Help!  I really need your help here.  I have lots of young fig trees and one very smart chipmunk.  Every day, it is a battle to keep this guy out of my fig trees.  I use to think that the birds were eating my ripe figs, until I caught this sucker in the act!  I could not believe my eyes!  This chipmunk would eat only the ripe figs through the netting!  I am so pissed off!  I tried rat traps with peanut butter. I tried chunks of corn rat poision, but this guy goes around these things and straight to my fig trees on my deck.  Please tell me what do you guys recommend I do to get rid of this thing!  No, I do not like cats but thinking of getting a small dog.  thanks,

Electrified cage around the trees?

I have caught mice with tangle-foot sheets in the garage. Chipmunks are not very big either. You may place some close to a ripening figs and try your (& his) luck.

James, I wish I could use electric fence.  I have lost more figs from this guy and he is pretty big.  Ottawan, I have to try the sticky sheets.  My deck is pretty large and I have some figs getting ripe in a few days from my Schar Italian tree in superoot pots.  Chip gets to my trees before I come out in the morning.  Tomorow, I'm going to get some of those sticky sheets and test them out.  thanks,

I've had very good luck catching pack rats with a HavaHart trap, but if this guy's as smart as you say, then traps may not be an effective option. Depending on your personal attitude about such things, my next suggestion would be to stake out your trees with a pellet gun.

Thanks Ken.  I did that and almost had him!  He was starring right at me in front of my back door.  I had my gun waiting.  He sat just 6 feet from me!  My wife watched the whole thing from the kitchen window!  He raised up on his hind legs and just looked at the door for about 30 seconds.  As soon as I slowly cracked the door open just enough to get the barrel of the gun out the door, my neighbor came around the corner with his lawn mower and the little sucker ran off!  If I had 5 more seconds.  He would be gone.  I got a 420 FPS barrel cocked pellet gun and all I needed was one shot. Oh well, I guess I'm glad I only have 1 tree with ripe figs.  I guess I could move it to the spot where I can get a shot off and see if he comes out.  You guys don't know how angry I am at this little guy!  I'll get him.  I just need to calm down and breathe.  Argh!!!!!

Hi Dennis,

You may want to try predator urine that hunters use. You would find this at your local hunting supply store.
Good luck

Al
Z 6 NJ

Hi Dennis,
What may work if you look around yard .
Look for holes around any vegatble garden if you have one or around perimeter of yard - fence line. Then if you find it plug it tight with a rock etc.

Where you see one you can bet you have more. I just got 5 that
were eating the potted tomatoes before starting on the Figs.

Bait a HavaHart trap with a little dish of Sun Flower seeds. It works.
You will have to take a ride every day to get rid of the @#$%
critter but it works. Chipmonks are too smart for sticky traps. They don't work here.

I tried smoke bombs and mice poison it didn`t helped,so one day just bought 1000 fps pellet gun. That takes care of any unwanted pests :)

Bait a sticky trap with a pealed slice of banana or half a ripe fig the sweet aroma will get him right into the sticky trap. put the trap at the base of one of the fig trees and good luck...

I highly recommend Humane Animal Box Trap. I have already caught many of them this past week. just place a handful amount of bird seed in the box. guaranteed to catch them.
The down side is driving them across town to release them. but this is the part of "Humane" comes in, unless you use the pellet gun like Remis suggested.

Dennis, Hi, I am Eve Hayes, from near Buffalo,NY. Growing about 120 trees right now in containers. The 4 oldest trees are loaded with over 100 figs each. We just had a great trade out this way with Wildforager. Lots of fun.... and good trees. I had a chippi problem here too and a friend shared this method.Some forum members might become upset at the killing of these cute rodents. At first, I too, thought they were so cute. But 1 chipmunk soon turned into many fig eating chippies. I was overrun by them and they were getting all the figs and other fruits. Take a five gallon bucket and fill it half way with water. Dump a few handfulls of Sunflower seeds on the top of the water. They will float. Lean a length of wood board or old piece of siding against the pail. This will be their ramp. Put a few Sunny seeds on the ramp to bait them to the top. The edge of the board hangs over the lip of the pail by only an inch or two. The chipmunks think they have found the mother load and they dive in and drown. End of the chipmunks. Sorry if this is way too cruel, but If you don't get rid of them now, then they will multiply rapidly and you will be over-run by them. Some of them even got in our house and chewed some wires, causing damage and other problems. They also began tunneling everywhere, including under the roots of some young fruit trees, which died from it. It can be difficult to pellet gun them because they are very smart and quickly learn to move out of range fast. Hope this helps and does not offend anyone. I thought maverick's way was more humane and I tried something similar to catch and release first but had to go the other way when those wires got chewed up. Eve

thanks Eve and others!  I don't care if people get upset at me killing these rodents.  But if they can see the damage these guys have created and the tunnels on my hill and around my deck, they would understand.  They totally destroyed my 15 3 year old blueberry garden.  I use to get 5 pounds of blueberries and this year I only got 2 cups!  Fifty percent of my ripe figs gets damaged by these guys and they keep coming back!  It's heart breaking to care and feed something you love for years and see chipmunks knock over plants, drop fruit, and break limbs.  I placed out one Havahart trap but plan on trying all the comments everyone gave me.  These chipmunks are very smart.  They only want figs.  We use to have Tom cats around but they are gone now and the chipmunks are in rare form.  I am thinking positive and plan on getting rid of as many as I can before winter.  thanks everyone.

Hi Dennis.  The Havahart Trap worked for us.

Also, a cat just showed up, stayed, and so far no more chipmunks.

Wow Eve. I'm speechless :O) . ok I'm kidding. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.
do you know if this method works or Rats?
We live near a nature reserve right smack a canyon. We have 5 Macadamia Nut trees, between the Chipmunk and the Rats half of the nuts are already gone.
few years ago I started using Ramik pellets. they were going through it like candy.
after several 5 gallon buckets @ $50 it got to be expensive. I called vector control seeking an advice. the lady came and said no way. you have too many fruit trees. pull them out if you want to get rid of the problem.
so I'm wondering if you have had a Rat problem (actually they are the size of small cat) from all the nuts they had  :))

Thanks Eve for the idea.
I may try by digging a big hole for a big pot (instead of a ramp) and see if it works.
These critters look pretty only from a distance but look at close-up and remember your lost fruit and they don't look that pretty at all, and more so when you remember the rooting baggies, then a glass size pot, the fungus gnats and all the efforts gone into the plants to get some ripe fig.

What makes me more mad now is the loss of my good (Dr Schull's) show. One squirrels was nibbling at a Reliance peach in a tree and was perched so nicely for a hit but there was nothing to throw at it. I took one of my shoes and aimed it at the squirrel and both the squirrel and the shoe went off the tree in the air some seven to eight feet. My shoe landed across the backyard hedges in the city property. It was dark so I thought I will search for my shows tomorrow. Early next morning the city huge lawn mowers had worked the area and found my shoe shredded! Now how can these critters ever look pretty to me!

Well now, here is something for rats too. They are very smart and so you need to trick them. Drill a single hole through the end of each heavy duty, rat trap. (The kind with the spring loaded tension bar.) Attach a length of chain or heavy 16 Gauge wire through the hole and secure the trap so it can't be dragged away. I attach mine to a 3 foot section of rebar, pounded into the ground. For a few days, bait the trap-but don't set the spring bar. You will be feeding the rats and they will soon trust this as a safe source of food because the trap won't be springing on them. After a few days, it is time for the trick. Bait the trap and set it too. You will get your rats. Hope no forum members are offended by this. I am a kind person but have a practical nature. Rats are carriers of disease. They are bold by nature and multiply too fast. The water bucket won't work as well for rats as they are strong swimmers. Also, to protect my dog and my neighbors dog from the trap, there is a heavy wooden crate tipped over the trap with a section cut out for a rat doorway.
Eve

OMG. I don't think so. Though thanks so much for the suggestion Eve.
I don' want to be with in a yard of them, let along trap them.
did you guys hear that you can spread around half a stick of juicy fruit bauble gum to kill the chipmunks. the theory was that it get stuck in their digestive system and end up dying.
frankly I've tried it. and I could not tell the result because those critters run into the canyon back and forth and they all look alike.

....weeping my endure for a night.....but joy comes in the morning!

I got him!  He ate his last fig today and I hope it was worth it!  I played taps and kissed him goodbye!

There ya go !
Now make something outta him !
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,chipmunks,FF.html

and
Make sure you decapitate chipmunks quickly and strip their fur off. Hold them upside down to make sure all the blood runs out.

Save the fur - you can make a nice pair of gloves with them later.

With a sharp knife, de-bone the little guys, but save the bones. Once you have your pile of bones, put them in a 2 qt pan and boil them. You will use this as your stock for your chili.

Chop up meat into fine pieces or grind.

• 2 lb. Chipmunk meat pieces
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 2 cans (16 oz. each) Dark Red Kidney Beans, undrained
• 2 cans (16 oz. each) Pinto Beans, undrained
• 2 cans (16 oz. each) Black Beans, undrained
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 envelopes chili seasoning mix 1/2 tsp.
• Ground Cinnamon 1-1/4 cups Sour Cream

Hmmmm... Think I'll stick with my grandma's chili recipe. Coming up with two pounds of chipmunk chunks sounds like a lot more work than a trip to the Costco meat department.

Congrats on conquering that wascowy wodent! Some figs truly are to die for.