Varmint Update

Earlier, Harmony wrote about how we were having chipmunk troubles. Well, I went out and bought two varieties of rat traps. ** Quick, clean (so far), and non-toxic.

This variety is more expensive ($3 at Home Depot? Can't remember) , but I think they're easier to set, and more sensitive, since their trigger area so big. If the offending animal steps on any part of that perforated plastic pad, the trap goes off. So it might be worth your money.


These were cheaper (I think < $2 at Home Depot) , but as you can see, the trigger area is only that little metal tab that's sticking down.

As a result of these traps, there are three less live chipmunks in the world. EDIT, 2007 June 15: Three less than that, which makes six total. All three were caught in the more expensive traps. However, I don't think they even went for the seeds in the cheaper traps (which I imagine are quite capable). And yes, germophobes, I did buy and use these too:


I have no qualms about killing vermin in our yard. Using live traps means that we would have to drive somewhere else and release the critters, thereby merely moving the problem elsewhere (and I've read about the damage these things can cause). I'm sure they have a niche in the ecosystem, but it's not in our yard and it's not in eating our vegetables. Have a nice day :)

** - I can imagine that these traps would HURT if you accidentally set one off yourself. So be careful if you have little children running around. Or if you have a propensity for absent-mindedly eating rolled oats or sunflower seeds off our patio slab.