Is There A Sure-Fire Chipmunk Repellent?
Finding a workable chipmunk repellent if your property is being overrun by the little creatures can be a real challenge. Getting rid of chipmunks isn’t usually anywhere as easy as getting rid of deer or rabbits through the use of repellents.
The problem is, chipmunks eat a wide variety of foods and you may find it impractical or unpleasant to have to apply a repellent to every plant in your yard. Even if you did, such items as bird feeders would still remain an attractive source of food, and you don’t want to drive away the songbirds. Still if you can find something with a bad smell or taste (to the chipmunk) it may be worth a try.
Repel, Trap, Or Poison – A chipmunk repellent is not the same as a bait, which will attract the chipmunks if you plant to either trap them or poison them. Either trapping or poisoning can be much more effective than spreading around a chipmunk repellent, but can also be much more work.
It also goes without mentioning that setting out poison can carry with it certain dangers. In fact, ridding a property of chipmunks through the use of poisons is illegal in some areas.
If using a chipmunk repellent is the chosen approach, it is best if it can be done while the number of chipmunks on the property is still rather small. If the property is being overrun, the effectiveness of a repellent can quickly become problematical.
For some reason, garlic and mothballs are often recommended as useful in repelling chipmunks. It is true that chipmunks don’t like garlic, either the taste or the smell, but applying garlic or garlic powder over an area of any size might not be all that easy.
As far as mothballs are concerned, while we may not like the small, and some animals may share that dislike, chipmunks do not appear to be bothered by it, or even notice it. Spreading mothballs about is basically a waste of time and money.
The Fear Of Coyotes – One repellent that does appear to be effective, and can be judiciously applied around the property is coyote urine. The use of coyote urine can in many instances convince a colony of chipmunks that predators are about, and they might be better off looking for a safer place to call home.
Coyote urine is also proven to be an effective deer and rabbit repellent, so you can protect your yard and garden from more than one potential pest. Another repellent worth looking into would be Ropel spray.
Rather than frightening the chipmunks away, as coyote spray can do, Ropel spray simply makes things taste terrible to the chipmunk. This spray might be an effective chipmunk repellent if judiciously applied to things they normally could be found eating or chewing upon.
If there is a wide variety of potential chipmunk food on your property, and chipmunks have a large and varied diet, Ropel spray may not succeed in driving them away, but may succeed in keeping them away from certain areas or items. Coyote urine really appears to be the best choice for a chipmunk repellent.
Shop Carefully – There are a number of repellents advertised which may be worth trying, but before you spend too much money trying various chipmunk repellent products, do a little research and try to find out if others have found these products effective.
There are not many products out there that do a good job of repelling the little creatures, though some may work just fine temporarily, until the chipmunks get wise.
Cats And Beagles Don’t Work Either – Conventional wisdom would tell you that having a dog or cat in the yard would serve perfectly fine as a chipmunk repellent. Chipmunks are not easy to catch, though a cat may have a better chance than would a dog. If a cat should catch a chipmunk, the chipmunk may decide to put up a fight.
Chipmunks are quite courageous creatures, and can even become aggressive towards a house pet. Don’t rely on your dog or cat to chase the chipmunks away. A beagle will chase them aggressively, but usually to no avail, and a combination of a scolding chipmunk and a howling beagle isn’t going to go over well in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. Stick with coyote urine.
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