How to Get Rid of Chipmunks & Red Squirrels

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Things You'll Need

  • Chicken wire

  • Repellents

  • Live traps

  • Peanut butter

  • Sunflower seeds

  • Sheet

Chipmunks and red squirrels are easy to spot in your yard and often leave a trail of seeds or fruit. Both are not necessarily considered unwanted pests in yard as they help to spread seeds. However, these animals can also try to steal fruits and vegetables as they grow. Some chipmunks or red squirrels may even try to get into the vents of your house to store food or to use your home as winter shelter. It is important to try to remove the pests from your house without trying to kill them. Before and after you have the pests removed, you will need to maintain your yard so that are no areas for them to live.

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Step 1

Maintain your yard by removing any branches, dead leaves, rock piles and stacks of firewood that chipmunks and red squirrels could use as shelter. Also, make sure bird feeders are high above the ground and that no seed spills down.

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Step 2

Put up chicken wire around your garden to keep the red squirrels and chipmunks from entering and eating your plants. They should not try to return once they have no food source.

Step 3

Purchase a repellent that contains ammonium soap, bitrex and Thiram. Apply it to areas where the chipmunks and red squirrels show up. Such repellents are not the most effective way but they are helpful at repelling the pests for a short amount of time.

Step 4

Use live traps that can be purchased online or at home and garden stores. Mix sunflower seeds with peanut butter and place it in the trap. Set the trigger on the steel box traps after two or three days when the pests are used to going inside the box.

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Step 5

Place a sheet over the trap after you have caught the chipmunks or red squirrels. Make sure you have permission to release the animals to wherever you relocate them.

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