Chipmunks and mice both come from the rodent family. They have some similarities and differences.
However, the dissimilarities are greater than the similarities. The chipmunks have squirrel characteristics, whereas the mice have mainly chewing rodents’ habits.
Apart from that, both the chipmunks and mice have physical differences. Mice are smaller than chipmunks. If you look at the chipmunks, you notice the large body structure that will look like the squirrels.
Do chipmunks keep mice away?
Chipmunks keep mice away by their appearance and physical eating habits. Mainly, the mice fear other rodents, especially, they keep away from the chipmunks. If you have chipmunks in your house or garden, they will keep mice away. Also, they will keep other rodents away.
Table of Contents
Naturally, small rodents keep away from giant rodents. It’s a common characteristic, and the same happens here. The mice don’t live near the squirrels and chipmunks. Interestingly, big rodents also don’t like mice.
Whenever they find mice, they chase, or they go for mice. It is a by default reason why chipmunks keep mice away from their surroundings.
3 reason why do chipmunks keep mice away
The chipmunks keep mice away for some particular reasons. They are:
By Appearance:
Rodents have different sizes. For example, mice are smaller than chipmunks.
Therefore, chipmunks can easily keep mice away from their surroundings. If you have chipmunks in your garden, you will hardly find any mice around the garden.
It’s the apparent reason. Small rodents always fear the bigger animals like chipmunks, squirrels, and other animals. They don’t go near the chipmunks or rodents.
By Nature:
As we said, it is common for rodents to always keep a distance from the bigger one.
It’s a natural habit of the rodent family. In particular, the mice always avoid the chipmunks and squirrels. They feel unsafe to go near the chipmunks.
When you have a lot of mice in the house or garden, you should get some chipmunks to get rid of the problem. Mice, by nature, will leave the place. You don’t need to use any spray or invest further.
Eating Habit:
Rodents have different eating habits. Some rodents love to eat vegetables; others may find nuts and flowers. Here, the mice love cheese, and the chipmunks eat both vegetables and nuts.
But chipmunks can’t bear the mice. Whenever chipmunks or squirrels find any mice around their food sources, they will chase the mice and keep away from that place. Therefore, it is an excellent way to remove the mice from your garden.
So far, these three reasons are enough to tell you why the chipmunks keep mice away from your garden or house. Remember, chipmunks love to live underground.
If you genuinely want to get rid of mice, you must develop the habit of living on the ground; only then will the chipmunks be able to keep mice away.
How do chipmunks keep mice away?
The chipmunks keep mice away by their physical appearances. Rodents have different physical structures. Therefore, the squirrels and chipmunks have similar sizes and structures. They also have the same eating habit.
But all the rodents are different. Chipmunks and mice don’t have any shared characteristics. They are entirely different; mice are small, whereas chipmunks are giant. We all know that mice always fear the big size rodents and animals.
As a result, chipmunks can keep the mice away from the garden or house only by their appearance. The mice won’t be there anymore; they will leave the place or go to the holes. Mice will not come out and enjoy walking in front of the chipmunks.
Apart from that, chipmunks don’t like to see any tiny mice around them. They will chase it and try to devour it too. It is another way to keep mice away. Though mice and chipmunks don’t have rat-cat relations, they are not friends either.
Do chipmunks eat mice?
The chipmunks eat mice though they live on vegetables and nuts. Mainly, the chipmunks don’t seem fond of meat or insects. But when they can’t find their favorite food and starve, they will eat most insects and mice. They only eat tiny mice with no protective shelter; chipmunks love defenseless mice.
Sometimes, the chipmunks don’t get any food from the garden or the surrounding area. They try to get plants or flowers.
Finally, they start eating insects and bugs when they find nothing to eat. At that time, if they get any small mice in front of them, they will grasp it.
Chipmunks don’t go after the adult mice. They avoid fighting and go for the tiny mice to not fight with the chipmunks and become the meal. However, it’s common for pretty much every rodent.
Whenever the big size rodents fail to get their food, they hunt the small rodents and survive in tough conditions. They can eat and digest both the meat and entire mice. This habit will ultimately help to get rid of the mice.
Therefore, it becomes another reason why the chipmunks keep mice away from the garden. We have talked about physical appearance. It helps the chipmunks to eat mice when they are hungry and don’t find any food.
3 reason why do chipmunks eat mice
Chipmunks not always love to feast on mice. But they do eat them. There are reasons why. Lets get to know them.
Scarcity of food:
Chipmunks are big size rodents. They need to eat nuts, vegetables, and small plants to survive. They have moderate growth as well. Therefore, they cannot survive a long time without eating anything.
At that time, if they find any single tiny mouse, they will go for it and eat it quickly. Though it is not a portion of good food for the chipmunks, they will eat mice in that way.
Meat:
The chipmunks and other rodents like squirrels can eat the meat of the insects. If they fail to get any food source or nut, they will eat the insects around them. It is a new eating habit for the chipmunks that helps them eat the mice.
So, mice are not the first meat they eat; instead, they eat mostly insects and survive when they don’t find anything else to eat. So, it’s not a permanent food source for the chipmunks, only for the time being.
Mice Size:
Normally, mice, are in small sizes. They fear pretty much every big rodent. Since they are small, all other rodents can quickly eat them when they can’t find any other food.
But adult mice are big enough. No rodents can chase the adult mice and can’t eat them either. So, mice sizes are also a vital factor here.
Will chipmunks eat mice bait?
Chipmunks will not eat mice bait since they don’t find any interest in the bait. Besides, the mice bait is bitter and often plays a role to catch the mice. Therefore, chipmunks always avoid eating mice bait.
Lifeless mice:
Chipmunks will eat the lifeless mice. They don’t hesitate to eat the meat of lifeless mice. Especially when the chipmunks can’t find anything to eat, they starve and look for something else.
In that case, if they find any lifeless mice, they will go for it and meet their needs. They will also eat the lifeless mice if they find them in front of their homes and surroundings.
Field mice:
Chipmunks cannot eat the field mice. In fact, they are not fond of any adult mice either. Field mice or house mice are pretty much the same. They are all adults and bigger as well.
Moreover, the chipmunks don’t like to chase the big or adult mice, even though they don’t chase either. So, chipmunks don’t eat the field mice.
Baby mice:
Here is the best food for the chipmunks. They eat baby mice or small mice whenever chipmunks don’t get any food or nuts. Baby mice don’t have any self-protection.
As a result, the chipmunks get them easily and eat them as well. Whenever the chipmunks feel hungry, they try to eat the baby mice. It is a good source of meat.
Final Thoughts
The chipmunks can keep mice away from the house and garden by physical appearance and behavior. On the other hand, chipmunks can eat the baby mice when they can’t find any other food source. From this perspective, the chipmunks are omnivores. They will eat everything when they are hungry.