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Chipmunks look cute until they’re tearing up your garden, raiding bird nests, or turning your yard into Swiss cheese with their burrow systems. They breed fast, they’re persistent, and they can cause real damage to landscaping, foundations, and anything else in their path.
Here’s how to get them out.
1. Cut Off Their Food Supply
Chipmunks are here for easy calories. Bird feeders are basically chipmunk buffets. If you’re feeding birds, either switch to a pole-mounted feeder with a baffle or accept that you’re also feeding chipmunks.
Clean up fallen fruit, secure trash cans, and don’t leave pet food outside. Remove seed-producing weeds and trim back dense ground cover where they forage. They’ll move on if there’s nothing to eat.
2. Block Access to Shelter
Chipmunks burrow near foundations, under steps, in rock walls, anywhere with cover. Walk your property and look for holes (about 2 inches wide, usually near structures).
Once you’ve located active burrows, fill them with gravel first, then top with soil and tamp it down hard. The gravel prevents them from re-excavating easily. If they just keep digging out soil, they’ll keep coming back. Gravel makes them work hard enough that they’ll look elsewhere.
For permanent fixes, install quarter-inch hardware cloth along foundations and bury it at least 6 inches deep. Seal gaps in retaining walls with mortar. Remove brush piles, woodpiles near the house, and overgrown vegetation.
3. Use Live Traps
Live traps work. Get a rat-sized trap (around 10-20 inches), bait it with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, or nuts, and place it near their burrow entrances or along their travel paths.
Check traps twice a day. Once caught, relocate them at least 5 miles away in wooded areas (check local regulations first – some areas prohibit relocation). Wear gloves when handling traps.
4. Apply Repellents to Key Areas
Granular or spray repellents containing predator urine (fox, coyote, or bobcat) can make your yard less appealing. Apply around garden beds, bulbs, and burrow entrances. Reapply after rain. Fox urine tends to work best since foxes actively hunt chipmunks, but any predator scent will trigger avoidance.
Chipmunks hate the smell of castor oil. Mix 2 tablespoons castor oil with a gallon of water and spray it on plants and soil. It won’t harm plants but it’ll discourage digging.
5. Use Strong-Smelling Deterrents
Peppermint oil, garlic, and cayenne pepper all work as chipmunk repellents. Mix 10-15 drops of peppermint oil with water in a spray bottle and apply to plants, mulch, and burrow entrances. Or crush fresh garlic cloves and scatter them in problem areas.
Cayenne pepper powder works too. Sprinkle it around garden beds, on soil near bulbs, and along their travel paths. Rain washes it away, so reapply every few days or after storms. It won’t hurt plants but chipmunks hate the scent and taste.
These aren’t permanent solutions, but they’re cheap, non-toxic, and effective for short-term deterrence while you work on exclusion.
6. Plant Deterrent Plants
Chipmunks avoid certain plants entirely. Daffodils, hyacinths, and alliums (garlic, onions) contain compounds that repel them. Marigolds, lavender, and mint are also on their no-go list.
Plant these around the perimeter of vegetable gardens or in beds where you’re seeing damage. They won’t create an impenetrable barrier, but they’ll make your yard less appealing compared to the neighbor’s who’s growing nothing but tulips and hostas.
This is a long game. You’re not getting rid of chipmunks overnight with lavender, but you’re stacking deterrents until your property isn’t worth the effort.
7. Protect Specific Plants and Bulbs
If chipmunks are targeting specific plants, cage them. Use chicken wire or hardware cloth to create cylinders around vulnerable plants. For bulbs, plant them in wire mesh baskets that let roots grow but keep rodents out.
Hot pepper spray (capsaicin-based) works on ornamentals. Spray leaves and stems every few days, especially after rain. Don’t use it on edibles unless you like spicy tomatoes.
8. Consider Snap Traps for Severe Infestations
If you’ve got a large population and live trapping isn’t cutting it, snap traps designed for rats will work. Place them in covered areas (under boxes or along foundations) to keep pets and birds out.
Bait with peanut butter. Set multiple traps since chipmunks are territorial and you’re dealing with several individuals, not just one. Dispose of bodies promptly to avoid attracting other pests.
9. Fence Off Gardens and High-Value Areas
A low fence (3-4 feet) with an L-shaped footer buried 6-12 inches deep will keep chipmunks out of garden beds. They don’t climb well and they won’t burrow under if the footer’s in place.
Use quarter-inch hardware cloth, not chicken wire (they’ll chew through it). The fence doesn’t need to be tall, but it does need to go underground.
10. Remove Attractants from Your Yard
Bird baths, open compost bins, and scattered birdseed all bring chipmunks in. Cover compost with a lid, clean up under feeders daily, and if you’re seeing consistent chipmunk traffic, take down feeders for a few weeks.
They have short memories. If food disappears, they’ll establish new territories elsewhere.
11. Use Ultrasonic Devices (Mixed Results)
Ultrasonic repellers that emit high-frequency sounds claim to drive rodents away. Some people swear by them, others say they’re useless.
If you try them, buy ones specifically rated for outdoor use and place them near active burrows. Keep expectations low. They’re not a replacement for exclusion and habitat modification.
12. Get a Cat or Dog
Outdoor cats and terrier-type dogs are natural chipmunk deterrents. Even the presence of a predator (scent, movement, noise) will make chipmunks nervous enough to relocate.
You don’t need a hunting dog. Just a pet that spends time outside is often enough to shift the territorial balance.