How to Keep Chipmunks Out of the Garden Naturally

Chipmunks dig for bulbs and raid seedlings. Hardware cloth, grit, and removing the feeder spill do the work — no poison and no trapping required.

By Salma November 1, 2026 4 min read Save to Pinterest

A chipmunk standing upright in a bed of flowering blue scilla bulbs — Photo: JillWellington, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay

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Chipmunks come for seed, bulbs and soft fruit, and they stay because there is somewhere to dig. The natural fix is mesh under the things they dig for and a clean patch under the bird feeder — not a spray.

Step 1: cut off the food

Most chipmunk problems in a garden are a bird feeder problem one step removed.

Sweep or rake under feeders daily, or fit a seed tray
Switch to hulled seed so there is no shell litter to attract ground foragers
Use a pepper-treated seed — birds are unaffected by capsaicin, mammals are not
Pick up fallen fruit from under trees and clear windfall apples and berries
Store nothing edible loose in a shed or garage at ground level
Harvest strawberries and low tomatoes promptly, and net the beds

The one-change test

If you do nothing else, clear the ground under the feeders for two weeks. In a lot of gardens the chipmunk activity drops noticeably on its own, and it tells you whether the feeder is the whole story before you spend anything.

Step 2: mesh the things they dig for

planting	protection
Bulb beds	half-inch hardware cloth laid flat just under the surface
Individual bulbs	a mesh cage, open at the top, in the planting hole
Raised beds	hardware cloth stapled across the base before filling
Seedling rows	floating row cover pinned at the edges until established
Containers	a grit top-dressing and a mesh disc under the compost

Half-inch hardware cloth is the right gauge — chicken wire has holes a chipmunk passes through comfortably.

Step 3: make the soil unpleasant to dig

Sharp grit or crushed gravel mixed into the backfill around bulbs
A grit top-dressing on containers and newly planted beds
Crushed oyster shell as an alternative, which also adds calcium

This does not stop a determined animal but it moves the easy digging elsewhere, which is usually enough.

Step 4: change what you plant

Chipmunks and squirrels have clear preferences, and swapping species is the cheapest permanent fix there is.

Largely left alone: daffodils, alliums, fritillaria, hyacinth, snowdrops, scilla
Reliably dug up: tulips, crocus, lily bulbs

If tulips are non-negotiable, plant them in mesh cages and accept the extra work.

Step 5: remove the cover and the burrow sites

Clear rock piles, log piles and dense ground cover adjacent to beds
Trim shrub skirts so there is no continuous hidden run
Fill gaps along foundations, steps and retaining walls with gravel or mortar after you are sure nothing is inside
Keep a mown or gravel band between the woodland edge and the vegetable garden

Chipmunks need cover within a short dash. Open ground is a real deterrent, and it is free.

Deterrents worth using, and the ones to skip

Worth trying:

Capsaicin sprays on foliage and soil, reapplied after rain
Castor-oil-based granular repellents on bulb beds
Motion-activated sprinklers for a specific bed — effective and harmless
Mint, alliums and strongly aromatic herbs planted at bed edges — modest, pleasant anyway

Skip:

Mothballs and naphthalene. A pesticide, illegal used this way in many places, toxic
Ultrasonic devices. No reliable evidence
Poison bait. Not natural, not legal for chipmunks in many jurisdictions, and it kills whatever eats the poisoned animal
Glue traps. Indiscriminate and inhumane
Trapping and relocating. The territory refills within weeks, and it is restricted in many places

What to accept

A chipmunk in a large garden eats a great many insects, slugs and weed seeds alongside whatever it takes from you. The problem is rarely the animal’s presence — it is a few specific plantings and a burrow in the wrong place. Mesh those, clear the seed spill, and the rest of the activity is tolerable, and in most gardens it is already seasonal: chipmunk activity falls sharply once they go into torpor for the winter.

Common questions

What is the most effective natural way to keep chipmunks out of a garden?

Physical exclusion plus removing the food that drew them. Hardware cloth laid over bulb plantings and under raised beds stops the digging outright, and clearing spilled birdseed removes the reason a chipmunk colonised the garden in the first place. Deterrent sprays and smells help at the margins, but a chipmunk with a reliable seed supply twenty feet away will tolerate a lot of unpleasant smells to keep reaching it.

What smells do chipmunks hate?

Capsaicin — hot pepper — is the one with real effect, which is why cayenne-based repellents and pepper-treated birdseed work. Peppermint, eucalyptus and garlic have a modest short-lived effect. Mothballs are often recommended and should not be used: they are a pesticide, illegal to use that way in many places, and toxic to pets and people. Any smell-based approach needs reapplying after rain.

How do I stop chipmunks digging up my bulbs?

Lay half-inch hardware cloth flat over the planting bed just under the soil surface, or line the planting hole with a mesh cage open at the top so stems can grow through. A layer of sharp grit mixed into the backfill also discourages digging. Daffodils and alliums are largely left alone; tulips and crocus are the ones that disappear, so switching species is a legitimate fix.

Do chipmunks damage gardens much?

Less than their reputation suggests, but the damage is concentrated where it hurts: newly planted bulbs, seedlings, strawberries and tomatoes at ground level, and burrows beside walls, steps and patios. A single chipmunk in a large garden is mostly eating insects and seeds. A colony next to a well-stocked bird feeder is a different matter.

Will a cat or dog keep chipmunks away?

A cat with free garden access reduces chipmunk activity noticeably — they are a natural prey item, and the scent alone shifts behaviour. A dog helps less but still deters. Neither is a reason to acquire a pet, and neither clears an established burrow system; they reduce the population pressure rather than solving a specific digging problem.

Should I trap chipmunks?

It rarely holds. Chipmunks are territorial and removing the resident just frees a good burrow and a good food source for the next one, so trapping becomes a permanent chore rather than a fix. Relocating wildlife is also restricted or illegal in many places. Exclusion and food removal change the outcome; trapping changes which individual is there.

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An eastern chipmunk standing upright holding a peanut in its forepaws

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