How to keep chipmunks out of my garden in West Virginia | Chipmunk

West Virginia > Animal is eating my flowers > Chipmunk

How to keep chipmunks out of my garden

Chipmunks prefer seeds and berries, but in the spring, when their preferred foods are in short supply, they will gladly eat flower bulbs and young shoots. To protect your garden from chipmunks:

  • Avoid planting ground cover, flowers, and trees that connect wooded areas with the flower plantings and gardens
  • If you are planting bulbs, use ¼-inch wire mesh hardware cloth to exclude chipmunks from flower beds
    • Cover both seeds and bulbs with the mesh, then cover the mesh with soil
    • Remove the mesh only after the bulbs germinate
    • You can also cover the flower bed with wire mesh large enough for the flowers to grow through
  • Repellents containing capsaicin, Bitrex, thiram, or ammonium soaps of fatty acids may be used on bulbs, seeds and foliage of plants not intended for human consumption. Multiple applications are required.
  • Eliminate cover by remove all nearby brush piles, stumps, and debris.

Assistance in West Virginia

Contact the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources for a list of licensed Animal Damage Control agents in your area who can assist with animal removal, damage, damage prevention, and clean up.  Be aware that they charge for their services.  Your local Division of Natural Resources office can provide guidance regarding nuisance wildlife.  They can also provide you with a permit to remove or destroy certain animals, and advice on how to do so, if it is necessary or desirable for you to trap or shoot animals yourself.  Federally protected species require additional permits as noted if necessary.

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources district offices:    

District 1       Farmington              304 825-6787

District 2       Romney                   304 822-3551                                                                                                                           

District 3       French Creek          304 924-6211

District 4       Beckely                   304 256-6947

District 5       Alum Creek             304 756-1023

District 6       Parkersburg            304 420-4550

Op Center    Elkins                      304 637-0245

Trapped animals must be humanely dispatched.  They may not be relocated without prior approval from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

Laws and regulations to be aware of

While we attempt to provide guidance about state and federal regulations pertaining to specific species and control techniques, we do not provide information about local jurisdictions (city, town, county, etc.) where regulations may be more restrictive, especially as it applies to discharge of firearms, transport of animals or use of trapping equipment. Contact your local city or county government to inquire further. No guarantee is made that information (or lack of information) associated with a species or control technique is completely accurate or current. You should become familiar with federal, state and local laws before beginning any wildlife control activities.

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