I grew up in the country too w cats, and it is surprising how far they go out. We had a cat once that disappeared for a couple of weeks and we found him (only a mile away that time) and he had a perfect hole through his ear where some 'un-named' person shot him. We had another cat once that disappeared for several months and then one day showed up at the house w a huge swelled knot on her head just over her eye. I think it was tumor, was a long time ago, don't remember now. She was bright white, don't know how she was surviving out there or where she was. Maybe someone else was feeding her but she would have had to go a long ways because we didn't have friendly neighbors close by.

Anyone know how to get rid of a chipmunk that is nesting near a foundation? She has tunneled through my grass area and her nest is right under one of my beds.

I've tried fox-urine granules, I've tried cayenne pepper. She no longer digs in my beds, but I can't get her to move out. I'd hate to have to resort to one of those traps.

You probably should invest in one of the small 'Hav-A-Hart live traps. They're Just the right size for rodents like that. Use sun flower seeds or peanuts for bait. When you catch it, you'll have to release it a good mile or more away or it will find it's way back. And, you'll have to destroy the scent of the hole(s) or another will quickly take up this 'ready made' residence. Dropping a moth ball down the hole and covering over with soil worked for me.

Roosterlorn said:You probably should invest in one of the small 'Hav-A-Hart live traps. They're Just the right size for rodents like that. Use sun flower seeds or peanuts for bait. When you catch it, you'll have to release it a good mile or more away or it will find it's way back. And, you'll have to destroy the scent of the hole(s) or another will quickly take up this 'ready made' residence. Dropping a moth ball down the hole and covering over with soil worked for me.

Thanks Lorn. Good point about the scent. Just want to mention that moth balls are so highly poisonous and horrible for the environment that it's actually illegal to use them in this manner. http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/pt...

My yard, and that of my neighbors, is directly over our well water supply too so we all avoid using pesticides and poisons of any type in our gardens. For getting rid of the nesting critter, does anyone have an alternative for getting rid of the scent? I'm happy to dig up the nest once the little fellow is gone. Maybe fox-urine granuals?

Joanna, yes, mothballs are sort of 'old school'. Let's see if somebody else will chime in with their experience with a more natural remedy.

Chipmunks can be pretty invasive here in Michigan. The Hav-a-heart trap followed by the mothball treatment is what always worked for me. One must be vigilant though, those neighbors 1 mile away are releasing their caught chipmunks in your neighborhood.

Perhaps a little ammonia down the chipmunk hole will remove the scent before you dig it up. I have used ammonia in a pan to evacuate raccoons from a chimney. Ammonia is a relatively green product (pun intended).

MichiganMike said:Chipmunks can be pretty invasive here in Michigan. The Hav-a-heart trap followed by the mothball treatment is what always worked for me. One must be vigilant though, those neighbors 1 mile away are releasing their caught chipmunks in your neighborhood.

Perhaps a little ammonia down the chipmunk hole will remove the scent before you dig it up. I have used ammonia in a pan to evacuate raccoons from a chimney. Ammonia is a relatively green product (pun intended).

Mike, thanks for the advice but I just have to reiterate: mothballs are so highly toxic to animals and the environment that it is illegal to use them in this manner. Even if it were not illegal, it is not okay, not in any manner, to use mothballs in one's garden.

Obviously I'm way out of my area of expertise, being located in Sweden, but I think it would be wise to check local legislation regarding moving wild animals before attempting to do so. While moving an animal may seem like a nice solution, it can actually be cruel to the animal, although the intent is not. I'm not mentioning this to make anyone upset or pointing fingers at anyone, but I don't think everyone is aware of this, so may make decisions based of feelings, rather than on research.

See for instance:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agenci...

William said:Obviously I'm way out of my area of expertise, being located in Sweden, but I think it would be wise to check local legislation regarding moving wild animals before attempting to do so. While moving an animal may seem like a nice solution, it can actually be cruel to the animal, although the intent is not. I'm not mentioning this to make anyone upset or pointing fingers at anyone, but I don't think everyone is aware of this, so may make decisions based of feelings, rather than on research.

See for instance:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agenci...

Wow, William! Thank you! I love this group! One of the links in that page is to this which might offer a solution to my chipmunk problem! I simply don't want it nesting up against my foundation, but don't want to harm it either. http://www.mass.gov/eea/agenci...