Tired of having uninvited visitors on your property? Rodents can be a persistent and unpleasant pest that can be difficult to control. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep them out of your home. In this article, we will provide you with helpful information on how to control and prevent rodent infestation on your property.
These tiny creatures are fun to watch, especially when they eat something. You may have seen them grab food on their little paws and fill their cheeks with a treat. It’s cute until a chipmunk starts pecking in your yard. Agree, it is frustrating when you have spent a lot of time beautifying your garden. One fine morning you go out into the street and see that someone has tripled the chaos in your garden.
To control rodents effectively, you need to learn a lot about them, including their food preferences. What do chipmunks eat in the garden? You will know in this article.
Guide to Stop Squirrels from Eating in Your Yard
- What do chipmunks eat in the garden? Know their eating habits.
- Discover that squirrels eat flowers.
- Determine which plants chipmunks hate.
- Learn about properties of plants that squirrels don’t like.
- Plant them in your yard so rodents know they don’t belong here.
WHAT DO CHIPMUNKS EAT IN THE GARDEN?
You cannot prevent squirrels from living in your garden. You can try to prevent them in every way, but sometimes they can come back. Therefore, you need to come to terms with their existence and try to make your garden as unattractive as possible to rodents.
Before decorating your garden with plants, find out which ones are almost guaranteed to be damaged by pests.
DO SQUIRRELS EAT FRUIT?
Squirrels love to eat berries and fruits. They like to eat anything that contains cellulose. For fruits, they prefer apples, pears, plums, and peaches. The squirrels’ favorite diet includes melons. They don’t mind eating oranges and bananas. As for berries, rodents will gladly eat strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
DO SQUIRRELS EAT VEGETABLES?
Chipmunks probably prefer to eat all the vegetables that we normally have in our diet. They will not refuse potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and zucchini. If you want to plant a few clumps of lettuce, you can be sure that a chipmunk will come and eat them. Peas and green beans contain a high amount of nutrients for the rodent, so it is unlikely that they will pass by if they see them on your property. Corn and mushrooms are also on the list of gastronomic preferences for these rodents.
DO SQUIRRELS EAT FLOWERS?
Chipmunks eat plants, and garden flowers are no exception. Fortunately, there are flowers that rodents do not like. But those that a rodent will gladly chew make an impressive list. Squirrels’ favorite flowers are:
- Tulips. Rodents especially love their bulbs. If a chipmunk sees this flower in your yard, it will most likely pull the bulb out of the ground and eat it. If not, the cocoon could be eaten by the pest before it even opens;
- Any outbreak. Rodents can’t resist relishing little green shoots. You must be resourceful to protect them or quit;
- Sunflower. This plant is not only beautiful and adds bright colors to any place. It is a plant very loved by rodents. If you plant a sunflower hoping you can eat the personally grown seeds, chances are a chipmunk will get the better of you;
- Coreopsis . You may not be the only one who likes these flowers. Squirrels also like to cleanly destroy these plants;
- Thoughts. These flowers may not keep you happy with their colorful buds for long. One day, you may find that only frilly stems of the beautiful flowers remain;
- Daisies. These charming plants are one of the favorite treats of rodents.
Squirrels’ eating habits include not only flowers or bulbs, but they also like to forage for seeds. The best thing to do for your garden if you have a lot of flowering plants is to cut back the buds that have already flowered. Yes, it needs to be carefully monitored, but that way, you won’t give the buds a chance to escape to the seed. You can save them so you can plant new flowers later.
WHAT PLANTS WON’T CHIPMUNKS EAT?
Chipmunks do not like plants with a pungent odor, so any overly fragrant plant will scare them off:
- French Marigolds. These plants are a great decoration for any garden. They are planted in the garden, near the house, along the perimeter of the patio, or even in the garden. It is said that the flowers can repel squirrels due to their strong odor. These flowers are sometimes planted near species that are vulnerable to insects;
- Daffodils. Although rodents love to eat bulbs and the daffodil is a bulbous plant, squirrels stay away from them. Daffodil roots are very bitter and toxic to pests;
- Grape Hyacinths. The flowers resemble clusters of grapes in their appearance. They are also bulbous plants. Although they have a pleasant odor to humans, chipmunks find it too pungent and don’t want to go near them;
- Common Beds. Another strong-smelling plant perpetrator. If you plant these bulbous flowers in your garden, you will enjoy their sight and smell. Rodents, in turn, will stay away from them;
- Summer snowflakes. White chickens are similar to a bell and will be a gentle decoration of your garden. They smell good; the smell is a bit reminiscent of chocolate. However, these flowers contain a high concentration of lycorine, which is toxic to rodents;
- Lavender. We love lavender for its beautiful purple flowers and distinctive scent. You can plant it in your garden to pick it up and dry it later. It is best to pick fresh lavender early in the morning when it is most concentrated. Its pungent odor deters insects and rodents, including chipmunks;
- Sage. The strong scent of it will scare away chipmunks. You can grow this plant and then use it in the preparation of various dishes or to prepare medicinal tea;
- Mint. It has many useful properties, like sage. However, this plant is not useful for rodents. The strong smell of menthol irritates their airways.
Chipmunks do not eat shrubs like Butterfly Bush. Petunia is one of the popular garden plants that you can safely plant. Rodents are unlikely to respond to your scent.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT CHIPMUNKS EAT
Now you know which plants chipmunks hate and which they would love to eat in your garden. You will find answers to other popular questions in this section. This information may be useful in controlling chipmunks.
WHAT IS A NATURAL DETERRENT FOR CHIPMUNKS?
To protect your flowers from chipmunks, you can carefully place animal skins between them. The rodents will think that the predator is quite close and will not want to go near it. You can make a cayenne pepper and water solution and treat the area around the beds.
WILL RUBBER SNAKES KEEP CHIPMUNKS AWAY?
All rodents, including chipmunks, are afraid of snakes. You can buy an inexpensive pacifier and put it between flowers. The pest must smell danger and avoid the place where the snake is.
CAN SQUIRRELS DAMAGE GARDEN FURNITURE?
Chipmunks will not damage your garden furniture, even if it is made of wood. Rodents like to climb trees but not chew them. They come to your garden with one purpose: to eat. Therefore, your attention will be drawn to flowers, herbs, nuts and fruits.
YOU OWN YOUR GARDEN
Chipmunks are common in almost every state in North America. Therefore, if you own a garden, the chances of one day seeing a rodent among your plants are very high. You will not be able to protect your area 100% from rodents. However, you can start growing plants or protect them with natural remedies so that chipmunks have no room to eat in your yard.
What plants do squirrels eat in your garden? How do you control these rodents?