On 11/29/2013 8:41 PM, Danny D'Amico wrote:
Up until now I've been trying to pee down his hole with chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid, pool bleach, industrial ammonia, etc.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/1...1d8bc73c_o.gif

But, this guy (or family?) is already turning my freshly wood-chipped "lawn" into dirt piles!
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/1...f10033dd_o.gif

Looks like I'm going to have to get tougher than just using annoying chemicals!


Last spring was our first in our new home, and it didn't take long to
see that there were lots and lots of critters residing with us.
Chipmunks galore, thanks to the former owner and me leaving some indian
corn in the garden over winter. Dumb. With garden planting soon upon
us, I went out to get some really good chipmunk (rat) traps. They
couldn't be bothered with the peanut butter on the traps. Next idea,
limited use of poison. Apparently not appetizing. I was soon busy with
planting garden, putting in new flower beds, feeding grandkids, cleaning
koi pond, etc., so ignored the chippers for a while. Now I had moles
digging up the whole west side of the yard! Darn! $20 for a mole trap,
which is an extremely evil looking device....put in the mole trap, put
my plants back into the ground where there were tunnels, and wait.
Seems the moles were interested only in my newly turned soil in flower
beds; not ambitious enough to get into the lawn. They made exploratory
tunnels and then apparently departed. My tender new plants were doing
just fine in the garden, so I stopped worrying about the chipmunks for a
while. They used the bottom of our wood fence as a highway, and liked
to stop at the pond for refreshments. They didn't like where I planted
some seeds and bulbs, so they moved a few. They planted sorghum next to
the back door. Then a neighborhood cat started showing up in our yard
and patrolling along the garden fence. The rabbits disappeared and the
chippers apparently moved out. Very few of them around after mid
summer. There is one chipmunk that lives in the pile of rocks that
forms a waterfall for the pond, and he isn't shy at all. Runs right by
me when out and about, and likes the dead tomatoes that fall of plants.
Son's schnauzer likes tomatoes, too.

Why on earth cover the yard with wood chips? Plant ground cover and
then forget about weeds and chipmunks. Deer LOVE hosta....