In this article, we provide detailed guidelines on flood or how to seal up chipmunk holes and tunnels.
For many homeowners, rodent issues can be quite frustrating to deal with. This is especially true when such rodents cause structural damage.
Luckily, chipmunks (a rodent species) aren’t known to cause structural damage.
The only types they cause include burrows and injury to ornamental plants.
How to Seal A Chipmunk Hole
The most common response to chipmunk activities is the sealing or filling of holes and tunnels created.
However, not many people do a great job of filling these holes as these rodents can still find a way of hanging around your property.
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Identifying Chipmunk Holes
What do chipmunk holes look like?
Not every hole or tunnel you find in your compound is created by a chipmunk.
A variety of creatures are known to burrow in the ground or create tunnels. These include fossorial, the badger, ground squirrels, chipmunks, rodents, black-tailed prairie dogs, European rabbits, and voles.
Other creatures known to create tunnels include groundhogs, pangolins, meadow voles, stoat, bilbies, and goemys just to name a few.
With this information, you’ll need to be able to distinguish chipmunk holes from the rest. Of the many burrow types, mole holes tend to be confused with chipmunk holes.
To clarify things, you’ll need to first understand that mole holes will mostly look like mounded dirt volcanoes.
In other words, these are mostly observed in the form of multiple piles of loose soil. Unlike chipmunks that may feed on vegetation, moles seek out earthworms and insect feet.
Chipmunks on the other hand are active during the day and can be spotted moving around.
These tiny rodents are noisy creatures. A clear difference between holes created by moles and those dug by chipmunks is the absence of excavated soil around the holes as is common with mole holes.
In terms of size, chipmunk holes measure around 2 to 3 inches in diameter. You may also find uprooted plant bulbs in addition to tracks showing four front toes and 5 hind toes.
You’ll find these holes close to hiding spots such as rocks or shrubs.
Chipmunks create dual tunnels which serve specific needs. One tunnel tends to be shallow and is used during the day to stay clear of perceived predators. The second tunnel is deeper and may go as far as 3 feet into the ground.
This is where chipmunks use it as their nesting spots and for food storage and has multiple chambers.
They also use the nesting tunnel for overwintering. This information has been necessary to help you understand the next section on how to fill chipmunk holes and tunnels.
How To Fill Chipmunk Holes And Tunnels
When it comes to addressing a chipmunk problem around your yard, there are two main approaches you can adopt; addressing an existing problem, and taking the preventive approach.
While both of this help address the problem, the preventive approach tends to be much better.
i. Filling Up Existing Chipmunk Holes and Tunnels
To fill up chipmunk holes and tunnels, several options can be adopted. These include the use of sand & concrete as filling material, filling with gravel, and filling holes with cat litter.
Let’s take a brief look at how to execute each of these methods.
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Using Sand & Concrete to Fill Chipmunk Holes & Tunnels
The use of sand and concrete as filling materials for chipmunk holes is only recommended for holes close to structures. These materials aren’t ideal for general use in yards or gardens.
To begin with, you’ll have to pour some sand into existing homes until it’s about 5 inches to the tunnel opening.
From this point, quick-setting concrete will need to be poured in to seal up the hole. Once dry, it makes it impossible for these rodents to get through such a hole.
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Filling Holes with Gravels
Gravel is a great material to plug chipmunk holes and tunnels. For best results, you’ll need to look for fine gravel and some oil. Using your trowel, dump some gravel into the hole until it’s filled up.
Now, pour in your oil and stamp down the gravel to make it pack tightly into the hole.
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Filling Chipmunk Tunnels with Cat Litter
The third option to consider for filling up chipmunk holes involves the use of cat litter. Now, this might sound gross to some people but does the work.
The logic for using cat litter arises from the bad odor it gives. This will be a great option for cat owners. It also gives chipmunks a sense of danger, thus making them leave the area.
ii. Adopting the Preventive Approach
To prevent future burrowing or tunneling, you’ll need to understand why these rodents burrow through your yard.
Chipmunks are ground-dwelling creatures that are drawn to the natural dwelling conditions below ground. What more? The ground gives them a safe hiding spot for hibernating in winter.
These rodents also need the safety of their underground tunnels for nesting and storing their food.
Here, it’s obvious that the only way to keep them out is by putting measures in place to prevent their presence. So, to prevent or discourage chipmunks from your yard, you’ll need to implement the right action.
There are several preventive actions you can take including the use of mothballs, building a fence, introducing a predator, and keeping your yard clean.
Other effective preventive methods include the use of repellents, and sealing your home. Let’s take a further look at some of these preventive strategies.
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Building a Fence
Certain fence designs help keep chipmunks out of your yard, thus preventing tunneling of your yard. A chipmunk-proof fence is one that runs some depth (about 8 inches) into the ground.
There should also be no spaces or cracks on the fence.
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Introducing a Predator
As a cat lover, you might want to get yourself one to help deter chipmunks from tunneling your yard. Cats will prey on chipmunks hence the reason why these rodents keep their distance.
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Keeping your Yard Clean
If you have fruiting trees or grow vegetables around your yard, you’ll need to have your surroundings cleaned frequently. Raking of fallen fruits helps remove the incentive for chipmunks to be around. Also, remove any pet food lying around.
The discussion above not only focuses on ways to fill up chipmunk holes and tunnels, but also provides preventive actions that are effective in keeping these rodents at bay.