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Do Chipmunks Eat Marigolds? (Quick Answers)

Often we notice some small, striped animals running around the plants and gorging on seeds and leaves, which are almost impossible to catch. These cute little rodents are the chipmunks.

Chipmunks are found in North America with the exception of Siberian Chipmunks. They are also found in Asia. Some might confuse them with squirrels due to their similar features. 

But despite chipmunks belonging to the same family, they are even smaller than squirrels. Just like squirrels, they are fast and have chubby cheeks and glossy eyes.

They primarily survive by consuming seeds, vegetables, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, and so on. Additionally, they have a habit of burrowing and caching food in those burrows, as a result, they end up harming gardens and plants that are grown there.

Just like squirrels, they are notorious climbers and burrowers with a keen sense of smell. Now, let us learn if chipmunks can eat marigolds and find out more facts about these cute little creatures that are not as cute as we gave them credit for.

Chipmunks eat marigolds

Chipmunks do not eat marigolds. On the contrary, they are repulsed by marigolds because of their strong scent. If marigolds are planted around any flower or vegetation in a garden or flowerbed, there are higher chances of your plants being safe from these rodents, making chipmunks detest them.

Every animal has a food taste that makes them like and dislike certain foods that others might have a liking for. Similarly, chipmunks have a preference that mainly includes roots, seeds, vegetables, and so on. 

However, there are certain items they cannot seem to tolerate, and one of them is the plant marigold.

This is because plants like daffodil, marigold, and allium spread natural repellents that keep rodents like squirrels and chipmunks away. Strategically planting these flowers might save your plants from being destroyed by rodents that like to dig up plants and eat them. 

It’s most probably caused due to a defense mechanism to keep unwanted insects and rodents at bay.

Marigolds are one of those favorite annual plants in the garden for their natural repellant nature. Since their bad smell can be overwhelming for rodents, they’re good to plant around in the garden as a protection for other plants and vegetation.

Marigold leaves: 

The foliage of marigolds–the cluster of marigold leaves collectively–has terpene on them. Terpene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon that is volatile and its smell is acrid. 

This strong smell is even overwhelming to humans, and some of them compare the smell to damp hay.

Chipmunks have an excellent sense of smell and have difficulty going for plants that emit harsh and strong fragrances.

Marigold flowers: 

Marigold flowers have a very pungent smell like the plant’s leaves and this strong sense tends to repel or confuse both insects and rodents. 

This is because their leaves have oil on them named terpene that is volatile and that is what causes the flower to smell acrid as well, successfully keeping unwanted insects and rodents away.

Marigold plants smell awfully acrid to chipmunks who have a strong sense of smell. But even so, if the rodents are in dire need of food, they will not hesitate to even eat plants like marigolds and daffodils, despite their strong smells that act as natural repellants. 

Do marigolds deter chipmunks? 

Yes, marigolds deter chipmunks because they are natural repellents. The leaves of marigold plants have a special unsaturated hydrocarbon named Terpene. This hydrocarbon is mostly found in essential oils, that is tree oils and it tends to be very volatile.

Due to its volatile nature, it tends to sit on the flowers as well, and as a result, the entire plant smells acrid and pungent, their leaves taking the lead in this case. This works as a natural repellant for unwanted insects and rodents.

Chipmunks are fast and small with a very sensitive sense of smell. As a result, they tend to stay away and detest plants that emit very strong smells, like daffodils, lavender, marigolds, etcetera.

Since chipmunks have a strong sense of smell, they tend to dislike marigolds due to their strong smell.

4 reasons why chipmunks will/will not eat marigolds

A few reasons why chipmunks will not eat marigolds are given below –

Strong Smell: 

Since the leaves of marigolds have a volatile element known as terpene, they tend to form into vapor and sit on the whole plant, making the entire plant smell acrid and pungent. Some people have compared it to damp hay or straw.

The chipmunks being strong sniffers normally get repelled by these plants that emit such strong smells. This is why they will not eat the marigolds since their smell repels them.

Alternatives:

Every animal has preferences when it comes to foods and in the case of chipmunks, they prefer vegetables, seeds, bulbs, etcetera over flower plants.

Therefore, when there are better options like cucumber and tomatoes, they would definitely ignore flowers that smell acrid.

In Dire Need of Food: 

Even though chipmunks normally tend to avoid plants like daffodil, marigolds, lavender, allium, and so on, due to their strong and pungent smell, sometimes they will end up eating them. The reason is the same as humans.

When humans are starving, they will eat anything put in front of them, poisonous or not. It is the same with chipmunks. When they are in dire need of nutrition, they will go for the marigolds if there is nothing else left to consume.

To Reach Other Plants: 

Most of the time the daffodil plants are getting destroyed not because the chipmunks are chomping on them but because they are trampling on them in their mission to reach the other preferred plants.

How to keep chipmunks away from marigolds?

Even though marigolds are natural repellants, sometimes they tend to be destroyed by these small critters. But there are ways to save them from chipmunks and some of them will be provided below:

Build Fences Around: 

Even though the rodents are small and fast, we can install fences that might serve our chances. 

But even so, it’s best to make sure the fences aren’t traditional ones but customized so the chipmunks don’t get past. If needed, fortify the fencing with wiring like chicken wire.

Additionally, the fences should be dug 6 inches deep in the soil since chipmunks are notorious diggers and can enter your garden by digging their way through.

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Placing Nets Over the Flowers: 

Apart from placing fences and nets between those fences, we can fortify the protection more by placing nets over our plants. Simply place a lightweight net over the flowers and that will keep the rodents from tearing and destroying the flowers.

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Destroying Favorable Environments for Chipmunks: 

Chipmunks are notorious climbers and diggers. They can climb through any unkempt branches or dig through soil and dig up the plants. For this, it’s necessary to prune and trim the branches and bushes in the garden regularly.

Chipmunks love to burrow and store their food somewhere. As a result, make sure to throw away rocks and wooden trunks that might provide them with sanctuary. Make sure to clear out the garbage and keep it clean so they don’t get to salvage more food.

Alternative Repellants: 

There are homemade repellents that work just like natural ones. Moreover, simply sprinkle peppermint, chili powder, or pungent oil in places where they might stay or around plants.

Pet predators: 

Rodents run away at the smallest sign of danger. We can adopt pets like foxes and cats apart from installing modern-day scarecrows.

What animal would dig up marigolds? 

There are few animals that can dig up marigolds, such as –

Rabbits: 

Rabbits are known for digging up with the help of their forepaw and they normally do so to discover food or new cooler places to rest, to escape, or simply to get attention. 

In their quest for digging, they also end up causing damage to vegetation and flowers.

Chipmunks: 

Chipmunks love to burrow for hiding, living, and store food. Moreover, they love bulbs and can also end up digging marigolds when they are hungry or just reach the other plants.

Squirrels: 

Squirrels, just like chipmunks, love to burrow as well and hide or cache their food which includes nuts and acorns.

Skunks: 

Skunks mostly dig for grub and insects even though they occasionally consume flowers. But when digging for their preferred food, they end up causing damage to other flowers as well.

Possums and Raccoons:

They, just like skunks, destroy plants when they try to dig for insects and grubs.

Final Thoughts 

To conclude, chipmunks do not eat marigolds. This is because marigolds are natural repellants due to the presence of volatile terpene on leaves while chipmunks are sensitive when it comes to smell. As a result, these rodents end up getting repelled by its acrid smell and sought alternatives.