Chipmunks may be cute, but...

[PaunchyPirate]

PSA: Chipmunks can damage outside air conditioning units.

The AC guy just left my house. I had called them in when it was clear that my AC was not adequately cooling the house during the last few days hot spell. I've never had problems cooling my house to my desired 75 degrees or slightly lower until this year. It had been running nearly continuously and only managing to cool the house down to about 77 degrees. Well, as it turns out, the outside unit wasn't actually running at all -- I hadn't noticed that!

Chipmunks had built a nest up inside the outside unit and it had broken an electrical contact device. The unit wasn't even powering on. It was repairable and cost me $265 for the pleasure.

The good news is that the coolant didn't need replaced as the repair guy had guessed was the culprit. In case you didn't know, older systems that use R-22 coolant are now much more expensive, if not impossible, to have their coolant recharged. Meaning most that have this issue are simply ruled out-dated and replaced. My system is indeed past it's expected lifespan, so I would have likely just replaced the whole system. But for now, I'll pay the $265 and keep my old system until it totally collapses.

 

[rodi]

Chipmunks in at least two national parks can carry Bubonic plague. There are signs all over Yosemite and Grand Canyon about this. Be wary of those wee beasties.

 

[Amethyst]

Solution: Cat

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Solution: Cat

Exactly! While I keep my two cats indoors, there are several cats that are always exploring the neighborhood. In fact, I’ve noticed less chipmunks this summer than usual and I’m sure the cats are the reason. But there are still some around. The repairman said he thought the nest was not recent, so likely had been built last fall after AC season was finished.

 

[jollystomper]

I try to have a truce with the local wildlife. Stay away from the house, at least beyond the trees two-thirds of the way from our house towards our property line, and we are cool. But if I find you taking up abode any closer than that, all bets are off. I will transform into a combination of Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" and Sylvester Stallone in "Rambo" and hunt you down, no matter how cute and fuzzy you appear to be.

 

[Walt34]

I try to have a truce with the local wildlife. Stay away from the house....

I'm with jollystomper on this. That's the reason I keep the hill down to the treeline behind our house mowed even though it's HOA property and not ours. The short grass seems to give the wildlife the idea and except for the occasional errant individual coming halfway up the hill or so, they all stay down in the woods where they belong.

The only ones we had to get serious about was a gopher and a family of voles that wanted to make a home under the front porch. They all went to that big woods in the sky.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

In Europe our sneaky pest is the beech marten or stone marten (Martes foina), a weasel-like, mostly nocturnal mammal that loves to get inside the engine compartment of cars and chew up the electrical and other cables. In Germany they are the fourth leading cause of non-collision damage to cars.

-BB

 

[MRG]

Unfortunately we see one once in a while. He's quick and avoids neighborhood cats. We don't have many cats because of lions.

 

[euro]

Solution: Cat

Agreed. They seem like a perfect fit for our cat. Quick enough to be a challenge, but small enough to be caught. For example, our cat only very rarely manages to catch a squirrel (they are just a tad too strong), but he really keeps the chipmunk population in check. Moreover, chipmunks seem to be tastier than mice, voles, etc because while never eats any of those, he almost always finishes up the chipmunks he catches...... lol, I know: too much information...

 

[Bamaman]

I went to a retail store in Stone Mtn., GA and bought a chipmunk trap. They're the rodents from Hell!

You can read all about them here: https://bugspray.com/articles98/chipmunks.html

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I went to a retail store in Stone Mtn., GA and bought a chipmunk trap. They're the rodents from Hell!

You can read all about them here: https://bugspray.com/articles98/chipmunks.html

I've found the Havahart traps work well, but the bucket of death is much more efficient for a chipmunk infestation.

 

[Qs Laptop]

"A chipmunk is a mouse with good PR."

 

[audreyh1]

Possums are the bane of our vehicles! One even occasionally starts the RV generator!

 

[Sunset]

Mice are also famous for building a nest and interfering with the contact switch inside an A/C unit.
Mine is close to the capacitor, so easy to see.

My BIL says his A/C sucks mice up that crawl under it and chops them up in the fan, sometimes makes the fan unbalanced and he has to stop the A/C (can hear the noise) and hose them off.

 

[Amethyst]

Wow, I have never had a cat who could catch a squirrel. Not even my extremely strong, fast, indoor-outdoor Burmese of many years ago. Squirrels are incredibly fast, leaping from tree to tree, which cats cannot do.

Mice and their ilk are the cat's natural prey. Rats are large, aggressive, and can tear up a cat. Small northern moles are very slow - all a cat has to do is wait by a hole. I think Florida moles, much larger with long, sharp claws, would be a challenge for all but the biggest, most aggressive cat.

Only had one cat, when I was a youngster, who ever ate prey (where we could see, anyway). Even he preferred his cat food. Mostly the cats just lined up the trophies on the back porch or front step, or brought them directly to us.

Agreed. They seem like a perfect fit for our cat. Quick enough to be a challenge, but small enough to be caught. For example, our cat only very rarely manages to catch a squirrel (they are just a tad too strong), but he really keeps the chipmunk population in check. Moreover, chipmunks seem to be tastier than mice, voles, etc because while never eats any of those, he almost always finishes up the chipmunks he catches...... lol, I know: too much information...

 

[Amethyst]

Same with squirrels/rats. People forgive ratlike behavior in a squirrel because of the fluffy tail.

"A chipmunk is a mouse with good PR."

 

[CaptTom]

We had an abundance of chipmunks, mice, voles and (to a lesser extent) squirrels this year. I had to go into trapping mode. I've made a good dent in the population, but still have a ways to go. Part of the problem may be the new neighbors, putting out lots of bird seed. Haven't seen rats yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's next. I'd never seen voles here before, had to look up on line to see what they were.

I was surprised that regular mouse traps (the snap kind) work well with chipmunks. Peanut butter seems to work best for bait. The bucket got a few of them, too.

 

[street]

Same with squirrels/rats. People forgive ratlike behavior in a squirrel because of the fluffy tail.

True!! Squirrels are one animal I dislike and don't like to have them around. They destroy nests and destroy property and is a rat on steroids. I have watched them kill young birds also.

 

[folivier]

I've seen 3 foxes carrying chipmunks back to their den, to feed the pups I imagine. Haven't seen any at our place. Last summer they would come out whenever I was cooking outside. Had one try to jump in the gumbo pot.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I've seen 3 foxes carrying chipmunks back to their den, to feed the pups I imagine. Haven't seen any at our place. Last summer they would come out whenever I was cooking outside. Had one try to jump in the gumbo pot.

Did you continue cooking the gumbo? Did anyone notice?

 

[misanman]

the bucket of death is much more efficient for a chipmunk infestation

+1

 

[CRLLS]

We have had an ongoing battle with chipmunks over the years. They dig under my porch, my driveway and in the lawn! For some reason, this year has seen a big decline in population. Coincidentally, we have had a family or two of Garter snakes take up residence. Sure enough, according to several websites, they do eat chipmunks. I guess these snakes have to get them as babies as they are pretty small compared to a grown chipmunk.

 

[audreyh1]

A family of non-venomous snakes taking up residence is great protection from rodents. I’m always excited to see a Texas indigo snake in our yard - they eat rattlesnakes too.

 

[youbet]

Solution: Cat

No doubt a cat is bad news for the local chipmunk population. But........ my DW is an avid bird feeder-watcher-aficionado. That means I have the job of discouraging cats from hanging around the yard. And I do..........

 

[Amethyst]

You know, in 50 years of cat ownership - all but one was an indoor-outdoor cat - I could count on one hand the number of "trophies" with feathers. Cats may seem to "fly" when they jump, but their wings aren't too effective!

The hysterical statistics about how many songbirds are killed, I find highly suspect (who actually counts?)

That said, a cat's presence certainly annoys birds and could keep all but the most confident (jays, mockingbirds, crows) away from the feeder. I hope your discouragement does not include shooting or otherwise harming cats, though.

No doubt a cat is bad news for the local chipmunk population. But........ my DW is an avid bird feeder-watcher-aficionado. That means I have the job of discouraging cats from hanging around the yard. And I do..........