The Pantry Essential That Can Quickly Solve Your Chipmunk Problem
Chipmunks are usually cute, harmless critters, but if they're destroying your garden, you won't want them around anymore. Berries, including strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, are snacks that chipmunks love, as well as lettuce seeds, pea sprouts, corn, broccoli seeds, tomatoes, and flower bulbs. If you notice your recently planted seeds aren't sprouting and your garden has been dug up, chipmunks are a likely culprit. While a lot of garden pests are nocturnal, chipmunks do most of their foraging in the morning and evening, so you may see them rummaging through your vegetable garden. If you're dealing with a chipmunk problem, you could address it naturally with a particular item from your pantry: vinegar.
Specially, apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has an intense scent that chipmunks prefer to avoid, so spritzing some around your plants can help protect them from these adorable, yet destructive, animals. Rather than trapping or poisoning, vinegar is a natural and easy way to keep chipmunks out of your garden.
How to use vinegar to deter chipmunks
Apple cider vinegar is a simple and inexpensive natural repellent for chipmunks that you might already have stored in your pantry. While spraying chemical pesticides near your home is sometimes harmful to pets, vinegar won't hurt any animals or insects, but it'll cause chipmunks to search for another source of food other than your garden.
Try pouring apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle. It can be diluted if you're running low, but this may weaken the scent. Lightly spray the vinegar around your plants that are being targeted and also around the edges of your yard and garden. This should encourage the chipmunks to move on and deter more from entering your outdoor space. If you only have white vinegar, it may help, but apple cider vinegar is the best choice. The vinegar may also be mixed with essential oils that smell bad to chipmunks, such as peppermint, citrus, or eucalyptus.
Why apple cider vinegar repels chipmunks
Chipmunks use their impressive sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators. That's why using vinegar to solve your chipmunk problem works, because when presented with an overwhelming scent, chipmunks will find somewhere else to hang out so they can keep their nose clear for important smells. The acidity of vinegar may also irritate the inside of a chipmunk's nostrils and its sinuses, making it even more unpleasant and encouraging them to leave. This will not hurt the chipmunk, mind you, but would be similar to the intensity you feel when taking a big whiff of vinegar.
If spraying a little apple cider vinegar around your garden doesn't solve the problem and you've found the chipmunks' burrow, dropping vinegar-soaked cotton balls in an entrance will help evict these critters. Make sure to reapply the vinegar after rain, since this will wash the smell away.