While the sight of a chipmunk is often charming, these small, industrious rodents can quickly decimate a soft fruit harvest. They are driven by an instinctual need to forage and cache food, making a well-tended strawberry patch an irresistible target. Protecting your crop requires a strategic, multi-layered approach that combines physical exclusion with environmental modifications.
Why Chipmunks Target Strawberry Patches
Chipmunks are opportunistic omnivores whose diet includes seeds, nuts, insects, berries, and fruit. They are diurnal, making them highly visible pests in a garden setting. Strawberries, particularly when fully ripe, offer a high-sugar, easily accessible food source that chipmunks find especially appealing.
These small mammals use their keen sense of smell to locate the sweetest fruit, typically ignoring the unripe, tart berries. Their foraging behavior is driven by the necessity to gather provisions for the winter, as they are not true hibernators and rely on stored food to survive periods of torpor. They possess large cheek pouches, allowing them to carry multiple berries or seeds back to their extensive underground burrow system for caching. This caching habit means they often take significantly more fruit than they consume immediately, leading to substantial crop loss.
Implementing Physical Barriers
Physical exclusion is the most reliable method for preventing chipmunks from accessing a strawberry patch. The material of choice for an effective chipmunk barrier is galvanized hardware cloth with a mesh size of one-quarter inch. This small aperture is necessary because chipmunks can squeeze through surprisingly small openings.
To prevent them from digging beneath the barrier, the hardware cloth must be buried in the soil to a depth of at least six inches. Chipmunks are prolific diggers, so the buried portion of the barrier acts as a deterrent to discourage entry into the protected space.
For a standalone strawberry bed or raised garden, construct a cage using the one-quarter inch hardware cloth, ensuring the sides extend above the plants by at least a foot. The sides must be securely attached to the buried underground skirt to create a continuous, impenetrable barrier. Another method involves using fine mesh netting, often called bird netting, stretched over hoops or a frame to cover the entire patch. Ensure the edges are tightly secured to the ground with stakes or weighted materials to eliminate entry gaps. Any opening larger than a half-inch can be exploited.
Environmental Deterrents and Repellents
Beyond physical exclusion, modifying the environment to make the strawberry patch less appealing is effective. This approach focuses on eliminating nearby shelter and applying taste- and scent-based deterrents. Chipmunks seek out ground cover for protection from predators.
Removing potential hiding spots is beneficial. Clearing away debris near the strawberry patch eliminates convenient shelter and nesting areas:
- Rock piles
- Wood stacks
- Dense brush
- Garden debris
Additionally, ensure that no standing water is available and promptly clean up any fallen fruit or spilled bird seed. These measures make the immediate vicinity less hospitable for permanent residence.
Repellents that target the chipmunk’s sense of taste and smell are effective. Sprinkling natural deterrents like cayenne pepper, garlic powder, or concentrated peppermint oil around the perimeter of the patch can be effective. These substances create a highly disagreeable taste or odor. Commercial granular or liquid repellents containing capsaicin, the compound found in chili peppers, also provide an intense aversion response. The effectiveness of these repellents is limited by weather, and they must be reapplied frequently, especially after rainfall or overhead watering, to maintain a consistent barrier.