Chipmunk Facts: Ten Interesting Facts About Chipmunks

Hey guys,

For a change, I thought I’d write a short post that gives you several interesting facts about chipmunks. In future posts I’ll be talking in detail about several different chipmunk pest control techniques but in the meantime, here’s your chance to learn a little more about these critters.

Click here if you’re looking for ways to get rid of chipmunks.

All but one of the 25 species of chipmunks can be found on the continent of North America (from Mexico in the South to Canada in the North).
Chipmunks mate in early spring and after a 30-day gestation period, a litter of 3-5 young are born (although litters of up to ten young have been reported). Chipmunks only create one litter of young per year.
Chipmunks hibernate throughout the Winter, although instead of storing food as body fat, they wake up around every two weeks to eat from their food store.
Chipmunks are capable of communicating with other members of their species by a variety of sounds and gestures. It is thought they have as many as 30 distinguishable ‘words’ in their vocabulary.
Although a chipmunks are generally herbivorous with their primary food sources being nuts, seeds, fruit and berries, they have also been known to eat birds eggs, slugs, snails, worms, insects, small frogs and small mammals (usually younglings).
Chipmunks have a lifespan of around 2-3 years in the wild.
When they are three months old, young chipmunks are fully developed and will leave the litter.
Although they have a small mouth, chipmunks have pouches in their cheeks, which can expand to up to three times the size of their heads and allows them to carry dirt out of their burrows and food into it.
Chipmunks are also referred to as ‘Ground Squirrels’.
Chipmunk burrows can be as long as 3.5 meters in length. The main chamber is used for sleeping and to raise the litter with other chambers used for food storage and ‘toilet areas’.

There you go – ten interesting facts about chipmunks. In the next few posts, I’ll be talking about some of the various ways you can use to exterminate them