Chipmunk Control: What Actually Works

 

Chipmunks aren’t pests they’re planners. Before you label them a nuisance, take a moment to understand the extraordinary life behind those tiny eyes. Chipmunks are territorial architects and seasonal strategists. Every burrow they dig is a blueprint for survival, complete with food chambers, escape tunnels, and nesting pockets. Every seed they stash is a calculated investment in winter.

And when displaced, they don’t just wander they navigate. Chipmunks possess remarkable homing instincts, often attempting to cross roads, rivers, and even lakes to return to their original territory. That’s not stubbornness it’s biological programming. It’s why relocation must be done with precision, compassion, and timing. A careless trap or late-season move isn’t just inconvenient it can be fatal.

To truly coexist with chipmunks, we must shift the narrative. They’re not pests they’re planners worth protecting. Whether you choose deterrence or relocation, do it with respect. Because behind every rustle in the leaves is a creature trying to survive, not sabotage.  

✅ What Works (Ethical & Effective)

• Live Trapping in July Only
  Use a Havahart-style trap baited with peanut butter and apples. Relocate at least 5 miles away in a chipmunk-friendly habitat with water, cover, and natural food sources. July gives them time to rebuild and stock their burrow before winter.
• Yard Deterrence Through Habitat Control
  Chipmunks thrive in clutter. Remove:
• Wood piles
• Ornamental grasses
• Cottage-style flower beds
• Bird seed, pet food, and water bowls left outside
• Respect Their Homing Instincts
  Chipmunks will attempt to cross any body of water to return home. That’s why relocation must be distant, safe, and done only when survival is possible.
• Choose a Suitable Release Site
  Look for:
• Wooded edges or brush piles
• Native ground cover and leaf litter
• Natural water sources like creeks or shaded runoff
• Food availability: acorns, native seeds, berries, or safe human-provided mix 

 What Doesn’t Work (And What Harms)

• Chemical deterrents like ammonia or Vicks Vaporub
  These cause respiratory distress and panic. They’re not harmless they’re cruel. Using them near burrows is a toxin not a deterrent.
• Trapping in September or later
  By fall, chipmunks are already stocking their burrows. Relocation now risks starvation and disorientation.
• Assuming destruction without evidence
  Chipmunks are rarely destructive when they have food and shelter. Feeding them critter mix, acorns, or apple slices keeps them content and out of trouble. 

 Final Thought: Coexistence Is Possible

If you don’t want them around, manage your yard. If you do, enjoy them. They’re cute, curious, and part of a healthy ecosystem. Either way, choose compassion over fear and facts over assumptions.

Preventing Bug Bites While Gardening

If I was ever going to enjoy the garden again I knew I would have to take steps to prevent the bugs from biting me.  This year the biting bugs; mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, and fleas have taken the fun out of gardening. Two days ago while doing a hand pull in my hosta garden I was bitten by, several bugs.

I was so itchy that I stopped what I was doing and ran inside to take a hot shower with Yardley of London antibacterial hand soap, flowering English lavender herbal scent.  The hot soapy shower killed the germs and safely removed the roaming chiggers from my skin and lessened itchy mosquito and other bug bites.

Normally I spray myself before going out to the garden with deep woods off but I know that with the wildlife; deer, raccoon, skunk, wild turkey, groundhog, coyote, and bobcat coming into my yard that there are probably other biting bugs lurking.

I decided to address the bugs in my yard and garden by treating my entire yard with a concentrated garlic formula that will safely kill and repel mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and some wildlife from my yard. I found an all-natural product at amazon.com MOSQUITO BARRIER – LIQUID SPRAY REPELLENT -1 GALLON.  I read the reviews and they were favorable plus I liked that it was natural 100% garlic and would not harm my family or my pets.

Granted this organic pest control costs more but I will tell you it is worth it.  There is a garlic smell and it is potent but the smell is what repels and kills the biting bugs and you get used to it.