by Victoria Neely

Created on: September 24, 2007   Last Updated: September 25, 2007

Chipmunks are awfully cute. And they're awfully destructive. They breed like crazy, and before you know it you can have 1,500 striped rodents digging holes in your lawn, eating your flowers, nibbling your veggies, chewing cable lines, digging up crocus bulbs, nesting in the walls, and undermining the foundation of your house.

If this is your situation, you're probably ready to do almost anything to get rid of these rodents. Some of the methods described here are lethal. Yes, we know chipmunks are adorable, and no, we don't REALLY want to kill Chip & Dale. But when all their aunts, uncles, cousins, roommates, and neighbors all move in on your lawn, it's time to thin the population a bit.

A word of warning: Be discreet about what you're doing! People who have never had problems with chipmunks before will probably think you're a big meany, while animal activists will think you're a psychotic murderer who ought to be lynched.

With that out of the way, here's a list of some of your options to get rid of chipmunks:

THE BUCKET TRAP
Cheap and simple, but it works VERY well. We nailed our first chipmunk within two hours of setting up this trap.

Here's what you do: Fill a five gallon bucket about two thirds full of water. Sprinkle sunflower seeds until the entire surface of the water is covered. Make a ramp so that the chipmunk can reach it; a plank of wood will do. Leave a trail of seeds on the ramp. To make the trap even more enticing, put a dab of peanut butter on a small block of wood and leave it floating in the center of the bucket. The chipmunk will be lured in and won't be able to get out, so it drowns. Use a stick to check for any victims.

If you have toddlers, don't put this bucket where they can reach it. Very small children have been known to drown in buckets full of water.

LIVE TRAPS
Those who can't stomach the thought of killing the cute little buggers will usually opt to capture and relocate them instead. Havahart builds "humane" traps for catching chipmunks, and you can buy one for less than $30 on-line. You might also be able to find one at a general or hardware store.

Unfortunately, relocating chipmunks isn't as humane or effective as it looks on the surface. For one thing, those chipmunks could become someone else's problem. For another, you'll need to take the chipmunks at least five miles away to keep them from finding their way back home.

And finally, many relocated chipmunks die. They store food for the winter, so you're making them start from scratch in

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