2020 Update — Originally Published September, 2011
A few days back, we noticed a small sliver of stone was missing from our front paver walkway. As I took a closer look, I realized there was a hole underneath where the stone had been – and it looked kind of deep. I didn’t want to reach down to see if the stone had somehow dropped, thinking maybe there was a chance something might bite me.
So, over the weekend, I lifted a few of the stones and sure enough something had been burrowing down there…
Where the missing stone piece was? Absolutely no idea.
Now, I always keep extra material from pretty much every job we do – and I have extra pavers for this walkway, but I don’t have a wet saw on hand for heavy stone like this. So, I thought I would improvise…
My Paver Walkway Repair
I filled in the burrow with some gravel, tamped it down a bit, reset the stones – and then filled everything (including the small hole) with colored polymer-fortified paver sand.
Figured that would do the trick, as it was a small hole anyway. Plus, I wasn’t even sure this little animal (mole? mouse? chipmunk?) was still around. You can see the progress via the pictures below – this all took about 25 minutes.
If you’ve never used a polymer fortified sand with pavers, it’s well worth checking out. It hardens just enough to help minimize weeds and it’s particularly nice in areas where water run off tends to wash your sand away.
You surely still need to maintain it as you do with regular paver sand – but a little less frequently. I use this on my paver walkways and my backyard paver patio once every 2 years or so, as basic maintenance. The in-line image below is an Amazon link you can check out if you like…
These are the kinds of jobs I like – the kind that take less than an hour!
The following morning – I went outside to clean up the area a bit after the sand had cured to discover the little guy (and he SURELY must be small as you can see in the next picture) just burrowed right through everything again.
So… this little effort, it turns out – was futile.
Benevolent Property Pests
I belong to a gardening website community, and when I conveyed this story there, the general consensus was that this was very likely the work of chipmunks. In fact, one of the site members was kind enough to provide the following link describing some of the behaviors of chipmunks, including the creation of elaborate burrows.
My property has many small animals – including chipmunks, moles, groundhogs, rabbits and squirrels. We enjoy having them. And even though the chipmunks are so prevalent that we often refer to our cedar fence backers as the “chipmunk highways” (as they can often be seen racing across these) – they’ve never significantly damaged anything before.
Other burrowing animals include groundhogs (aka woodchucks), of course.
But groundhog burrows and holes are quite large, as opposed to what I had under my paver walkway. These holes can surely do some serious damage, as you can see above: a hole from my resident groundhog – under my shed.
Quick Related Side Story: I once lost our [very small] Yorkie in our fenced backyard. Turns out he found his way into one of those large groundhog holes. That was a memorable rescue – that almost gave me a heart attack.
The photo above is of my Yorkie on my backyard lawn; it’s not a stock photo – it’s really our dog. He’s a little chubbier now, but still almost that tiny. You can see how those big groundhog holes, which he clearly finds irresistible, are a problem.
Natural Pest Deterrent Options
Someone suggested getting a cat to control my property’s chipmunk population. It surely sounds like a practical idea, but I don’t relish the thought of dead chipmunks. Plus, I grew up with Alvin, Simon & Theodore – and so it just seems wrong to go after these guys, right?
Rather than harm anything – below is a short list of natural pest deterrents. I haven’t tried any of these myself as of yet, so I’d really appreciate any feedback or additional inputs from anyone reading.
These come from some research and credible recommendations that have been conveyed to me, personally…
- Peppermint Oil – This is probably what I’ve heard recommended most often. Mainly for mice and general rodents, but I’m thinking this may-well apply to chipmunks and moles as well? The photo below is an Amazon link to a highly rated option.
- Here’s another highly-rated natural repellent spray that claims to help deter small animals in general and specifically call out Raccoons, Squirrels, Rabbits, Gophers, Skunks and Rats. Looks like it may be used around garbage can areas. (I once went camping with the guys and at around 3AM… we were awakened to the sounds of ‘something’ right outside our tent, going through our garbage. We probably should have given this more thought in advance!)
- And one more that frankly could make the most sense if all other deterrents fail – a humane chipmunk trap. A photo link (to a bunch of Amazon options) is below. Naturally, you have to take the little guys you catch to some local woods down the street or the like.
My Paver Walkway – For Now…
So, I guess I’m going to have to cut another piece of stone (at some point) – and perhaps concrete-it in into place. Any additional thoughts on this? As nice as it is to have chipmunks, I don’t want my paver walkway regularly undermined.
And where the heck might he have put that missing piece of stone?!
I had problems with disappearing bricks too, around my flowerbed. (Thought a neighbor might be taking them.) Then, one day I decided to do some digging, and discovered my bricks had sunk underground from burrowing animals! (I see 13 lined ground squirrels in summer. I suspect them. Never see chipmunks etc.) They simply sink out of sight! Bet that’s where yours are! After sinking, they dug around them. Check it out!?
What a cool insight, Vickie – I never thought to do that! I had to look up the thirteen-lined ground squirrels; I wasn’t familiar with them. Here’s a cool article from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. And below is their photo as well – super cute guys.
But clearly not great for your brick landscape border.
What I’m really wondering, though, is about those neighbors of yours… who might be on the hunt for bricks!? ;)
I know this is off topic a little but any idea how to get rid of a raccoon that seems to like hanging out on my deck? I called animal control and they said it is most likely just looking for food and not rabid. I don’t want it harmed just want it to find a new resting place. It’s driving my dog crazy!
Okay… Well, first things first: I hope your raccoon is no longer terrorizing your dog, and that you haven’t seen any further signs of her since you wrote in yesterday!
Unfortunately, I have no first-hand, good advice to convey on this at the moment – but you’ve inspired me to do some research and update the article above to address some all-natural pest control (deterrent) choices. I’ve heard of several, but don’t want to summarize anything here just yet until I can research a bit and try to lay out some substantiated, highly-recommended options.
Meanwhile, though… that’s a pretty big raccoon.
I hope your dog is WAY bigger!
I have now added some suggestions above, Christina!
Hope these are helpful, and I’d really love to hear from others who may have had similar problems and resolved them with natural pest deterrents. Any additional wisdom and firsthand experiences from anyone out there?
I know this is a little late but try pouring ammonia around the area where the raccoon visits. We had a raccoon who kept pooping on our two story wooden deck and the only thing that kept him/her away was pouring ammonia on the stairs leading to the deck. Supposedly it smells like coyote urine and they want nothing to do with it.
I have a real bad problem with moles undermining our paver walkways. Tried trapping them, tried influencing the lawn with casteroil products to chase them away, but they are still here.
Thinking about pulling up all the pavers, laying down a concrete sidewalk then reapplying the pavers. Any one else have this issue?
YES. I can’t figure out how to get rid of them either….and have thought also of just ripping out the pavers and putting in concrete. Not sure what else to do!
There’s another thread I started on this topic, Peter – after it got worse. And if you check it out, you’ll see some further insights and suggestions. That may help. And… more people in the “support group” too! Click here for the follow-on article, which is right here on this site too: https://www.all-about-the-house.com/collapsing-paver-walkway/