Chipmunks can be very annoying to have in your yard, but you do not have to kill them to remove them. There are plenty of humane ways to keep chipmunks out of your yard. You can have your yard back without damaging your conscience when you use these methods of chipmunk removal!

1. Spice Up Your Garden

Unlike humans, chipmunks are not a fan of hot and spicy substances. If you have a garden that is attracting the critters, take a hot spice such as cayenne or red pepper flakes and sprinkle it around your plants. The spice will not hurt the plants, but the taste will scare away any hungry chipmunks. Re-apply the spice often to keep the creatures away, especially after it rains.

2. Plant a Pretend Predator

You might have heard of using scarecrows to scare off birds, but did you know that you can use a similar method to scare off chipmunks? You can buy fake owls to plant in your garden, scaring your chipmunks into fleeing. Many of these owls are on a timer, so they will periodically light up their eyes or move their heads the way a real owl would.

You can also try to use scary scents to remove your chipmunk problem. If chipmunks smell the urine of one of their predators (such as foxes, coyotes, or cats), they will flee the area. You can buy predator urine from many hunting or garden stores. Make sure you read the directions about how often to place the urine in order to achieve the best results.

3. Use a Live Trap

There are plenty of traps you can use that will not kill the chipmunks. You can either buy traps online or from your local garden store. Once you have the trap, you will need to fill it with a food that will attract the chipmunks. You can use sunflower seeds, cereal, peanut butter, or a specified chipmunk bait that you can purchase at the same place you buy your trap.

Once your chipmunk trap is all set up, take it out into your yard and place it wherever you usually see chipmunks. When you catch a chipmunk, you should take it several miles away from your home to release it; if you release it too close to your home, it might be able to make its way back in! Make sure that you thoroughly clean out the trap before you use it again to get rid of any bacteria that the chipmunk might have left behind.

4. Build a Fence Around Your Garden

If chipmunks are in your yard, it is probably because they have found a good food source- most likely, your garden. Building a fence around your garden is a good way to keep the critters out.

You might think that you only need a small fence because chipmunks are so tiny, but be careful with that line of thinking! Not only can chipmunks climb well, but they also dig huge burrows underground. For your fence to be truly effective, it should stretch a few feet above the ground and a couple of feet below the ground. The fence method might not be enough to keep the chipmunks out on its own, but it will work well combined with other methods of chipmunk removal.

Many home-owners jump straight to poison or lethal traps to keep chipmunks away from their property, but there are plenty of effective chipmunk removal techniques that will not kill the critters. Using these methods will teach chipmunks that your yard is somewhere to stay away from without ever having to hurt them! Contact a pest control service, like Desert Pest Control, for additional tips or help in taking care of your chipmunk problem.