Best Bait for Chipmunks – Irresistible and Easy

You want to trap a chipmunk, but what bait should you use?

If you want to get chipmunks out of your yard and garden quickly, then make sure you use a bait that is irresistible to chipmunks (even more irresistible than your plants).

Chipmunks are a pain to deal with and they can be a nuisance to your property. They will eat anything, from vegetable gardens, fruit trees, bird feeders, and even pet food! They are also extremely destructive when they dig up lawns or chew on wood.

Here we have compiled the best bait for chipmunks that you can use at your home to get rid of these pesky creatures once and for all.

Best Bait for Chipmunks – Live Trap Bait

peanut butter strawberry chipmunk bait
Peanut Butter and Strawberries for Chipmunk Bait

The best bait for chipmunks will likely involve combining two or more of the baits from the following list. Let’s start off with peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Chipmunk Bait Recipe

Chipmunks love peanut butter like a child loves ice cream. You can use peanut butter as bait by itself, but I recommend mixing it with the other ingredients to create an irresistible bait for the chipmunks roaming your yard.

Peanut butter is perfect to use as the “glue” to hold your other chipmunk bait in place on the live trap mechanism. I always use peanut butter combined with other ingredients in my chipmunk traps.

Fruits and Vegetables

Chipmunks also love fruits and vegetables. This is a great bait to use when you have problems with chipmunk destruction in your garden or fruit trees.

Just place cut-up pieces of apple, orange, banana, pear, grapefruit, strawberries, or your other favorite fruit on the trap with the peanut butter. You can experiment to see what fruits work best with the chipmunks in your yard.

My favorite chipmunk bait is peanut butter and strawberries. The chipmunks in my area love this combination, and it always results in a trapped chipmunk after a day or two.

Grains

Chipmunks also enjoy grains so this is an excellent bait to use as a trail of attraction into your chipmunk trap.

Grain cereals are a great option for chipmunk bait. They are easy to use and can last a long time without attracting other pests like some of the other options. I recommend using granola cereal, oatmeal, or Cheerios as the base grains in your trap.

If you want something more special than plain old cereals then try combining them with honey, mashed bananas, or peanut butter.

You can also use cereal or granola bars as bait in traps! This is a great idea if you don’t want to deal with mixing peanut butter or other ingredients together every time.

Seeds and Nuts

Chipmunks are also attracted to seeds and nuts. This is a great bait for trapping them in the wintertime when fruits aren’t as plentiful.

Walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, peanuts, and sunflower seeds are all great options for this bait.

I recommend using raw nuts (instead of roasted), which are more attractive to a chipmunk. You want your bait to be irresistible, so experiment with different types of nuts until you find the one that your chipmunk problem likes best.

Switching and Rotating Chipmunk Bait

Try testing different types of bait until you find one that works. This could take a while, so make sure to be patient and persistent when testing new baits.

Once you find a chipmunk bait that works, continue to use it for a few weeks before switching to another one. This will help you catch the majority of chipmunks in your area that are attracted to the bait you have been using.

Once every couple of months, switch out your current bait with something new just to keep things fresh and interesting for the local chipmunk population.

By rotating between different types of bait, you’ll keep the chipmunks guessing, and eventually, you will capture and relocate all of them.

Homemade vs Manufactured Chipmunk Bait

Homemade chipmunk baits work. There isn’t a need to buy something that you can easily make at home. Give it a few days and you will eventually capture a chipmunk.

Also, most manufactured chipmunk baits are not food but they are actually poison. You want to make sure you are using something that is edible for chipmunks.

Finally, these types of poison baits are not safe to use around children or pets because they can be fatal if ingested by mistake.

Live Trapping Chipmunks

I’m a strong believer in live trapping and relocating chipmunks. This is an effective solution because it removes the chipmunk from your property and prevents future generations of these pests.

Trapping live chipmunks is easy to set up, so you don’t need any hunting or trapping experience to move them elsewhere.

I like using a live trap for two reasons: It’s humane, since the animal will be relocated instead of killed, and it is effective. In addition, live trapping is less expensive than relocating the chipmunks with a professional because you can do it yourself.

My favorite live trap for catching chipmunks is the Havahart live trap.

Check out our complete guide to live-trapping chipmunks to ensure you successfully remove these pests from your yard.

Guide for How to Trap Chipmunks

Check our complete guide on how to trap chipmunks.

How to Bait a Chipmunk Trap

The most effective way to bait a chipmunk trap is to use peanut butter as an irresistible base to hold your other baits on the trap trigger.

I recommend using a small amount of natural peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter for best results. Place additional fruits, seeds, or nuts on the peanut butter and leave a little trail of bait into the trap.

Remember that a little goes a long way! You don’t want to overfeed your live traps because this can make them ineffective. Also, remember that if you use too much of one type of food then they’ll stop coming for a while.

What Do Chipmunks Eat in Your Yard?

Before placing live bait traps in your yard, it is good to know what chipmunks are already eating. Your bait needs to be a least as attractive to the chipmunk as the food it is already eating.

Chipmunks are omnivores and love a wide range of foods. They will eat just about anything that is available to them.

Most chipmunk problem areas are in backyards with large trees where they can have access to nuts, fruits, vegetables, and seeds year-round.

Spring

In the spring, chipmunks will often eat garden fruits and vegetables. If you notice any of your plants being munched on during this season, there is a good chance that you have a chipmunk problem.

Most people focus on getting rid of rabbits, but chipmunks are just as common.

Summer

During the summer, chipmunks will eat a lot of seeds and nuts. These animals are great climbers so they can easily get to your bird feeders or plants that have a higher seed content.

Fall

Chipmunks love acorns in the fall because it’s one of their favorite foods of all time. You will likely notice an increase in activity around oak trees if you have a chipmunk problem in your yard.

Winter

As the weather cools, most chipmunks will be eating out of your bird feeders or stored up seeds and nuts. If you notice a huge increase in your bird feed usage, pet food disappearing or hearing noises on the roof, then it’s likely that chipmunks are living near you.

Other Questions – Chipmunk Bait

Here are a few common questions about the best chipmunk bait and live trapping chipmunks.

Can chipmunks eat peanut butter?

Chipmunks can eat peanut butter and it is one of the favorite foods for these animals.

What do chipmunks like to eat?

Chipmunks will eat almost anything. They have an omnivorous diet and their diet changes with the seasons. Common foods they like include nuts, seeds, fruits from your garden, or plants in the yard.

Do chipmunks like cheese?

Chipmunks will eat cheese in small quantities but they prefer peanut butter, fruits, nuts, and other foods.

Will other animals eat chipmunk bait from your trap?

You will find that other animals such as mice, raccoons, and cats will be attracted to your chipmunk bait. It is important to use the right size live trap to ensure you only capture the chipmunk.

Should I use chipmunk bait poison?

No, we do not recommend using poison to kill chipmunks. Live trapping and relocating is an extremely effective and humane way to solve a chipmunk problem.

Conclusion – Best Bait for Chipmunks

I have found that the most effective chipmunk is peanut butter and strawberries. If we have fresh strawberries at home, I always use one strawberry on a spoonful of peanut butter right in the middle of my chipmunk trap. Works every time!

strawberry peanut butter live chipmunk trap
Strawberry and Peanut Butter Chipmunk Trap Bait

We hope that you found this blog post on the best bait for chipmunks helpful.

To sum up, there are a number of ways to make your live traps more appealing and effective when trapping chipmunks:

  1. Offer fresh fruits as well as nuts, seeds, and other foods during their active season (spring-fall); change it up with new items like cheese occasionally but keep the majority of your bait based around peanut butter.
  2. Rotate and use different types of baits so chipmunks don’t get used to one food.
  3. Don’t give too much food at once or the trap will be less effective.

Check out our guide on how to get rid of chipmunks in your yard for 9 more tips to keep your yard and garden free from chipmunks. With these tips, you can easily control and repel the chipmunks in your yard.

4 thoughts on “Best Bait for Chipmunks – Irresistible and Easy”

  1. thank you so much for helping us catch this chipmunk!!!!!!we will most definitly be using these tips for our chipmunk problem!!!!!!#thankssomuch!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. One caution. Before you release any chipmunks on property you don’t own, check and make sure it’s legal in your area.

  3. Where do you relocate so as not to dump your chipmunk problems on another guy who doesn’t want a chipmunk problem? By the way caught 50+ in one season. Over run again.

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