What Does a Chipmunk Look Like?
Chipmunks are small ground-dwelling rodents weighing 2 to 5 ounces and measuring around 5 to 8 inches in length. The two most common species of chipmunks found in Wisconsin are the Eastern chipmunk and the least chipmunk. Eastern chipmunks have reddish-brown fur with white and black stripes on their face, back, and tail, while the least chipmunk has gray fur with yellowish-brown stripes. These rodents have short legs, bushy tails, and expandable cheek pouches that they use to store and carry food.
What are the Signs of a Chipmunk in Your Yard?
Chipmunks are a common sight in backyards throughout Wisconsin. The most noticeable sign of chipmunk activity is torn-up flower beds and gardens. Chipmunks are most active in the daytime during spring, summer, and fall. While chipmunks rarely enter houses, they may burrow under porches, patios, sidewalks, and foundations and cause structural damage. If you have bird feeders on your property, you will likely have chipmunks and squirrels.
Professional Chipmunk Removal in Milwaukee, WI
Advanced Wildlife and Pest Control provides chipmunk removal services in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin. Our certified wildlife specialists effectively trap, remove, and exclude nuisance chipmunks from your home or business. We will conduct a pest inspection to identify signs of chipmunk activity, like droppings, nesting materials, chewing, holes, and entry points.
Chipmunk Damage
Though chipmunks are small, they can be quite destructive. Their burrows can cause structural damage to your home, patio, and walkways. Gardens, flowers, and landscaping may suffer from chipmunks eating bulbs, seeds, and sprouts. Additionally, these pesky rodents chew on electrical wires and carry parasites like fleas, lice, and mites.
Chipmunk Prevention
The best way to prevent chipmunk damage is to create exclusions and modify the habitat around your home. Using hardware cloth is an effective method to keep chipmunks out of gardens and flower beds. The cloth should be buried several inches below ground to prevent chipmunks from digging it up. Additionally, it’s important to remove or relocate bird feeders away from your home’s foundation. Our pest specialist can also help by providing rodent exclusion services to secure your home. They can identify and seal potential entry points to keep chipmunks and other rodents out.
Chipmunk FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What do chipmunks eat?
Chipmunks are omnivores that feed primarily on nuts, seeds, acorns, fruits, flowers, and buds. They store their food in their burrows for the winter. Chipmunks will also eat beetles and grasshoppers.
Where do chipmunks live?
Chipmunks are found throughout Wisconsin. They live in wooded areas with plenty of shrubbery and ground cover to protect them from predators. Chipmunks den in trees, logs, brush piles, and the ground, creating underground burrow systems. In the winter, these rodents stay in their underground burrows along with food they have been gathering all year.
When do chipmunks have babies?
Eastern chipmunks breed twice a year, once in early spring and then again in summer. After a month of gestation, a litter of two to eight young are born in an underground den. The young are weaned at six weeks of age and leave the burrow for the first time. Chipmunks can live up to two years in the wild. Raccoons, snakes, foxes, badgers, and hawks prey upon chipmunks.
What does chipmunk poop look like?
Chipmunk droppings look similar to rat or mouse droppings. Chipmunk poop is about 1/2 an inch long with long, pointy ends. Chipmunk droppings are smaller than rat poop but larger than mouse poop. The poop looks like brown or black pellets.
What do chipmunk tracks look like?
Chipmunks have four toes on their front feet and five on their hind feet. Although difficult to spot, you may find chipmunk tracks in loose soil. The front print measures about 1/2 inch long, while the hind print is approximately 1 1/8 inch long. Chipmunks move by hopping and bounding, which creates a gallop pattern in their tracks. As a result of this movement, the hind prints appear in front of the front prints.
Illustration by Backyard Nature