Sunday, June 5, 2016

Chipmunk Contest; Win a Blaster

We must save the garden! Our raised garden beds have become condominiums for chipmunks (aka: ground squirrels) and my wife has given me the go ahead to start a new relocation program. Some of you may remember my Raccoon Relocation Program in 2014, which included FIFTEEN raccoons. This venture should see a higher number of volunteers being relocated to a prairie near my wife's work. I'm not worried about the chipmunks finding their way back home, because our garden and the field are separated by two four lane highways.

Here's what we're trying to save:

Here's what I'm using to catch the little bastards guys:
 Those are some low quality, dry roasted, no salt added, already shelled peanuts right there. The bait will henceforth be known as chipmunk caviar.

The trap will sit on our patio or in the rock bed you see on the other side of the sitting wall. The chipmunks run around the patio like it's the flipping Indy 500 and tease our indoor cats something fierce.

I will not be naming the chipmunks like I did with the raccoons, because that will just be too much work. I will be giving updates on the blog as to how many I have caught, because there's a contest involved!

Here's my ground rules:
1. I will bait and trap chipmunks all summer long, except for the fourteen days when I will be out of town.
2. For a chipmunk to be successfully counted as part of the Chipmunk Relocation Program it must be relocated. (I state this obvious rule, because I have trapped one already today that managed to find its way to freedom. I was trying to use a 5-gallon bucket to store the chipmunks so I could relocate multiple rodents in one trip, but I found it somewhat difficult to transfer the agile little guy from the trap to the bucket. Did you know a chipmunk can jump out of a 5-gallon bucket before I can place a lid on top?)
3. For the purposes of this contest, the total number of chipmunks I have relocated by 8:00am on Monday, August 15th, will be the winning number.

What you need to do:
1. Leave a comment predicting the number of chipmunks I relocate during the summer. The closest guess wins.
2. In the event of a tie, please guess the number of other creatures I catch with the chipmunk caviar. (This may include rabbits, birds, squirrels, raccoons and stray cats. For the record, the rabbits, squirrels and raccoons will also be relocated.)
3. Just in case I need a second tie breaker: Predict how many wins the Cubs will have on the morning of August 15th, 2016. (From my count the Cubs will have played 116 games by August 15th, not including any rain-outs.)
4. Everyone must have their entry submitted within 10 days of this post. No entries after 6/15/2016 will be allowed.  One entry per blogger, please. I will not make any updates on my totals until after that date to give everyone a fair shot.

Sample Entry:
45 chipmunks
2 other animals
73 Cubs wins

Past History:
When we moved into our current house during the summer of 2008 I trapped SIXTY chipmunks, because they were burrowing tunnels along the foundation to our house and we were afraid that water might get into our basement. I also inadvertently caught two squirrels.
I have not trapped any since, they have let nature take its course and they seem to be everywhere. They are running through our yard to the neighbors on every side of our house. If things go according to plan, then everyone around our house will notice a drop in the chipmunk population.

Prize:
The contest won't end until August 15th, so let's give away a blaster of the latest and greatest baseball card product on the shelves at my local Target at that time. It might be A&G, Topps Chrome, or perhaps Topps Bunt. (It will be a Topps product, because I know how some of you feel about licensed products.)

Short video of the guy that got away:
Wish me luck, because this is going to be a huge undertaking!  I will be posting updates along the way to keep you all in the loop.

Good luck to you in the contest and thanks for reading.

39 comments:

  1. Im gonna go 38 chipmunks. 3 other animals and 71 cubs wins

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  2. 31 chipmunks, 1 other animal, 69 wins

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  3. 27 chipmunks
    4 other animals
    75 wins

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  4. 47
    3
    76

    Licensed to kill chipmunks by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill chipmunks at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote.

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    Replies
    1. Ha! That made me laugh!
      Can't kill 'em though, I'm too much of a softie.

      Delete
  5. Wow, we are having chipmunk problems with our gardens right now too (though nowhere nearly as many as you seem to have). I'm going to guess: 42 chipmunks, 5 other animals, and 78 Cubs victories.

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  6. Arrieta
    Baez
    Lester + Rizzo

    (49, 9 and 78)

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  7. 44 chipmunk
    4 other animals
    74 wins

    May I suggest calling all of them Chip and Dale.

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  8. 37 chipmunks, 8 other animals, and 107 cubs wins

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  9. I'm gonna guess:

    52 chipmunks
    4 other critters
    79 Cubs wins

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  10. 55 chipmunks
    3 additional critters
    81 wins

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  11. 49 Alvins
    4 Additional critters
    80 cub wins

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  12. I'm going 26/6/76.

    This should be fun.

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  13. This sounds fun, so why not. Good luck at the preservation.

    36 of those varmits, 8 additional varmits, and 77 Harry Carey loving victories. HO-LY COW!

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  14. You are now the official cardsphere Critter Gitter.

    52 chipmunks
    5 additional creatures
    75 Cubs wins

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  15. AAAALVIIIIIIIN!!!

    Lol, good luck with the chipmunk mission PTT. And good luck to all who entered his contest.

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  16. Nice looking raised garden.
    Hmmm
    42 Chipmonks - I know you aren't going to name em but I think the chubby one goes by George.
    6 Other Critters
    83 Cubbie Wins.


    Thanks for the contest.

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  17. oh my god great contest.

    35 Chipmunks
    4 other critters
    85 wins by the Cubs

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  18. I'm going low.

    12 munks
    7 others (mostly squirrels I bet)
    79 wins

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  19. I'm thinking you'll struggle at the chipmunk relocation:

    8 chipmunks
    13 others, including at least one feral cat
    74 wins for the Cubs

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  20. 34 chipmunks
    7 other animals
    81 Cubs wins

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  21. I'll go high with 61 chipmunks, 12 other animals, and 79 Cubs wins. Good luck!

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  22. Chipmunks look super cool. Hope you catch a bunch. I'll go with the following predictions:

    50 chipmunks
    4 other animals
    70 Cubs wins

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  23. 13 chips (they're gonna figure it out and warn the others.
    8 other varmints
    82 wins

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  24. 22 chipmunks
    2 other
    79 Cubs wins (yuck)

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  25. 39 chipmunks
    6 other
    70 Cubs dubs

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  26. Fun contest, and I love your heart is in the right place.
    10 little bastards
    5 other animals
    77 Cubs wins

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  27. Glad I'm catching up on your blog in time.
    37 chipmunks
    3 other animals
    77 Cubs wins

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  28. 28 chipmunks
    5 other animals
    76 Cubs wins

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  29. 53 Chipmunks
    4 Additional Critters
    75 Wins

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  30. 74
    3
    74

    I challenge you to name them and create a set of PTT Chipiest Chipmunks most wanted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Waaay to much effort would be needed for that. Nice idea though!

      Delete
  31. The deadline for contest entries has passed. Thanks for playing along and please look for posts with updates between now and August 15th!

    ReplyDelete