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Getting rid of chipmunks
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BadKosh
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Aug 6, 2016, 07:27 AM
 
Well, I've tried mouse and rat traps with peanut butter, just to find the peanut butter licked off and the traps still set! I find through a lot of reading that they just won't eat poisons. I've tried cutting away all the vegetation around the may holes down to the ground so the predator birds might see it better, but they'd rather snatch the squirrels off the ground instead. Also, chipunks venture out around dawn and dusk, so the predator birds aren't around. Owl's don't become active until after dark. I'm currently trying an "irritating sound" idea, using 2 of those stick in the ground humming bird feeder/hanging plant holders with coffee can's suspended just 8-10" from the ground and 2-3 inches from the vertical steel part, so any wind will bang the cans against the sides and the sound will be transferred into the ground. Harbor Freight used to have these windmill things you pounded into the ground and they also made noise, but they were out of them this year. I tried hot sauce down the holes, that would get on its feet, but after a rain, its dilluted too much. I even tried peppermint oil as that repels mice, but had no effect, the little shit just made new holes. Don't have a cat, but I have thought of growing some catnip to attract them to my back yard.
     
Uncle Skeleton
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Aug 6, 2016, 09:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by BadKosh View Post
Well, I've tried mouse and rat traps with peanut butter, just to find the peanut butter licked off and the traps still set! I find through a lot of reading that they just won't eat poisons.
What about a bucket trap:

Bucket Mouse Traps |
     
BLAZE_MkIV
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Aug 6, 2016, 11:21 AM
 
Or a terrier.
     
reader50
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Aug 6, 2016, 12:35 PM
 
Sonic mole chaser



They make a few different models, including a solar powered one. Beware that small critters are dumb - it can take them up to a month to realize they have to move to leave the noise behind.
     
reader50
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Aug 6, 2016, 01:25 PM
 
For burrowing varmints, I use these when we want them gone faster.



They're smoke bombs - they just smoke, not explode. You set the fuse, light it, stuff it into the hole. Reclose the hole with dirt, let the smoke fill their passageways, displacing the oxygen. Gives them a relaxing smoke they never wake up from.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 6, 2016, 04:00 PM
 
The bucket trap is next. I thought about model airplane fuel (alcohol & nitromethane) lit but catching the chipmunk IN his hole will be the challenge. 3rd on the list is to get a CO2 Pellet gun and wacking his little head when I see it next. I can't use my 22 long in the development (rats..no pun intended). I may not legally be allowed to use the pellet gun in the development. The little shit has undermined a fence post and dug over 20 holes in my back yard. I thought about putting down some aluminum screen held to the ground with wire tent stakes so he just can't get above ground but the cost is up there some. I don't have animals around. NEXT YEAR I will be planting catnip to attract cats.
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Aug 6, 2016, 04:07 PM
 
Get a serval.
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
     
subego
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Aug 6, 2016, 04:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by BadKosh View Post
Also, chipunks venture out around dawn and dusk, so the predator birds aren't around.
They're crepuscular, which is like, my favorite word ever.
     
turtle777
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Aug 6, 2016, 07:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by Cap'n Tightpants View Post
Get a serval.


-t
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Aug 6, 2016, 09:47 PM
 
^^ Ramses is a terror with squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and just about any other wild critters you can imagine (he's intelligent, very fast, and can vertical jump ~3m). That's a good thing though, because around here most of their natural predators are gone and their populations are spiralling up out of control. It took a little while but I was able to whistle train him and I let him eat a lot of what he catches, after I inspect it, to make sure it was otherwise healthy, and clean it for him.
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but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 7, 2016, 11:25 AM
 
We have chipmunks around here, but I don't see holes in the yard or anything. They don't bother me that much. I think it's the squirrels who eat the tomatoes. Those jerks.
     
besson3c
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Aug 7, 2016, 12:30 PM
 
Put human poop down the holes. Works every time.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 7, 2016, 12:37 PM
 
Chipmunks dig holes under patios, and have undermined 4 of my fence posts, causing my fence to zig-zag. A friend brought 2 bottles of the hottest "Dave's Insanity Sauce" and I plan to mix it with a couple of gallons of water and dump it into all the holes I can find. First I have to weed wack the lawn back to the soil almost. I may even get a fake owl for the yard. Chipmunks don't generally go more that 300-500 feet from their burrows So even though YOU don't have holes you've seen, your neighbors probably have. I really think growing catnip in the back yard may be a long tern solution, and I'll get to meet all the outdoor cats in the neighborhood. I'm a BIG cat person. I used to have a Maine Coon Cat (Powncer) who passed away from lung cancer in 2004. She couldn't catch a chipmunk either.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 7, 2016, 12:38 PM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
Put human poop down the holes. Works every time.
Pretty disturbing Besson.
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 7, 2016, 01:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by BadKosh View Post
I really think growing catnip in the back yard may be a long tern solution, and I'll get to meet all the outdoor cats in the neighborhood. I'm a BIG cat person. I used to have a Maine Coon Cat (Powncer) who passed away from lung cancer in 2004. She couldn't catch a chipmunk either.
We do have a feral cat population, so maybe that's it. Or the holes they dig are under the bushes.

I also had a maine coon cat, such a loveable teddy bear.
     
subego
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Aug 7, 2016, 01:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by BadKosh View Post
I'm a BIG cat person.
Puma those mother****ers.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 7, 2016, 07:09 PM
 
IF I can't get rid of that little shit this year, next April I will be planting catnip. I kind of like the idea of meeting the neighborhood cats. I'm northwest of DC, so that is when I can plant the catnip. Earlier, and frost and nasty weather would kill the catnip.

Thanks for all the input!! I'll keep you all informed as to how it turns out.
     
Cap'n Tightpants
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Aug 7, 2016, 08:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by BadKosh View Post
I'm a BIG cat person. I used to have a Maine Coon Cat (Powncer) who passed away from lung cancer in 2004. She couldn't catch a chipmunk either.
Think BIGGER. It's seriously fun to hunt with cats (and you're doing a community service).

Originally Posted by subego View Post
Puma those mother****ers.
That's the spirit!
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 8, 2016, 06:57 AM
 
I wish I had a local weasel.
     
ort888
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Aug 8, 2016, 10:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton View Post
What about a bucket trap:

Bucket Mouse Traps |

A guy I know swears by these. He calls them "Chipper Dippers". If I remember right, his version involved a bucked filled halfway with water and then you put a bunch of birdseed in it as well, to hide the water and make it look solid and tasty. Then you put a ramp on top and the cute little dudes jump in and drown slowly. Fun times.

My sig is 1 pixel too big.
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 14, 2016, 03:07 AM
 
^ Interesting idea. I just spent 4 days at a remote cabin that the mice clearly thought belonged to them. I'll have to pass the idea along to the owners.
     
subego
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Aug 14, 2016, 03:13 AM
 
Did your portable electronics make it through with juice to spare?
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 14, 2016, 09:28 AM
 
mine did, I ended up hardly using them. No cell service helped with that, and I read paper books.

FYI, mice will eat crayons, soap, and candles.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 14, 2016, 10:00 AM
 
You'll need to find where they get in and seal the holes with copper wool and cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil before you seal the holes with outside silicon caulk. Victor snap traps with peanut butter on the triggers will dispatch the rest, but you NEED to check the traps daily to avoid incredibly bad odors. They are coming for he food. Outside, you can mix up bird seed and plaster of paris, in a bowl. The mice/rats will eat it and the plaster will harden inside them. NOT for indoor use, because you don't want the little suckers to die inside your walls, making a bad smell for months.
     
andi*pandi
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Aug 14, 2016, 11:55 AM
 
the owners had spring traps, which the mice blithely ignored.
     
BadKosh  (op)
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Aug 14, 2016, 02:45 PM
 
FRESH peanut butter will get them.
     
subego
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Aug 14, 2016, 03:51 PM
 
Rotten peanut butter would give them cancer. No one wants that.
     
   
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