You may not be able to see chipmunks as anything but cute furry creatures if they haven’t crossed your gardens.
However, the truth is that chipmunks can dig burrows and holes anywhere, including the foundation of your building and fences. They also carry fleas, meaning you get two pests in one trip.
The smarter thing to do would be to put measures in place to keep chipmunks as far away from your home as possible.
One easy way to deter chipmunks is by placing scents they dislike in their path. There are many of these, and here’s a guide on how to use them.
Chipmunks can be very destructive. And although they cause a lot of damage when left unchecked, getting rid of them is no easy feat.
It’s a lot easier to set out to quash roaches or bugs than it is to swat a chipmunk. Instead, you can place defenses that prevent them from moving near enough to cause damage:
- Repelling scents can be sprayed on areas to discourage them, or on plants, they eat to starve them.
- Flowers’ scents can create boundaries between your yard and chipmunk play areas.
- Never feed chipmunks. It does not matter how adorable they look or how sorry you feel for them.
The following headings outline different smells chipmunks hate and how to use them against chipmunks.
We have also included an FAQ section to answer other important questions.
6 Smells Chipmunks Hate
Chipmunks hate several scents. You can easily find some things around you, while others may require a quick trip to town.
Whether or not you currently have chipmunks, making your yard resistant to them is important. This helps to forestall any future damage from curious chipmunks.
1. Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is a hot pepper that affects the skin and the tongue when ingested. Its spiciness is obvious in the smell, and chipmunks seem to recognize that sensation well enough to stay away from it.
So you could spray some dry cayenne pepper around the corners of your garden or make some in a bottle of water and spray it on your plants.
If the smell doesn’t deter a chipmunk, the taste will get it running for safety.
2. Coyote Urine
Coyotes are chipmunk predators. And animals are known to avoid areas they perceive their predators to be close to.
Finding an actual coyote to help repel chipmunks from your garden may be difficult. In fact, if you find a coyote around you, you have one more pest to deal with.
One thing that works as efficiently as the presence of an actual coyote is coyote urine. Fox urine also does a good job of repelling chipmunks from munching on your vegetables or even coming close to your yard.
Either of these sample urines is available in stores or websites. They are quite popular, and have effectively repelled chipmunks, so they will not be hard to find.
3. Garlic
Chipmunks also hate the smell of garlic, whether it’s crushed or spreads in the soil to other plants.
You can use garlic to repel chipmunks in different ways:
First, you can crush it and mix it in water to make an anti-chipmunk spray in your garden, around your walls, or home foundation.
You could also plant garlic bulbs in your garden.
Now, the smell of garlic is so potent that it will get into the soil, and chipmunks are likely to pick it up when burrowing through the sand.
The smell will discourage them from burrowing through your garden or any areas where they catch a whiff of garlic.
Dry garlic powder also does a good job of repelling chipmunks.
4. Onions
Although we have come to love onions, even though they make us cry, chipmunks did not get the memo. They hate onions just as much as they hate garlic.
Onions give you the same compound as garlic when cut open. It is called allicin, and its strong smell repels chipmunks.
Both onion powder and fresh onions work the same on chipmunks.
You go to sprinkle the powder across your land or plant onions in your garden to infuse the smell into your soil and the atmosphere.
5. Peppermint Oil
Chipmunks do not like the smell of mint, peppers, vinegar, and peppermint oil. Of all these things, peppermint oil gives a rather pungent smell that makes it hated by most pests.
The smell of peppermint oil lasts pretty long on surfaces. An easy way to get it to work is to douse cotton balls in the oil and place them in strategic places.
If the chipmunks are disturbing your vegetables, you can drop the balls around them or scatter them around the edges of your building to protect your foundation.
6. Ammonia
When it comes to tolerating the smell of ammonia, chipmunks and human beings share the same taste.
You would have to stand a smell long enough to apply to places around your home so chipmunks can scamper off.
Here’s a simple way to use ammonia to repel chipmunks:
Soak some rags or old clothing in ammonia and place them around the plants or area you want to shield from chipmunk invasion.
Because of its intensity, you do not need to place the rags in too many places.
They can serve as a fence or a guard around your garden or around a plant you wish to preserve.
Conclusion
Looking at them from afar, chipmunks look like loving furry creatures who should be allowed to exist and have fun in peace.
However, the truth is that they are playful around activities that involve digging holes that can be dangerous to the safety of your building and your carefully cultivated garden.
You can do several things to keep chipmunks out of your yard without harming or killing them.
So feel free to explore any of these options to minimize damage and prevent loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There a Spray To Repel Chipmunks?
Yes, there are. You can make home sprays with pepper and water, essential oil and water, or garlic and peppermint.
Any of these smells would do a fine job of keeping chipmunks at a distance from you.
You could also buy specialized rodent sprays at stores.
Does Baking Soda Repel Chipmunks?
Unlike the smells in this article, baking soda is not very effective at repelling chipmunks. You could give it a shot if it’s all you have.
However, baking soda does not have strong compounds to deter hungry or energetic chipmunks at play.
