Get Rid Of Chipmunks Using The Bucket of Water Trap

The bucket-o-water chipmunk trap is one of the oldest and most effective ways to get rid of chipmunks. In the following video, Jim Harman from California Pest Management explains how to set it up.

This is not a humane trap because it kills the chipmunks but it does work. In a future post I’ll be explaining how to get rid of chipmunks using more humane methods.

Hi, I’m Jim Harman from California Pest Management.

We’re here, believe it or not, pool-side to put together our quick and dirty little chipmunk trap.

This is an old-style trap, it’s very easy to put together and I’ll tell you one thing – if you get chipmunks running around your back yard, driving you nuts, turning over all your freshly planted bulbs and other plants, destroying your garden, remember they love seeds. They just go nuts over seeds, so the first thing you’ve got to do is clean up as much as possible so their food is very limited.

Then, we’re going to use some pumpkin seeds here.

First take a gallon bucket – you can take anything but usually a gallon bucket, everyone’s got one around. Dip it in [fills bucket with water], then we’re gonna take our seeds and put a couple on the surface. They’re gonna float, don’t worry, they got air in them.

Next, put a little ramp [leans plank of wood against bucket]. To entice our little buddy to come on up and take a look, take a couple of these seeds and spread them on the ramp – I usually use a little bit of hot glue to keep them in place – and put a couple down at the base.

So, he gets the idea ‘Hey, free food’, they come in, they go for the seeds in the bucket, they can’t get back out and they drown. Easy pest control. There’s no chemicals and there’s no way anyone can get hurt – except the chipmunks.