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How tame will they get?
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jackb
Garden Master
It is more difficult to catch them this time of year with Simon underfoot, literally. He is not heavy enough to trip the trap and can fit through the holes anyway. After I mistakenly deported him to Cropsysville last year and his three-week odyssey to return home I have been told in no uncertain terms to leave him alone, that he has earned the right to live here.
He starts his day by sitting outside the kitchen window chirping for Theresa to open the back door and feed him. Then he is pretty much around most of the day. He has his own entrance to the screen house and comes and goes as he pleases. This week when Theresa came home from shopping he ran down the driveway to meet her.
This is his eighth year living here and he has become a fixture, and, I can honestly say he has not caused a single problem in all that time.
He starts his day by sitting outside the kitchen window chirping for Theresa to open the back door and feed him. Then he is pretty much around most of the day. He has his own entrance to the screen house and comes and goes as he pleases. This week when Theresa came home from shopping he ran down the driveway to meet her.
This is his eighth year living here and he has become a fixture, and, I can honestly say he has not caused a single problem in all that time.
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Beekissed
Garden Master
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-a-pet/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6576a48ecfff
Game wardens killed a deer — in front of the family that kept it as a pet
What a complete waste of good meat. They should have donated the carcass to a local homeless shelter, at least.
The woman's question of a head shot not being humane was kind of a bauble head idea...of course it's humane. Where else would she like them to shoot it to make it go down the fastest?
thistlebloom
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LIKE X 100!
I love hearing about your little Simon. It's worthy of a book at least. Maybe his own movie!
Nyboy
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Does Simon have a large family ? I used to think chip monks where very cute untill I became over run with them
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jackb
Garden Master
No, he is a loner and will not tolerate another chipmunk. There have been a few raging battles when he defends his territory. One time he was chasing another chipmunk and neither was looking where they were going. Both of them ran into the side of the air conditioner, flew up in the air tumbling end over end, came down and continued running like nothing happened. They get so engaged in battle they bang into things. Simon seems to be bigger than the competition, must be all food we give him.
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flowerbug
Garden Master
i wish i had a half dozen sterile Simons to run off the rest of them that show up here. we do get overrun with them if we don't trap/hunt them. 50 or more easily within a few months. we started this year with a few that i did hunt and it was quiet until several weeks ago when the new explorers started to show up. since then they've been raiding my strawberries non-stop (i don't mind sharing some with them, but they're annoying in that they will eat a few bites out of a berry and then leave it sitting there and get another...).
so far i've only seen a few bean plants taken out by them. they'll eat the sprouting seeds of certain kinds (usually the wax, green and edamame soybeans), like they can smell them from many feet away. last season my edamame soybeans were nearly a complete loss due to chipmunks eating them all (several hundred seeds planted and only three plants survived and barely at that). this year i've not even bothered to plant the soybeans. i'll need an electrified fine mesh fence to keep them out...
don't get me wrong, i love 'em, i think they're fun to watch and so alive they quiver with it all.
so far i've only seen a few bean plants taken out by them. they'll eat the sprouting seeds of certain kinds (usually the wax, green and edamame soybeans), like they can smell them from many feet away. last season my edamame soybeans were nearly a complete loss due to chipmunks eating them all (several hundred seeds planted and only three plants survived and barely at that). this year i've not even bothered to plant the soybeans. i'll need an electrified fine mesh fence to keep them out...
don't get me wrong, i love 'em, i think they're fun to watch and so alive they quiver with it all.
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jackb
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We do not see too many around here. Based on your experience I should be thankful to have a guardmunk. That said, my trailcam shows a lot of feral cats so that may keep the population in check. Simon has the perfect living quarters under the deck and I chase any cats off the property if I see them. I guess we sort of protect each other.
I have even taken his portrait for the family album......
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thistlebloom
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We have seen an occasional chipmunk here, but the cats hunt them. 
We don't get quail either because of the cats. But I guess I can't have it both ways, they also keep the mice and gophers in check.
We don't get quail either because of the cats. But I guess I can't have it both ways, they also keep the mice and gophers in check.
