How to Fill Chipmunk Holes in Your Yard

You might be wondering what to do when you spot a chipmunk hole in your yard.

There are three primary options for filling a chipmunk hole: fill with cat litter, fill with gravel, or fill with sand.

Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks. We will go over each one below and help you decide how to fill chipmunk holes in your yard.

How to Fill Chipmunk Holes

You have a few choices when it comes to filling a chipmunk hole. All the choices are effective at filling chipmunk holes. It primarily comes down to personal preference and what options you have most readily available.

Cat Litter

If you’re looking for a quick and easy solution to fill a chipmunk hole then cat litter is the best choice. Cat Litter is cheap, environmentally friendly, and available everywhere which makes it a great option for filling chipmunk holes.

If you’re looking to fill your chipmunk hole with cat litter, make sure it’s clay-based and not scented. These types of litter are the most effective in stopping chipmunks from rebuilding the tunnels.

The downside to using cat litter to fill a chipmunk hole is that it can be unsightly. You should cover the cat litter with natural dirt and grass to make the yard look clean.

If you want a more long-term solution to filling your chipmunk hole then gravel is

Gravel

Gravel is a cheap but strong option for filling chipmunk holes.

Fine gravel is the best type of gravel to use for filling a chipmunk hole. Fine gravel will fill the hole more completely than coarse gravel. This will ensure the ground doesn’t sink down over time.

The main downside to filling a chipmunk hole with gravel is that it doesn’t look nice to leave small piles of gravel around your yard. After filling a chipmunk hole with gravel you should top it with soil and grass to make it look more natural.

Sand

Sand is one of my favorite choices for filling chipmunk holes.

Sand will fill a chipmunk hole more completely than other materials like dirt, cat litter, or rocks. It’s also easier to pour sand down the hole than options like gravel.

Sand is also a very inexpensive way to fill in a chipmunk hole. A bag of sand will only cost a few dollars and will fill your hole beyond the point of any other material like gravel or cat litter.

For a permanent and natural-looking finish, make sure you cover your hole with natural dirt and grass after filling it with sand.

Steps for Filling a Chipmunk Hole

Here are the simple steps you should consider for how to fill chipmunk holes in your yard.

Step 1: Trap and Relocate Chipmunks

If you’re looking for a more permanent solution to your chipmunk problem, you should gather the supplies needed to trap and relocate the chipmunks first.

Trapping and relocating chipmunks is an easy process and it is a humane way to remove them from your yard.

After you relocate as many chipmunks as possible, then you can start filling in the chipmunk holes in your yard.

Step 2: Choose Chipmunk Hole Filler

After relocating chipmunks from your yard, decide what type of hole filler material you want to use for your chipmunk problem. You can choose between cat litter, gravel or sand and it’s based primarily based on personal preference.

I recommend sand because is it readily available, fills the hole completely, and it is easy to pour into the chipmunk hole.

Step 3: Fill the Chipmunk Hole

After deciding which option is best for your situation, fill in the chipmunk hole with the material you have chosen.

Place as much filler into the hole as you can, stir and agitate the filler so it moves further into the hole, and then pour more filler into the hole until it is filled completely.

Continue doing this with each successive hole, filling them all one at a time.

Step 4: Cover the Chipmunk Hole Filler with Natural Material

Finally, you should cover the filled chipmunk hole with dirt and grass (or other natural material like mulch) to make it look natural.

This is especially important if you use something like gravel, but it is recommended regardless of the filler you used.

Why Fill Chipmunk Holes?

There are many reasons why you might want to fill a chipmunk hole.

One reason is that as chipmunks continue to build structures, the tunnels will eventually collapse on themselves and your yard will be left uneven. If this continues for too long then you’ll have more deep holes in your yard with no easy way of fixing them.

These tunnels can do serious damage to your home as well, like collapsing your sidewalk or patio. If chipmunks dig tunnels under your concrete structures then they can cause serious damage to the structure.

It’s not just safety problems that you need to worry about either, it will also affect your grass and garden plants if they keep digging holes in your yard. Chipmunks damage the roots of your plants and they can even destroy the roots of tree seedlings.

Filling Chipmunk Holes around Home Foundation

Holes in and around your home foundation are the most important chipmunk holes to fill. To fill in this type of hole, you should use concrete to make sure the chipmunk can’t dig back in and so that the area around the hole is reinforced.

This is a more expensive solution but it will prevent any future damage to your home foundation from chipmunks digging under them.

As you can see, there are many reasons why you might want to fill in these holes!

What Does a Chipmunk Hole Look Like?

Chipmunks have entrances to their tunnels that are hard to spot. Chipmunk holes are often confused with vole or mole holes.

Chipmunk holes typically look like a hole that’s about 1 to 2 inches in diameter, without mounds of dirt surrounding them. The entrance will be smooth and the hole will be level with the ground.

Chipmunk holes are typically found around food sources and in mulch beds, but they will also create burrows and holes through your grass too. Chipmunks will also go under objects like concrete blocks, flower pots, tires, and other things that are above ground level.

The easiest way to find chipmunk holes is by looking for tell-tale signs of chipmunk activity. A common sign of chipmunk activity is the piles of dirt and rocks in areas where you would least expect them. Other signs are chipped-off bark on trees, holes in mulch beds under plants, and trails through your yard that lead to their burrows.

Chipmunks often have these tunnels close to food sources like bird feeders, compost piles, and gardens.

Understanding Chipmunk Holes

Let’s quickly talk about chipmunk holes and why chipmunks create these holes in your yard. Are they just trying to tear up your landscaping and annoy you?

Where Do Chipmunks Live in Your Yard?

Chipmunks live in underground communities together called burrows. Burrows are a series of underground tunnels that typically have multiple entrances and exits, so chipmunks can come in from different directions if one entrance is blocked.

Chipmunks create burrows in your yard, typically close to food sources like bird feeders and compost piles. The entrance is usually a small hole about one to two inches wide that’s easy to miss.

Chipmunk tunnels can be very deep and long with some reaching up to 200 feet in length. The average depth of a chipmunk hole is about three feet deep, but they can run shallow or deeper depending on your environment.

Why Do Chipmunks Dig Holes in Your Yard?

Chipmunks enjoy burrowing in earthy areas like gardens or yards because of the natural cover they provide. Your yard is a great choice for chipmunks because there’s plenty of cover and a lot of food sources for them to eat.

Chipmunks like to build their homes in mulch beds, so they can find materials easily and create a very deep tunnel system that runs through your yard or garden bed. They will also make tunnels under concrete blocks, flower pots, tires, and other objects that are above ground level.

Chipmunks like having a tunnel with many entrances that they can easily get into, so they often build their homes near trees or woody shrubs where these structures provide lots of cover for them. The entrance will be clean and level with the ground, without a mound of dirt around it.

Once their network of tunnels is created, the chipmunks will store their food in their burrows to protect it from other animals. They will also use the tunnels for safety if they need to hide from threats like predators or people who are trying to get rid of them and remove them from your yard.

Common Questions – Filling Chipmunk Holes

Here are other common questions about how to fill chipmunk holes in your yard.

Conclusion – Filling Chipmunk Holes

I hope you now have a better understanding of how to fill chipmunk holes and what they are..

In summary, there are three common ways to fill your chipmunk hole. You can use sand, cat litter, or gravel. When using these materials, you want to make sure the chipmunk holes are filled in all the way so that the hole is completely blocked off.

You also want to go back and check for new holes every few days because it will probably take a little while before you can trap and relocate all of the chipmunks in your yard.

Check out these articles for more information on trapping and relocating chipmunks:

• How to Trap Chipmunks – Follow these steps to successfuly trap a chipmun.
• Best Bait for Chipmunk Traps – Use my favorite bait to catch a chipmunk every time!