How to help chipmunks

[little susie]

Hello,

My drive way is going to paved. There are lots of cracks in it.I know there is a chipmunk that lives in one of the cracks.I have a few days till the people come.What can I do to help The chimpmunks?I don't want them to be stuck underground. Poor things.If anybody has an idea I'm listening.Thank you!:Love_Icon

[SquirrelRefuge]

You might try a live trap. If you dont have one, you may be able to borrow one from a nearby rehabilitator. Chipmunks are food hoarders so it shouldnt be that hard. Just be sure to check if its a She and if she appears to be lactating.

[skarabrae]

Chipmunks normally have several exit holes from their nests... you'd be surprised how deep the nests go underground - more than 10 feet underground sometimes and they have many chambers and tunnels. They are expert diggers, and I would be shocked if it couldn't dig itself out of almost any situation where one of its holes got covered.

I wouldn't take the chipmunk away from its den - it probably has put a lot of effort and time into storing its food and building its home and chances are unlikely you'd be able to catch it anyway and I wouldn't want to risk trapping babies under the ground - it's prime mating season as we speak.

There's no ideal thing to do here and I'm cringing as I type this, but if you must asphalt the driveway now I would just go ahead and do it.

[little susie]

Thank you so much for repyling.I will leave it alone.I just love my outdoor friends.They give me so much comfort in my life.It's a very trying time for me.Also,its concrete not asphalt.Again thank you:Love_Icon

[skarabrae]

Oh gosh... concrete isn't great because it is so thin it could go right down into their holes and fill the holes up. Of course, it depends on the sort of concrete. If you need to use concrete, make sure you pack the hole with something first.

[little susie]

the chipmunks are located under are basketball pole.The concrete is really tore up.I've seen at least two there.How would I cover it up?Oh dear:shakehead

[stosh2010]

My drive way is going to paved---the chipmunks are located under are basketball pole.The concrete is really tore up.I've seen at least two there.How would I cover it up?Oh dear:shakehead
Susie
...I know this thread started in JULY 2012...BUT how did the concrete driveway go..?? Have you seen the chipmunks since it was installed...????

Hoping for a POSITIVE response...

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Fast Facts
Type:Mammal
Diet:Omnivore
Average life span in the wild:2 to 3 yearsSize:4 to 7 in (10 to 18 cm); Tail, 3 to 5 in (8 to 13 cm)
Weight:1 to 5 ounces (28 to 142 grams)
Did you know?Although chipmunks hibernate, they do not store fat. Instead they slowly gnaw away at their summer bounty throughout the winter.
Size relative to a tea cup: Lively and speedy critters, chipmunks are small members of the squirrel family. Their pudgy cheeks, large, glossy eyes, stripes, and bushy tails have made them a favorite among animators, and landed them a series of starring roles in Hollywood.

Of the 25 species of chipmunks, all but one, Asia’s Tamias sibiricus, is found in North America. Ranging from Canada to Mexico, they are generally seen scampering through the undergrowth of a variety of environments from alpine forests to shrubby deserts. Some dig burrows to live in, complete with tunnels and chambers, while others make their homes in nests, bushes, or logs.

Depending on species, chipmunks can be gray to reddish-brown in color with contrasting dark and light stripes on the sides of their face and across their back and tail. They range in size from the least chipmunk, which, at 7.2 to 8.5 inches (18.5 to 21.6 centimeters) and 1.1 to 1.8 ounces (32 to 50 grams), is the smallest chipmunk, to the Eastern chipmunk, which grows up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) and weighs as much as 4.4 ounces (125 grams).

Chipmunks generally gather food on the ground in areas with underbrush, rocks, and logs, where they can hide from predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes, weasels, and snakes. They feed on insects, nuts, berries, seeds, fruit, and grain which they stuff into their generous cheek pouches and carry to their burrow or nest to store. Chipmunks hibernate, but instead of storing fat, they periodically dip into their cache of nuts and seeds throughout the winter.

Their shrill, repeated, birdlike chirp is usually made upon sensing a threat but is also thought to be used as a mating call by females. Chipmunks are solitary creatures and normally ignore one another except during the spring, when mating takes place. After a 30-day gestation, a litter of two to eight is born. The young stay with their parents for two months before they begin to gather their own provisions for the winter ahead.

For the most part, chipmunks, although susceptible to forest fragmentation, are not currently threatened. However, the Palmer’s chipmunk (Tamias palmeri) is considered a vulnerable species.