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Old 05-28-2005, 06:15 AM   #11
ApS
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Smile Union Leader article

From today's Union Leader:

Quote:
“...We live in a rural part of Goffstown and usually have to take action to reduce our chipmunk population as they ruin our gardens. This year we have, thus far, neither seen nor heard a single chipmunk in the area. Seems this is a more widespread issue. We’ve also been wondering what could account for this. Though we are looking forward to an abundant harvest for once...!” http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...?article=55379 -- near the end of the article
I don't want to know what "action" gardeners take against our rural New Hampshire chipmunks, but maybe taking their non-rural activity to "The Garden State" would be a good start.

Red squirrels have been incredibly destructive of my stuff. They have chewed everything made of fabric: Rope, nylon, chair weavings, chair cushions, sail bags, cotton, dacron, etc., and make messy and smelly nests hither and yon.

OTOH, Chipmunks have chewed at my shirt pocket for many seconds (for the birdseed within), with no damage to the shirt. (And prefer their burrows underground, and have never nested in/near the house). With the exception of garden seed retrieval, they get a bad reputation from some.

I've personally relocated seven red squirrels this Spring and still have only two chipmunks: One, (a male I think) needs to go to the "Special Chipmunk Needs" department, while the other has been easily trained to respond to a whistle (appearing "out of nowhere" from the woods) and to gather birdseed gently from the hand.

I don't know of anybody who's trained a red squirrel.
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