill the chipmunk but what should I do? I also don't want to fill the spot in with expanding insulation or steel wool to block the chipmunk inside the area. On top of this is an outside mud porch. I also have a basement and the foundation is the sidewall of the basement. I certainly don't want anything making its' way into my basement and dying down there.

I thought chipmunks lived in rock walls and wood piles. Suggestions/ideas?

Featured Answer

brickeyee

16 years ago

"Relocating wild animals is not humane. It often results in the slow painful death by starvation or predation as the animal tries to find a home, food and safe shelter in unfamiliar territory. It is also a way to spread disease to populations that are not resistant."

So killing them immediately is the better method?

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Comments (6)

lucy
16 years ago
Wait a week or however long pest control people tell you is the right time for the babies to be out of the nest. Keep your dog away (chain, inside, whatever). Call one of those pest control people that can get the animals out in a humane way and relocate them (rather than kill them) - ask the contractors about doing - don't assume they do it.
sharon_sd
16 years ago
Relocating wild animals is not humane. It often results in the slow painful death by starvation or predation as the animal tries to find a home, food and safe shelter in unfamiliar territory. It is also a way to spread disease to populations that are not resistant.

It is often ineffective as an animal from an adjacent area will take the place of the one you have removed.

Finally, in many areas, relocation of wild animals is illegal.
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Here is my update. The piles of garlic, red pepper, commercial stuff were useless. Within a day the chipmunks dug a hole in the ground beside the new asphalt and started to dig under again. We got some wire and quickset cement and filled it in and an adjoining area of several inches. The next morning, it dug another hole and I put wire in pending getting more cement. At 1:00pm, there was no change. By 2:15, they had dug out two holes in the asphalt, from the top down! Not from the edge! By this time we had been to the hardware store several times to get the wire, the wirecutter, more cement, rocks, etc etc. We filled in those holes with wire and cement, cemented over a couple of feet over top of the asphalt, and once dry covered the area (cement/asphalt/grass) with a length of wire mesh battened down with rocks and whatever was handy. The chief chipmunk kept surveillance for an opportunity to renew the attack, often from under a car parked in the driveway. Last night our neighbour came by asking for a favour. He wanted to know if we had any cement left over - there was a hole in the lawn beside his driveway, poor guy. We always have had chipmunks, but in my area no one seems to have heard of such destructive behaviour. It seems to be a cause for bemusement and even disbelief. While I am sorry that others here have had such problems, it is also nice to have company;). There aren't any outdoor cats on the street, and there are lots of rules about trapping so a live trap seems to be the main option now.
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hopesprings_gw
16 years ago
We had a problem with chipmunks and red squirrels in our last house. We called a company called Critter Control and they live trapped them. You need to repair the hole with something they can't chew through once you get them out of there. I'd call a pest control company. Good luck!
sharon_sd
16 years ago
If you insist on being rid of them, yes. Otherwise, find a way to live with them.
lindac
16 years ago
Chipmunks live underground. They don't hibernate in the winter like say bears, they just live in their underground dens. And that's why they must store so much food....to sustain them over the winter.
You will never ever see any dirt outside a chipmunk hole as they would be a telltale sign to a preditor. As they dig their hole, they take the excess dirt in their cheek pouches and "hide" it somewhere.
I doubt if you have chipmunks living under your mud room...more likely just using the spot for a temporary hiding place.
I wouldn't worry at all. Your dog just knows something is under there. Chipmunks in my yard like to hide in the rain down spouts....drives my dog crazy....so I got an extra piece of drain pipe and hid it in the bushes, gives them a place to hide from the evil neighbor with the air rifle.
Linda C

where do chipmunks live?

brickeyee

Comments (6)

lucy

sharon_sd

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