FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So... recently I noticed that the new growth on my VFT had considerably shorter traps and leaves. The new growth was also growing from a different point than the older growth. It seemed to be dividing and I was going to post about it.

Unfortunately...

When I got home from work earlier this week I found him uprooted laying on top of the sphagnum moss with the rhizome ripped apart. A chipmunk has been coming up on to my deck looking and digging for seeds and has been drinking water from the CP water tray (I use it on hot sunny days while I'm at work for 10 hours). Ironically it seems to have split the dividing plants from the mother plant. Most of the older growth has died back sadly. the newer growth that was coming in seems to be fine and the rhizome looks like it survived for the most part, only a bit more red after being exposed to the sun. I repotted them all in different sides of the pot so hopefully they recover.

In other news, I rescued another VFT and a Sarracenia from a Lowes death cube, I couldn't resist. they're etioliated from trying to find sun in their plastic bag of peat prision and the VFT grew a bit topsy-turvy. They are recovering well though since they're responding to the sunlight they've been getting. They're both turning red with bigger leaves and neither has formed traps yet. I am now keeping the water tray and plants up on a plant stand to hopefully discourage the chipmunk. And that was my CP update.

Get a "Rat Zapper" and put some sunflower seeds in the back of it. You'll get the varmint. Remember, they are in the rodent family.

I use the bucket of death, got 7 this year already.

Thanks but, I like to avoid killing. besides it hasn't been showing up since then.

Chipmunks are ace , saying that i live in the UK where we dont have them.

They are incredibly destructive and they breed quickly.

No one wants to kill them because they are pretty cute little things. That changes when they destroy the foundation of your home costing you tens of thousands in damages. Suddenly they aren't cute anymore.

Fieldofscreams wrote:They are incredibly destructive and they breed quickly.

No one wants to kill them because they are pretty cute little things. That changes when they destroy the foundation of your home costing you tens of thousands in damages. Suddenly they aren't cute anymore.

Exactly. Or jumps up into your engine compartment and starts chewing wires, hoses, cables,etc.
They are RODENTS and are indeed very destructive. Forget about the old Chip & Dale cartoons, they are NOT little sweethearts.

Or makes a nest in your $5K air conditioning unit requiring a complete replacement.

Or crawls into your clothes dryer exhaust and makes a nest inside your clothes dryer requiring a complete replacement.

I could go on and on. Of all the rodent problems ive had out of all the homes ive owned chipmunks are the absolute worst.

Field mice are a close second in destructive rodents.

Chipmunk's are incredibly destructive, nesting in various places within your home, chewing on wires, wood supports/structures etc, and breeding like well, like the rodents they are. With that said, I think they are a double edge sword, being that I find them absolutely adorable but at the same time, absolutely a pain in the backside.

I found that it might be effective to put your plants inside one of those meshed metal dog crates, and covering that with a fine metal mesh/chicken wire so that the traps are nice and secure, but you can still open the door and access the plants for regular care and maintenance. Like a Fort Knox for your flytraps.

The last time I lived at a house that had chipmunks, I also had a Maine Coon (cat) that liked to roam the yard. Needless to say, I didn't have chipmunks for very long....

MikeB wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:05 am The last time I lived at a house that had chipmunks, I also had a Maine Coon (cat) that liked to roam the yard. Needless to say, I didn't have chipmunks for very long....

I trapped 28 chipmunks last year. Just using mousetraps with a small piece of peanut in them. I used the black snap traps available through Amazon.