How to Get Rid of Chipmunks in Your Yard

Posted on March 15, 2023 by smokywildlife

Are chipmunks wreaking havoc in your yard? These small rodents can be a nuisance, digging up plants and making burrows that could damage the foundation of your home. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get rid of chipmunks from your property. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about chipmunk removal and control so you can reclaim your yard!

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Best Tips for Getting Rid of Chipmunks

Gain Some Chipmunk Knowledge

The first step in getting rid of chipmunks is to identify the type of chipmunk you have. Here in Tennessee, we have Eastern Chipmunks. The Eastern Chipmunk is an endearing animal that can be spotted living in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada. They are omnivorous animals, eating mostly vegetation such as nuts, acorns, fruits, seeds, and buds. They’ll also sometimes snack on bugs and slugs to supplement their diet.

Eastern Chipmunks can easily be recognized by their five black stripes running along their back and two cheek stripes that meet just behind the head. When frightened or threatened Eastern Chipmunks will stand on their hind legs in order to scan for danger – an amusing sight! For the most part, they are solitary creatures that live in underground burrows which they dig themselves. These burrows serve as places of refuge from predators during winter months as well as protection for nesting sites for Eastern Chipmunks raising young.

Chipmunk Temptations

Once you understand chipmunks in the Smoky Mountain Region, it will be easier to come up with a plan for removal. Next, it’s important to understand why chipmunks are attracted to your yard in the first place. Common attractions include bird feeders, pet food bowls and compost piles. If possible, remove these items from your property as they can act as sources of food for chipmunks (and other pests).

Chipmunk Control

Control methods such as traps, repellents and fencing can also be used to get rid of chipmunks. Traps should be placed near burrows and tunnels, while repellents can be used to discourage chipmunks from coming back. Fencing is also a great way to keep chipmunks out as it acts as a physical barrier between your property and the rest of the outdoors.

Routine Lawn Care

Finally, make sure to practice good lawn maintenance when trying to get rid of chipmunks in your yard. Keep your grass trimmed short and remove any debris or clutter that could serve as shelter for the animals. Additionally, you can try planting certain plants such as lavender oil which are known to repel chipmunks.

Conclusion on Best Practices for Chipmunk Control

By following these steps, you’ll have a better chance at successfully getting rid of chipmunks in your yard. Remember, chipmunk removal and control is a process that requires patience, dedication, and the right methods.

Are you looking for a trusted Nashville critter control service that can help you get rid of armadillos at an affordable price? Contact Smoky Wildlife Control at 615-610-0962 for TWRA licensed and insured chipmunk removal and control in Nashville, Tennessee and beyond. We also work with many other types of wildlife and serve both residential and commercial clients.

Educational Facts About Chipmunks

Posted on April 27, 2022 by smokywildlife

Chipmunks are certainly cute and funny, but they have a lot more to offer! Learning all about chipmunks is fun because it gives you a greater appreciation for them, plus helps you understand their behaviors. As for property owners and residents, knowing more about chipmunks can give you an advantage when typing to stop them from pillaging your gardens and flowerbeds!

Continue below to review some of the most enlightening, educational facts about chipmunks, and where to get humane critter control assistance for chipmunks in Nashville, Tennessee, and its surrounding counties.

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Chipmunks Come With a Warning Attached

Although you may have already gathered the fact from Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, chipmunks are really cool critters! Adorned with racecar-like stripes, bushy tails, and chubby cheeks, chipmunks are one of the most beloved animals among nature lovers. They are fast, curious, and mission-oriented, making them an entertaining species all year long.

Now, unlike the stars on the big screen, real-life chipmunks should only be admired from a distance. If they get too close, they can become a threat to your lawn, garden, flowerbeds, and even your house. They can’t help themselves, it’s just in their nature! But with smart and humane abatement strategies, you can protect your property from nuisance wildlife tampering, while also enjoying the presence of your neighborhood chipmunks, year-round.

What You Want to Know About Chipmunks

🐿 What They Are

Chipmunks are not squirrels, but they are part of the same family, known as Sciuridae. In fact, the word chipmunk is derived from the native Odawa word, “jidmoonh”, meaning red squirrel. Both chipmunks and squirrels are rodents, as they are part of the Rodentia Order. Here is the full scientific classification breakdown:

↣ Kingdom: Animalia
↣ Phylum: Chordata
↣ Class: Mammalia
↣ Order: Rodentia
↣ Family: Sciuridae
↣ Subfamily: Xerinae

There are more than 25 species of chipmunks worldwide, but only one species does not exist in North America. That is the Siberian Chipmunk.

🐿 What They Do

Chipmunks build underground burrows that can be quite extensive. There, they hoard all of their seasonal findings. They hibernate in the winter, relying on their hoards when food is scare and the climate is cold.

Although they do not break into song like their famous counterparts, they do make some pretty cute sounds. Chipmunks squeak, chirp, and chitter-chatter to one another, communicating about possible threat and predators.

Chipmunks are solitary animals as adults. They traverse alone and do not bother one another when they are out of their burrows. However, chipmunks interact with one another during mating season. Come early April, chipmunks are ready to reproduce.

Chipmunk gestation is an average of 30 days, so babes are typically born between May and June. Mothers birth between 2 and 6 babies between May and June but can deliver up to 8! Baby chipmunks are called pups, kittens, or kits, and they rely on mother’s milk for the first 60 days of their lives! Although chipmunks usually only birth one litter, they will deliver a second if the first is lost.

🐿 What They Eat

Chipmunks are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and meat. The most common elements of their diet include nuts like hazelnuts and acorns, as well as grass, shoots, and general plant matter. Sometimes, chipmunks are known to eat worms, small frogs, bird eggs, and in rare cases, a baby bird.

Chipmunks have roomy cheek pouches that are similar to a hamster. These special cheek pouches let chipmunks stuff their mouths full of delicious findings and carry them back to their burrows for safe-keeping.

Do you have a nuisance chipmunk problem on your property? Contact Smoky Wildlife Control at 615-610-0962 for prompt and professional chipmunk removal and control in Nashville, Tennessee. We serve both residential and commercial clients.

How to Keep Chipmunks Out of the Garden

Posted on April 7, 2021 by smokywildlife

Now that spring is in full effect, many of you are thinking about your seasonal gardens. There is no greater feeling than growing a lush, verdant, and bountiful garden full of your favorite herbs, vegetables, fruits, and more. But there is no worse feeling than going out first thing in the morning to harvest your beautiful yields only to find that your garden has been pillaged by hungry chipmunks!

If you have dealt with nuisance chipmunks year after year, especially when tending your gardens, now is the time to finally learn how to keep them out of your garden and away from your house. That’s right; chipmunks can be destructive to more than just gardens, so active abatement is necessary for properties with high volumes of chipmunks.

Continue reading to learn how to get rid of chipmunks, including ways to keep them out of your garden.

Squirrel and Chipmunk Removal Nashville Tennessee 615-610-0962

Top Strategies for Chipmunk Control Around the Garden

Not only can chipmunks pillage your gardens, taking everything from your marigolds to your strawberries, but they can also damage the roots, thus preventing any future growth. This is a loss of joy and a loss of money. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get rid of chipmunks in the garden, and further protect your property from additional chipmunk damages.

There are various preventative methods you can use to keep chipmunks out of the garden. The most popular are those that are humane and non-toxic. These methods are safe for wildlife, people, pets, and the surrounding environment. The top three chipmunk abatement strategies include homemade, non-toxic animal repellent, environmental modifications, and automatic sprinklers.

Homemade Chipmunk Repellent

There are a lot of scents, spices, and sensations that chipmunks absolutely hate, and therefore, avoid like the plague. These include naphthalene (moth balls) cayenne pepper, menthol, spearmint, capsaicin, oil of black pepper, piperine extract, and anything else that produces the stinging sensation of hot peppers or mint leaves. Simply add any select combination of ingredients to a plastic spray bottle filled with water, mix well, and presto! You have a homemade, non-toxic animal repellent you can spray around your garden to ward off nuisance chipmunks. Just be sure to keep it away from pets and young children, as it can irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and mouth.

Environmental Modifications

You can place moth balls, which contain naphthalene, around the perimeter of your gardens to protect them against nuisance chipmunks. They hate the smell, and if they detect it, they will stay far away. You can also install mesh or wire netting over the top of your gardens, but this is usually recommended in conjunction with another chipmunk abatement strategy, like a repellent. Chipmunks can sometimes find their way through the netting, so spraying it with a homemade repellent can help the chances of keeping them out.

Automatic Sprinklers

Chipmunks, like most animals, do not like to be spray with water without notice. By installing an automatic sprinkler system with motion detection technology, you can give nuisance chipmunks quite the unwanted surprise every time they trespass onto your garden areas. You might also consider placing a tape recording of a barking dog or children playing to trick them into thinking there are threats nearby. This is a good overnight strategy for garden protection.

Are you still having trouble with nuisance chipmunks no matter what you do? Contact Smoky Wildlife Control at 615-610-0962 for safe and affordable chipmunk removal in Nashville, Tennessee. We also provide squirrel removal and flying squirrel removal.

You Should Also Read:

FAQS About Animal Damages and Clean Up
Which Squirrel Species are Found in Tennessee?
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