A standard single-door or double-door wire cage trap sized around 16 to 18 inches long is the right live trap for chipmunks. These small rodents are easy to catch with the right setup, but success depends on choosing the correct trap size, using effective bait, and placing the trap where chipmunks are already active. Where you release them afterward is a separate question with some legal complications worth knowing about before you start.
Trap Size and Style
Chipmunks are small, typically 8 to 10 inches long including the tail, so they need a trap sized to match. The recommended dimensions are roughly 16x6x6 inches for a single-door model or 18x5x5 inches for a two-door model. These are the same traps marketed for rats, weasels, red squirrels, and flying squirrels.
Most live traps are made of galvanized wire in a 1×1 or 1×2 inch mesh pattern. For chipmunks, you want a trap with smaller mesh openings. Standard squirrel-sized mesh can leave gaps large enough for a chipmunk to squeeze through or get a limb caught, so look for traps specifically listing chipmunks on the label. Both single-door and double-door versions work. A double-door trap can feel less threatening to a chipmunk because it can see straight through, which sometimes gets hesitant animals inside faster. A single-door trap is simpler to set and bait.
Best Baits for Chipmunks
Peanut butter is the go-to bait, and for good reason. Smear a small amount directly onto the trap’s trigger plate so the chipmunk has to step on it and apply pressure to eat. Mixing peanut butter with rolled oats makes it stickier and harder for the animal to lick off without triggering the mechanism. Sunflower seeds, nut meats, raisins, and common breakfast cereal grains also work well. The key is using something with a strong smell that chipmunks are already eating in your yard.
Place a small trail of bait leading into the trap entrance to draw the chipmunk inside, with the main bait load on or just behind the trigger plate. Too much bait near the door lets the chipmunk eat its fill without ever reaching the trigger.
Where to Place the Trap
Set the trap along pathways where you’ve seen chipmunks running repeatedly. They’re creatures of habit and tend to follow the same routes between their burrow, food sources, and cover. Good spots include along foundation walls, beside garden beds, near stone walls, or next to a woodpile. If you’ve found a burrow entrance (a small, clean hole about two inches wide with no dirt pile around it), placing the trap nearby with the door facing the hole is ideal.
The trap needs to sit on flat, stable ground. Any wobble or rocking when the chipmunk steps inside can trigger the door early and spook the animal before it’s fully in. If the ground is uneven, press the trap down into the soil slightly or wedge small stones underneath to keep it steady. Draping a light cloth or a few handfuls of leaves over the top of the trap (leaving the entrances clear) can make it feel more like a sheltered space and less like an exposed cage, which helps with wary chipmunks.
Avoiding Non-Target Catches
Peanut butter and seeds attract more than chipmunks. Birds, gray squirrels, and other small mammals may wander in. To reduce unwanted catches, keep a few things in mind. First, set traps in the morning. Chipmunks are most active during daylight hours, especially early morning and late afternoon. Pulling the trap at dusk reduces the chance of catching nocturnal animals like opossums or skunks.
You can also create a simple tunnel entrance using a short section of PVC pipe or a makeshift channel from wire mesh that restricts the opening to chipmunk size, roughly 2 to 3 inches. This keeps larger animals and birds from reaching the bait. Check the trap frequently, ideally every few hours. A trapped chipmunk left in a cage in direct sun can overheat quickly, and checking often lets you release any non-target animal before it becomes stressed.
What to Do After You Catch One
This is where things get complicated. Many people assume they’ll drive the chipmunk to a park or wooded area a few miles away and release it. But in several states, relocating trapped wildlife is illegal. New York, for example, prohibits moving any trapped animal off your property entirely. The reasoning is that relocation spreads diseases like rabies and Lyme, stresses the animal, and dumps your problem into someone else’s neighborhood. Other states have varying rules, some requiring permits or specifying minimum relocation distances.
Before setting a trap, check your state wildlife agency’s regulations. In states where relocation is legal, moving a chipmunk at least five miles away is a common recommendation. Eastern chipmunks have a home range of about half an acre to one acre, and males can travel several hundred feet beyond that range when seeking mates or food. A release point only a mile or two away may not prevent the animal from finding its way back. Five miles, with a significant barrier like a river or highway between release and capture sites, gives you the best chance of a permanent removal.
Why Trapping Alone May Not Solve the Problem
Chipmunk populations in suburban yards are often dense enough that removing one animal simply opens territory for another. If your yard has abundant food sources like bird feeders, fallen fruit, or accessible gardens, new chipmunks will move into the vacant burrow within days or weeks. Trapping works best as part of a broader approach: cleaning up seed spills under feeders, using gravel or hardware cloth to protect garden beds, and removing brush piles that provide cover near your home’s foundation.
If you’re dealing with chipmunks burrowing near a foundation, patio, or retaining wall, the structural concern is real. Their tunnels can extend 20 to 30 feet and undermine surfaces over time. In that situation, combining live trapping with habitat modification, like installing L-shaped hardware cloth barriers underground along the foundation, gives longer-lasting results than trapping alone.