Bounty on their head

[Ashz]

Ok so SWMBO and I bought this house about two years ago now, and when we first moved in the back yard was PLAGUED by chipmunks. I am talking on the level of an infestation. Digging under my deck, which is partly sitting at ground level. Getting under the siding, you name it they owned it. I tried the group round up method. Bucket of water filled about a third of the way, sunflower seeds on the surface, board leading up. Chipmunks think they hit pay day, fall in...drown. This caught exactly Zero, I could be off there...no wait it was zero.

So my FIL comes down for a visit and us being the upstate new york red neckers we are, we go and get a pellet gun and I began a crusade against these buggers. This is the first I knew that chipmunks will actually turn cannibalistic. I used to leave the carcasses around as a warning to others until I found out they liked to eat the dead.

I have seriously dwindled their numbers, I just took another one down not ten minutes ago. But I am not really sure if I have a handle on the situation or if they are just getting more stealthy.

So what's the point of this post? Anyone got any other methods besides sniping them one by one out of existence?

And shot guns are out of the question as I live in a very quiet residential neighborhood.

 

[The Pol]

Feed them automotive antifreeze. That works on any animal.

 

[SnickASaurusRex]

Flame thrower.

No really. If you don't have neighborhood pets to worry about you could try a general rodent poison. Or some bated rat traps. You could try to move them along, by finding and removing there primary food source. Get a large tom cat and let him have his way with them.

G'Luck

 

[BrewBrain]

better way, cat. more fun way, not possible.

 

[enderwig]

With no shottie option, I have nothing else to offer that hasn't been said....

 

[rsmith179]

I had quite a few chipmunks chilling by my house too. I also was forced by the SWMBO to put mouse traps in our garage about a month ago. I noticed that the chipmunks were actually coming into my garage and ransacking the mouse poison pellets. I do still have a few chipmunks every once in a while, but did find a few dead around my compost pile in the back. My want to try setting some outside, as long as you don't have cats or dogs out in the area.

 

[Evets]

This works on squirrels, why not chipmonks?
Squirrel Catapult!*Video

 

[Ashz]

This works on squirrels, why not chipmonks?
Squirrel Catapult!*Video

That was pretty awesome! I think that is not going to work. I need a much more long distance relocation program for them. In the dirt or into space maybe. At any rate the numbers do seem to be down. The one I shot tonight was the first one I have seen since last weekend. Maybe my one man chipmunk killing spree is working. Either way word of mouth through the ranks or total annihilation I care not.

As a side note I have turned in to one hell of a shot with this thing. Shot the one tonight right through the eye from about 30 feet. Granted I have a scope, but still. 8 pumps on the pellet gun and it twitched twice after the shot.

 

[bashe]

Cats like little things that scurry around. The only problem is it will probably eat the chipmunks head off then deposit the carcass next to your bed.

 

[BierMuncher]

Nuff said......

 

[EvilTOJ]

That was pretty awesome! I think that is not going to work. I need a much more long distance relocation program for them. In the dirt or into space maybe.

Or into a piece of plywood with nails driven through it. But I'm not sadistic or anything.

+1 to finding their food source too. Do your neighbors have bird feeders?

 

[mr_goodwrench]

Nuff said......

Well put BM! We have had Scotties for years and never had issues. In fact just last night, Jock evicted a mole from the yard! He has rid our property of possum, woodchuck, moles, cats... This is what terriers were made for.

 

[harrydrez]

I think commercial rodent poisons work. Would be very quiet, some take a little while to work but it should be effective.

 

[david_42]

Nasty as Jack Russel terriers are, two of them would probably solve the problem. Any of the rat terriers would do the trick. Cats are useless for infestations, they only take out one at a time. A rat terrier will kill them all.

Then you would only have a nasty little yappy dog problem.

 

[Ashz]

Nuff said......

I think the dog and or cat idea is probably the most efficient. However the cat is an indoor cat, and the dog that is currently on duty, as you can see is not much made for being a varmit dog.

As for the food source. We have all sorts of trees that the chipmunks and squirrels have a food source. I have no problem with the squirrels as they tend to not be a bother to us. The chipmunks however must die.

 

[bashe]

You could also hold some auditions and start a chipmunk band. Then they would tour the world and not bother you anymore or they would get hooked on drugs and die.

 

[bashe]

 

[ifishsum]

Pellet gun works great, I also found some Aguila Super Colibri .22 cartridges that are primer only (no powder) and in a rifle they're even quieter than my air pellet guns.

 

[Dwain]

Then you would only have a nasty little yappy dog problem.

Not if he's that good of a shot with the pellet gun! - Dwain

 

[Ashz]

You could also hold some auditions and start a chipmunk band. Then they would tour the world and not bother you anymore or they would get hooked on drugs and die.

I see your not one for instant gratification huh? More of a lay the evil plan and let it fester for years type. While that was about the best suggestion yet, I think I will continue with the pellet gun.

 

[TerapinChef]

Borrow a terrier. Surely someone you know has one. Offer to "babysit" their dog for a few days. Surely it won't take that long to eradicate the last of them, your bulldog doesn't look like he will mind (or even notice) and they'll be able to go out of town for a weekend without worrying about the dog.

 

[BrewBrain]

I think the dog and or cat idea is probably the most efficient. However the cat is an indoor cat, and the dog that is currently on duty, as you can see is not much made for being a varmit dog.

As for the food source. We have all sorts of trees that the chipmunks and squirrels have a food source. I have no problem with the squirrels as they tend to not be a bother to us. The chipmunks however must die.

that pic is AWESOME!! He's not budging for no damn squirrel.

 

[Ashz]

He is a good dog. But he is the laziest thing ever. I did actually see him go after a squirrle once but it was half hearted.

The official count went up by one today. Got him through the dining room window with the barrel sticking out. I think that's about 5 for this year so far. SWMBO saw one more but he has kept low since I got his buddy.

The first year about this time I easily had at least 15 Confirmed kills. So I have definitely made an impact thus far.

Also I was thinking and I honestly don't know anyone with a terrier of any type. Somebody should start a terrier service, you pay someone for the highly efficient killing machines and house them for a while, pay for food.

I know a lot of the places I go to work have huge ponds that they pay people to bring in dogs to chase off the geese. Seems like another service that could work well.

 

[harrydrez]

Use poison if your dog won't mess with the corpses. Though, I think there are poisons that don't cause secondary poisoning. As I'm not sure if the pellet gun alone will solve your problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodenticide

 

[Hotspur]

We have a slight mouse problem (chewed wiring and hoses near the fuel tank on my car), so I've been looking for resolutions for that. We have bait blocks out that are poison, in that it makes them thirsty and they drown themselves drinking water.

The other option is what is supposed to be a "have a heart" style trap - the catch is you don't open it. They die in the trap, and their corpse is bait for the next one. Empty it twice a year.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Well, since the dog/cat options aren't viable for you, I'd stick with the entertaining & gratifying pellet sniping. If you can keep your dog & cat away from the rodent carcasses & bait, I'd also poison the little buggars. There is another option, but it's sort of hit & miss: GrowOrganic: Dexol Gopher Gasser (Pack Of 6)

You could also clamp a hose onto your car's exhaust pipe & run it into the nearest burrow opening. Cover up most of the other burrow openings, but be sure to leave at least 1 other open so you get a good movement of CO1 & you can wait for any trying to escape with your pellet gun. Good luck, GF.

 

[Yooper]

This sounds very much like what we're going through! We've never had a problem before, but this year my husband is on a chipmunk eradication program. He's an avid gardener, and he's watched them dig up his peas and other seedlings. The chipmunks apparently wait until Bob plants the seeds, then they go dig them up and eat them. He's tried rat traps (got a couple of mice), poison, hot sauce sprayed all over the garden beds, sending the dog out, etc. He's threatening to get the shot gun but I'm trying to convince him to get a pellet gun or to borrow my son's Airsoft collection. Apparently, rat poison mixed with peanut butter is very tasty to the varmits, and they can eat quite a bit of it without dying. He's very hesitant to use more poison, as he doesn't want to harm birds or other animals.

It's almost funny, as he comes into the house cursing the little bastards and muttering under his breath. When I laugh, though, he isn't pleased with me.

 

[Homercidal]

While the pellet gun method is surely fun and rewarding, I can also recommend this method:

Get empty plastic 1 gallon milk jug with cap
Fill with water
Find chipmunk
walk towards chipmunk
when chipmunk runs into hole remove cap from milk jug
turn water-filled milk jug upside down over hole
when chipmunk runs up into the milk jug replace cap
carefully fill half-way with water
set on porch or deck until chipmunk stops moving

This method will certainly work, but maybe not as effective as a terrier. Them dogs are killers!! Cats are great too. Any of these methods will work, but the critters will be back in a year or so when they repopulate, although they should be in much smaller numbers.

 

[Ashz]

While the pellet gun method is surely fun and rewarding, I can also recommend this method:

Get empty plastic 1 gallon milk jug with cap
Fill with water
Find chipmunk
walk towards chipmunk
when chipmunk runs into hole remove cap from milk jug
turn water-filled milk jug upside down over hole
when chipmunk runs up into the milk jug replace cap
carefully fill half-way with water
set on porch or deck until chipmunk stops moving

This method will certainly work, but maybe not as effective as a terrier. Them dogs are killers!! Cats are great too. Any of these methods will work, but the critters will be back in a year or so when they repopulate, although they should be in much smaller numbers.

Now that is a cool idea. I never thought of that at all. I did have to convince my FIL that pulling the caddyshack routine in my yard is probably not the best approach.

Yooper. Pellet gun is effective. You just have to actively hunt for them. Although if your hubby is just as annoyed by them as I am, he may be up for the gratification of the hunt.

 

[CBBaron]

The official count went up by one today. Got him through the dining room window with the barrel sticking out. I think that's about 5 for this year so far. SWMBO saw one more but he has kept low since I got his buddy.

5 this year? That isn't even one litter. I think you need a more effective control method.

And I really like your dog, He looks like he wouldn't move if a chipmunk was eating out of his food bowl 6inches from his face.

Craig