How to Keep Chipmunks out of Flower Pots?
We know you love your plants. And if you are an animal lover, you cannot ignore the cute chipmunks too! But having a chipmunk around the potted flowers can be harmful to the flowers.
Most of the flowers that carry seeds are the favorite diet of rodents. And this is why you must learn how to keep chipmunks out of flower pots. If you are not planning to kill them and yet deter them from the garden area- here are some tips for you!
Keep Chipmunks out of Flower Pots or Potted Plants
These little rodents are not very fond of open spaces. So, when you think– how do I keep chipmunks out of my potted plants, the first idea is to keep the area neat and clean, chances are, chipmunks won’t bug your potted flowers.
They love to live in the hidden areas where they can get shelter. However, if you are not sheltering them, they won’t stay near your flower pots. Let’s learn how to keep the area neat and clean-
1. Cut Down the Extras
First of all, check the flower pots. There might be thick shrubbery around it. All you need is to go through them and cut back on them. Don’t forget to cut the dense ground-covered plants around it.
These can attract the chipmunks and make them feel that there is shelter. So, try to remove all of these but cut them back.
Make sure you go through the hedges and create a break between them and the nearby patch of ground cover. Once it’s nice and clean, the chipmunks won’t come for this place!
2. Keep the Area Dirt-Free
You need to keep the area debris-free. Mostly, the areas that are full of debris attract rodents. The landscape should be clean from dirt and debris. Go through the woodpiles and remove them. Take away the fallen leaves too.
You might have kept garden tools there. But trust us; they aren’t going to help the potted plants sitting there! Remove them so that there are no hiding spots for the chipmunks.
If you have seen a chipmunk inside your house near the potted plants, you can take a look at how to lure a chipmunk out of hiding. It will remove the chipmunk away from the house easily!
3. Keep Distance between the Pots
Plant lovers tend to add new pots beside the older ones. But if you want the plants to be in perfect condition, you need to keep enough space between the flower pots. There must be several feet of clear space among the flower pots.
The plant-free space makes it look clean and keeps it away from rodents. Move the flower pots onto patches of gravel. You can also place them on an open hardscape surface.
Add Barriers
When we plant pretty flowers and fruits on the pots, we don’t often realize that they need drainage holes. Yes, make sure the pots you add include bottom drainage holes. The best thing you can do to keep the flower safe is by adding barriers.
Have faith in mesh hardware wire as barriers. While picking up the wire, go for the ones that are 1.4 inches wide. Don’t forget to cut the wire and match the circumference of every pot. They should fit closely.
At times, the plants will grow and sprout through the opening of the wire. But the first thing you need is to keep the potting soil away from the chipmunks. And with the help of these wires, they won’t even get close to digging the soil there.
You might ask- why do chipmunks dig holes in my potted plants! They do it to eat bulbs. Your responsibility is to protect them!
Use Repellants
You can catch a chipmunk with a milk jug too. Check out the method, it works like a magic! But if you don’t want to catch it, to keep away chipmunks, you can also settle for repellants.
As we all know, chipmunks are fond of some specific smells and tastes. However, they hate some specific ones too. You have to take benefit of this fact and use it against them. Go for the repellants that will help you keep them away.
Several store-bought repellants will mimic the odor of their predators. You can use any of these. Also, you can settle for homemade DIY repellants. The taste and odor will irritate the chipmunks and will deter them. Your flower pots will be safe once again!
When you think about what keeps chipmunks away from flowers, cat litter is the first thing you should think of! Go for some kitty litter if you have a cat as your pet! Yes, we are talking about cat litter!
Chipmunks fear cats as they are one of their biggest predators. In this case, you can add the cat litter around the plants. They will think that it’s a cat and they won’t come near!
You can also use cayenne pepper for the job. Mix it up with water and spray it on the plant. This won’t damage your plants. Instead, the chipmunk won’t like the odor or taste of cayenne pepper.
Eventually, they will stop coming near the flower pots! If you don’t want to spray, go for fried cayenne pepper.
Add a handful of dried cayenne pepper around your plants and see how the little-eared rodents flee from your flower pots! To know more about it, check out how you can get rid of chipmunks with cayenne pepper!
Chipmunks are not social, we all know that. And they don’t like to live near humans. They can smell human. To make them feel that there is a human, you can add some human hair from your used hairbrush.
Adding the hair will deter chipmunks for sure. Instead of human hair, if you have a dog in your house, you can add dog fur too.
All you need is to pick up a small mesh bag and add the dog fur or human hair there. And then, hand it on any of the branches of your potted plants. Trust us- chipmunks won’t come near ever!
Natural Repellant Plants
We talked about the store-bought and homemade repellants above. But you can settle for the natural repellants too! In this case, some plants are the best pick for you!
Besides keeping your favorite flower planted in a pot, you can go for some plants that work as natural repellants for chipmunks, rats, mice, groundhogs, and other rodents. These plants have a bitter taste and so, chipmunks are not fond of them.
You can pick up English bluebell, they hate this plant. Also, you can settle for large-flowered start tulip- they will run back to their burrows. Drumstick allium and Douglas iris are among those plants that the chipmunks don’t like at all! Add them and your potted flowers will be safe!
Wrap Up
Let’s remind you once again, chipmunks don’t love a neat and clean place. So, once you have decided to save your flower pots from heinous little chipmunks, the first thing is to maintain cleanliness. Plants get dirty, no doubt. But you must take care of them, cut the additional parts and keep the space tidy. Make this a routine and chipmunks will never sit beside your flower pots anymore!
