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<sigh> how do you catch a chipmunk, then?

21 replies

madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 06:00

having spent most of sunday morning chasing a fecking chipmunk around the downstairs bedroom, i went off to the garage to get a cardboard box to try and trap it. dh was left in charge and he lost it. he claimed it had probably gone out of the door, but he didn't see it. had a good look around, nada.

except today he confessed that he'd spent half the night rootling around in the under-stairs cupboard (up a storey), where it apparently had taken up residence and was chortling at him.

it's all connected through the furnace room and possibly laundry. and the furnace room and laundry are in the basement with the bedroom. so lots of nooks and crannies it can hide in (notwithstanding the fact that when we first noticed it, it was sitting nonchalently in the corner of the bedroom whilst dh and i discussed decorating, so to be frank it's fairly necky.) we have external painters doing the sidings at the mo, so i suspect they have left some vent or other uncovered...

so i have a chipmuck potentially running amok over at least two storeys of a three storey house (dh doesn't think it's been/ can get up to the top floor Hmm)

traps? humane or otherwise? bait? (for reference it is ignoring cheerios and dog kibble Grin)

anyone got any foolproof tips?

i am now completely paranoid and keep peering under furniture and seeing shadows.

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TanteRose · 31/05/2011 06:32

aww, how CUTE Grin

it "chortles", it "sits nonchalently"...



surely you can ask it leave nicely Confused chipmunks DO talk, don't they? all the ones I've ever seen on TV have cute little chipmunk voices Grin



seriously, though, are they actually quite scary? do they carry diseases etc. ?
is there a pest control person you could call?

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lazydog · 31/05/2011 07:20

TanteRose - Highly unlikely, but here in Canada it's not impossible that it could be carrying rabies, so not something you want to encourage - but in all honesty, the main concern would be damage to the electrics (potential fire risk.)

mwita I can lend you my lightening fast jack russell or one of our 4 farm cats ;)

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wordsonascreen · 31/05/2011 07:29

Put on a cd and wait, i'm sure during a tricky dance move you can net it ...

I have a family of geckos living in the laundry room ...

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QuintessentialOldMoo · 31/05/2011 07:30

hooorray, you have a pet! Grin

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MmeLindor. · 31/05/2011 07:37

Is it singing "All The Single Ladies" in a high voice?

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madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 15:52

lol, we have two labradors. they were very excited, but utterly useless. i suspect a jack russell would be much more useful. Grin (and could fit in the cupboard for a start, unlike the fat wide brown dog)

lazy - i have to admit the rabies thing did cross my mind on sunday morning when we had two adults and three kids running around the bedroom trying to corner it. Blush i evicted the kids and left dh to fend for himself while i went to get a box - which is when he lost it...

i should have left the eagle-eyed kids in there and sent him for a box!

lol at the dance moves though Grin

urgh at the wiring. am now not just paranid about things moving in the corners, i fully expect the house to burn down at any second...

i'm going to try and find some sort of pest control organisation i think. dh is all for diy chipmunk-bagging, but i have doubts about his, erm, prowess in that department...

my biggest fear is we live in a very eco-friendly area where we (all the living things lol) are supposed to exist in perfect harmoneeeeee, and it might be randomly illegal to commit any chipmunk-based crime.

i'm all for living in harmony with nature, but i'd rather not do it in my bedroom. i'm hoping that they are regarded as pests...

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geraldinetheluckygoat · 31/05/2011 15:55

Grin MmeLindor

Have nothing useful to add, soz.

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malteserinbelgium · 31/05/2011 16:02

Grin Grin

I have never seen a chipmunk in my life .... so sorry, can't help Blush

Perhaps it likes chocolate?

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madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 16:06

i just put 'do chipumks like chocolate' into the search engine, and was rewarded with the gem that it won't kill them, but it will make them crap everywhere.

Grin

i might not try chocolate. Grin

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roary · 31/05/2011 16:08

madwoman phone the fish and wildlife people for advice. It is a wild creature and they may have tips! (or they may laugh a little). They may even come rescue it for you.

The John Janzen Nature centre in Edmonton has assisted my parents with several wildlife dramas, including suicidal birds? They might be able to give advice over the phone.

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madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 16:10

fish and wildlife? are they environment canada?

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madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 16:11

oh, good tip. i only got as far as 'fish a...' and it came up straight away Grin

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roary · 31/05/2011 16:12

WHile at uni we had a raccoon invade our kitchen and the Ontario F and W people rescued him! So good luck.

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malteserinbelgium · 31/05/2011 16:51

Well then, you can eat the chocolate yourself ... have a break, have a Kit Kat. Grin

Good Luck

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madwomanintheattic · 31/05/2011 16:53

Grin

waiting for a call back.

i think i'm having some sort of cultural issue though. pest control seems to mean bed-bugs here!

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madwomanintheattic · 01/06/2011 02:32

right, dh has taken over and spoken to the f&w person. then he came back from work with a multitude of traps and a sonic repeller (?!)

he has set up what he calls a 'matrix' with the repeller supposedly channelling the beastie towards the traps. there are traps everywhere. i am working up the courage to ask him how much money he spent, but so far he's been very energetically and enthusiastically getting himself organised. i'm not sure if he's intending to bait them as well, or just use the sonic thingy. we have farmed out the dogs. Grin

man the hunter, indeed. Grin

on an interesting note, we have friends staying tonight. in the downstairs bedroom. Grin dd1 pointed out that they do have mice in their house, so it'll be like a home from home...

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spamm · 01/06/2011 03:02

Good luck. What a nightmare though. We love watching the little chipmunks in the garden here, but that is because we are still so new and do not yet see them as vermin, the way our neighbors do. But I cannot imagine trying to catch one of the little buggers.

Please do share any wisdom gained, as i am sure this will happen to us one day.

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madwomanintheattic · 01/06/2011 17:50

still at-large. friends said they could hear it all night, moving, scritching, and cheeping.
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madwomanintheattic · 02/06/2011 05:33

Grin

it is now removing nuts from the traps without triggering them.

dh is a man possessed.

i have now given him until friday, and then i am calling in the cavalry. he was incensed that i was going to do it tomorrow.

man v chipmunk day 5 dawns...

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madwomanintheattic · 03/06/2011 20:32

i now know how you catch a chipmunk. Grin just got an email from dh:
'Got the little B***d!

Who said Military tactics cannot be applied to other situations, a cunning use of a 'come-on' through a matrix of minor obstacles resulting in a hugely effective killing zone with frontal and flanking fire trapped the little sod in a sandwich of glue trap and huge sprung loaded rat-trap!'

not that he's proud of himself or anything... man the hunter, indeed. i guess he didn't go for the humane and relocation method i was advocating...

ho hum. job done anyway. Shock

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spamm · 04/06/2011 01:26

Wow, sounds like a complex campaign in the style of Clausewitz. Well done to the DH. Did he take any photos? Grin

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