Chipmunk Problem

I had never seen a chipmunk eat a green cluster tomato before. Now I see it far too regularly, as I have rotated my crop so that the tomatoes are growing closer to their normal hangout than before.

I'm not above live-trapping the little buggers and moving them away from home, but I'd prefer to spray or scatter something they hate around the plants to just keep them from stealing and wasting the tomatoes. I know chipmunks can be destructive, but they amuse my kids and old Lab so I don't mind having them around. It does piss me off, though, when I see a baseball-sized unripe tomato with a quarter-sized nibble out of it left on the ground to rot.

I searched for some info on this but found only a recipe for chipmunk chili, which may eventually come in handy if the tomato-snatching continues....

Ideas?

get your kids a bb gun

JasonM wrote:get your kids a bb gun

Well, they're 2 years old so....no.

Squirrels are my nemesis. I use hot sauce (usually Franks - Tabasco is too thin) to discourage them from both the wild bird seed feeder and the veggies. Seems to work, if I remember to replenish it after a rain.

I'm guessing it would work for chipmunks, too.

I read that as well after a google search. Cayenne was also mentioned.

NR, do you put it directly on the fruit where your veggies are concerned, or just the ground around it?

Hi,

Whenever you want to avoid chemical solutions, then you are seeking "integrated pest management" or IPM. Using a search engine with keywords: chipmunk IPM, you get results like this: Northeastern IPM. If you follow the link, it will offer some ideas.

IPM offers ideas from insects to varmits. It often offers clues to why something is attracted and how to eliminate it.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Whenever you want to avoid chemical solutions, then you are seeking "integrated pest management" or IPM. Using a search engine with keywords: chipmunk IPM, you get results like this: Northeastern IPM. If you follow the link, it will offer some ideas.

IPM offers ideas from insects to varmits. It often offers clues to why something is attracted and how to eliminate it.

Regards,

Thanks for the term C2; We're looking towards getting rid of ants in the yard and don't want to use chemicals. I wonder if they've got something.

DeathByOrca wrote:I read that as well after a google search. Cayenne was also mentioned.

NR, do you put it directly on the fruit where your veggies are concerned, or just the ground around it?

I use it primarily to keep varmints off the bird feeder; I put in on the top of the feeder and along the pole that holds it up. I haven't had trouble with the in-ground veggies, although I've read that if anything with a lot of capsaicin is scattered around, it'll bother their little feet, and they'll stay away. Interestingly, birds seem immune to hot sauce or similar products.

Pepper wax (sticks even in rain):

http://www.hotpepperwax.com/

Here's what you need for your chipmunk problem.

Someone once told me to plant Habanero peppers along the edge of the garden to keep away squirrels. I must have Jamaican squirrels because they just ate the peppers too. When the little fluffy tailed rats started tunneling into my roof, someone else suggested putting fresh sage around the eves. That actually worked up to the point they donned little hazmat suits and removed the sage. Now I am thinking a very smalll neutron bomb might work. Good Luck. The only thing worse than a live rodent is a cute live rodent.

I have found that the higher the tomato off the ground, the less likely they are to be eaten by rodents. Not sure if that helps. Make sure they are staked appropriately.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I went with NR's "Frank's" suggestion, with initial delight. The day after application, I found a partially eaten tomato with nibble marks right at one of the parts where the sauce dripped down from the shoulder (my coverage was not perfect). "That did it!", I thought, until I found another half the next day. Then another....then another....bitten right through where the hot sauce was.

C2, thanks as always for kicking down the knowledge on the terminology (IPM). Norm, I really want my tomatoes, if I end up with any, to not taste like pepper wax. And Dave, you'll be unamused to know these tomatoes are planted with serranos and sage on either side of them! They are staked well, tp, and you're right - the higher fruit has not been disturbed - yet.

Thanks also, Katie. My wife has a firm "no hookers, no lizards" policy around the house so I'm out of luck there.

I'm going with the live traps - enough's enough.

Death, how about taking them off when they are just starting to change color? The good thing about home grown tomatoes is that they do not have to stay on the vine until they are ripe in order to taste good. They do need to be turning before you take them off for best results.

In the past, I've just taken them slightly before they are of interest to my pests. I put them on my counter and in a few days, I get to eat them.

Two words: David Seville.

(Familiar to those of a certain age. For everyone else, you can check this out.)

ViewsAskew wrote:Death, how about taking them off when they are just starting to change color?

I haven't had any last long enough to even begin to turn color. They're all little green golf balls still.

DeathByOrca wrote:

ViewsAskew wrote:Death, how about taking them off when they are just starting to change color?

I haven't had any last long enough to even begin to turn color. They're all little green golf balls still.

Now, that's downright depressing! I hope you figure out a way to discourage them. Have you tried the live traps yet?

What about predator urine? Predator Pee sells Coyote, Bobcat, Fox and Wolf urine granules and sprays. I got rid of a family of Racoons with the Coyote spray. I am thinking bobcat or fox might do it for chipmunks. They do sell a sampler pack, so you can find the right one.

You can also "ask the pee man", if they have anything that has worked for chipmunks.
[email protected]

ViewsAskew wrote: Have you tried the live traps yet?

I haven't yet. Reason being, the carnage seems to be limited, after close monitoring this past week, to the lower fruit. The fruit 4-5 feet up or more hasn't been touched (yet).

Thanks D4v3 - I emailed the pee man. Although I don't think I'll mention that phrase without clarification outside of this forum.

Edit to add the email reply (that was fast!) from the pee dude:

FoxPee is the one. I would not put directly on plants, but you can use
it in our dispensers and hang nearby. The best way is to use the
dispensers around the garden to create a perimeter. See our how to use
page on the website www.predatorpee.com

Thought fox might work. It probably keeps away rats and squirrels also, maybe possums, but not raccoons. Like I said, I used the coyote spray to get a family of 5 Raccoons out of my roof. Cute little varmints did thousands of $$ in damage. They kept coming back until I sprayed Coyote Pee on my roof and hung pee dispensers around the trees they were using to get up there. Problem is, the pee ain't cheap. When it comes to saving thousands in damage to a house, it is worth it, but to save a few tomatoes? Maybe not so much.

Interestingly, in the last week I saw both a red fox and a coyote strolling down my street in Rogers Park in broad daylight.