According to the CDC, pests like chipmunks, mice, and rats carry diseases that can spread to people.
Cutting off their food supply and destroying their housing may work to reduce their numbers. However, you may also want to capture and relocate these rodents.
How do you do it, and is there a trap that’ll work for all three types of animals? Will a mouse trap kill a chipmunk?
Today, we’ll discuss which traps are best for chipmunks and tell you which ones to avoid. Read on to discover the most humane chipmunk trap!
Can You Catch a Chipmunk With a Mouse Trap?
Yes, you can catch a chipmunk with a mouse trap!
Chipmunks are rodents that feed on nuts, insects, and berries. They can destroy gardens, chew wires, and damage your property.
These pests can grow up to ten inches long and weigh up to five ounces. Meanwhile, mice are only four inches long and an ounce heavy.
The difference in size means a mouse trap may not always work on a chipmunk. It’s best to read the label on a trap to find out whether it’s big enough to catch one.
Even though smaller mouse traps can’t kill chipmunks, traps designed for larger rats can!
Mouse Traps That’ll Humanely Kill Chipmunks
Here are some mouse and rat traps that can kill chipmunks.
Trigger and Snap Traps
Plastic trigger traps and wooden-based snap traps can kill swiftly. This means the animal won’t suffer for long.
You place the bait in the middle of a trigger, and when a chipmunk touches it, the trap snaps. Peanut butter, oatmeal, and nuts are all suitable baits for this type of trap.
A disadvantage of this is you can only catch one rodent at a time. To ensure you capture chipmunks, you may place these traps near their burrows.
Also, you need to be careful with the mechanism. It can be painful if you or your pets accidentally step on it.
Electric Traps
Electronic mouse traps use high-voltage shocks to humanely kill rodents. Larger versions of it can kill rats and chipmunks as well.
The advantage of using an electric trap is the easy setup. You don’t have to worry about getting injured while loading a spring.
Some electric traps can even connect to an app on your phone. It’ll send you a notification to let you know you’ve caught something.
The bad news is you can’t use this type of trap outdoors in rainy weather. Any dampness could make the trap short circuit!
Mouse Traps for Capturing and Releasing Chipmunks
If you can’t avoid killing chipmunks, you can use these traps to capture them instead.
Cage Traps
Wire mesh traps and cage traps are great choices for capturing nuisance chipmunks.
To prepare, you can prebait the trap for a few days. Once the chipmunks associate the cage with food, you can remove the wiring that’s keeping the trap door open.
After catching one, you can release it at least one mile from your property!
Note that the dimensions for this type of trap are important. If the mesh size is too small, mice may escape. Yet, if it’s too big, tiny animals might not trigger it.
The ideal cage trap size for chipmunks is 18 x 5 x 5 inches. You can use nuts and peanut butter as bait!
Bucket Lid Traps
These traps are highly effective if you have a large rodent infestation! It can catch multiple animals in one night.
It works by luring the mice and chipmunks to a trap door. The creatures fall into the bucket, and they can’t get out.
The deeper your bucket, the better it is at preventing escape. You can also rub vegetable oil on the bucket to make it slippery.
Be aware that bucket lid traps can drown chipmunks and mice if you place a few inches of water inside. You should forgo the water if you want to get them alive.
Inhumane Rodent Traps That Kill Chipmunks
These are some traps you should avoid using.
Sticky Glue Traps
Sticky traps may catch chipmunks, but they also trap birds, lizards, and squirrels. To add to this, they’re ineffective against mice.
Adult mice have hairs on their feet that allow them to detect and avoid sticky surfaces. The most you can capture are juveniles.
These traps suffocate small animals when their noses get stuck. Some even end up chewing their legs off just to escape.
We don’t recommend this type of trap because it’s inhumane!
Bait Traps
Poison bait traps can kill mice and chipmunks. Yet, the disadvantages outweigh the perks.
This type of trap doesn’t kill the target immediately, which means the animal has time to hide before it dies.
You’ll have a difficult time locating the dead creatures. Plus, even if you find it, it may be in a hard-to-reach place.
The foul smell from the carcass could emanate from your walls for weeks. What’s more, your pets and kids could also ingest the poison!
Overall, we don’t recommend poison for killing rodents.
Final Thoughts
Will a mouse trap kill a chipmunk? The short answer is yes, it can!
Although some mouse traps may be too small to kill a chipmunk, larger ones can do the job.
Remember that you should select a trap that’ll humanely kill a chipmunk. Electric traps and snap traps work well for this purpose.
Avoid poison traps and sticky glue traps at all costs. The best option is still to capture and release chipmunks!
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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