A while back the chickies were indicating something wrong in the barn so I set my large live trap and set it behind the door. Nothing happened but I left it set. In the meantime chipmunks are infesting the barn and hubby's yard. I trapped and took 10 chips for a ride from hubby's and then turned my attention on the barn. My barn cat has become old, all of a sudden. He gets thin in the summer. And now he asks to sleep in the barnhouse. Catching barn critters is not high on his list anymore although he used to be one of the best. But he does not like to share the place with other cats. Feral cats show up sometimes. So borrowing a temp might work Most of the chicken feed now goes to chipmunk burrows. Every day I catch a chipmunk. I found the perfect place for them. A lovely cemetery with lots of nut trees. Today, there was another chipmunk trapped at the barn. But there were noises also coming from the side of the barn. The large trap was sprung. My daughter was not home and I did not have my gun with me if I needed it. Carefully, I went over to the trap. I had caught a chicken! And me without a gun.
The only chipmunk I have seen here showed up at my back door, dead in Ella's mouth. I like chipmunks, and wish we had more here. Instead, we have squirrels. As both Ella and Bubba have learned, the squirrels fight back. Bubba got knocked out of a tree twice in one day after thinking he had treed the squirrel. I didn't witness Ella's revelation but she called a truce with the squirrels after initially viewing them as prey.
Give me your address and I can send the chipmunks on to you. Unbelieveable glut here. They have eaten all the raspberries and come knocking at the patio door. Two squirrels were in the barn one day but I startled them when I slid open the door and didn't see them come back. Bonneroo used to take on all comers except raccoons. But no more. Sad to see old age hit my critters.
If a chipmunk even eyed my raspberries, they would be fertilizing them in short order. In fact, after I found chipmunks had done damage to my under-house wiring, I declared war on them. I haven't seen one since. After my old cats died and rodents move in, I enlisted the help of neighborhood cats using the tuna reward method. After every 7 days of my place being a rodent, vermin, or varmit-free zone, I reward them with a whole can of tuna. They make at least 3 tours of duty around my house every night as documented on my security camera. There are three of them that wait every Sunday morning for me to come out on my patio at 3 AM and reward them. I never see them on other days except on my security videos.
Well, being rural we do have strays from surrounding farms. But till Bonneroo dies I don't want to encourage too much. They do finish up his food and I have found a mat of orange cat hair and half a chipmunk so that's ok if no cat fighting. But Bonneroo deserves peace in his old age and a wood stove. He has taken out weasels and I was told cats can't do that. One was ermine stage and I was sad he put holes in it. Peanut butter on apple slice works for trapping and going for a ride. But I waited too long. Chips invited extended family. Just figgered I'd borrow a cat of two for a couple days
Yes, a cat like Bonn deserves royal treatment and respect. When I was in the mountains I had an old cat that took out ermines that decided wintering under my cabin was ok. I tried to get her to spend her last winter indoors after the vet said she had cancer, but she insisted on staying in her haystack den where she died.