Definitely not a mole/shrew. I have them in the gardens and those you can live with. They don't do stuff like that. They will eat mostly matter which decomposes and insects. They also live quite close to the birdfeeders. Yes, they do tunnel, but most times I tolerate them since I am gardening where they have always been. We tolerate each other. :)

Ever think of getting a Jack Russell Terrier? Mind you, you'd have great difficulty gardening there for a little while... At least until the Terrier did it's job.

Tiffy: I am a dog lover and had one most of my life, for a total of 5 dogs. A piece of me died each time one of them died, and when I lost my beloved golden retriever a couple of years ago, I vowed : no more dogs. I can't take it again. (I used to have a collie who dug up moles and such things and played with them until they died).

My neighbor has a Jack Russell, a not-very-friendly wild, goofy little thing. I babysat her at my house for a few days, she never did warm up to us at all. Very aloof. Another neighbor has a rat terrier- the meanest critter God ever put on earth. He even growls at and bites his owner of 15 years! So I don't want to borrow him!

Another friend has a mutt who probably wouldn't chase a mouse or whatever it is. Cute, sweet dog who loves me and loves to visit me. Problem is I've now sprinkled 2 lbs of cayenne so I really wouldn't want to bring any dog into my yard.

Is there any kind of trap? If so, what bait to use? Or poison, like D-Con?

I have no bird feeders in my back yard anymore. The tree rats just dumped out the seed. I feed hummingbirds and gold finches (thistle seed) in my front yard, not near this area. And my front beds have been left untouched.

Karen

Could be a vole. They look like mice, use mole runs AND like to feed on roots too from what I've heard. They are supposed to be hard to get rid of. We use D-Con for mice in our attic and hobby house but nothing can get to the remains. I always worry about what might eat the dead mouse. I don't know how long the arsenic stays active. Good luck---the moles drive me crazy.

Was it the size of a rat or a mouse? Either way my method of madness for catching them - and I only do this with rats and mice in the house, but it should work in the gardens - is to take a tin can, open one end completely, break an egg and place in the bottom. Set the tin can sideways laying down on the dirt with the top opening a bit higher to keep the egg in the bottom. Then place a rat/mouse trap in the can between the open edge and the egg. In essence, the rodent will try to reach the egg but will have to cross the trap to get to it and to get out. You can also use peanut butter or cheese. Now if this creature is a herbivore...

For rats I use the big apple juice cans.

Good luck with your mission!

Karen,
I feel your pain and sympathize. I have a "critter from hell" that plows through my lasagna beds too. These creatures really seem to like the shredded leaves & grass clippings to dig in. . .I've taken to putting chicken wire (slightly bent like an upside down "U") on top of newly planted seedlings. Seems to be the only thing that works for me. Of course it looks awful but until the plants are established and the beds more settled, I will continue to do it. I may even leave some chicken wire around the plants, flat, and cover with mulch later. Looks like I'm going to have to do this for my shade bed, because the pest keeps digging around my heucheras and painted fern no matter what I try. I've had to replant them several times and, thankfully, they have managed to survive.
Good luck and keep us posted! :)
Rosemary

Tiny tunnels and holes? Looks like a mouse? That's definitely a vole. I have a big vole population in my yard that I am always battling. I've actually put sharp-edged stone in my beds, tilled the stone into the soil, to keep the voles from tunneling in certain spots. I lost several basil and Monarda seedlings from them one year. I may have lost some Snapdragon seedlings to them this year. It is an endless battle for me. Pouring Ammonia down holes didn't work, same for boiling water. Hot sauce didn't work either (too problematic with burning seedlings and rain washing it away).

Another thing that worked well for me is putting netting under the soil. I dug a trench where I wanted to plant some bulbs, placed a long sheet of netting there, put the bulbs in it, folded up the netting, piled the dirt back on it. It was a lot of work, but it did keep them safe from the darned critters.

Because of voles, there are some things I just wait to put into the ground until my embattlements are in place, or until the plants are larger and maybe less tasty to them.
Good luck on the war. I'm rooting for you (no pun intended)!

Linda

Not moles for sure and I can't speak for voles, but we have moles around here and I have found these too can ruin plants...not because they eat them, but they can create huge air pockets around roots which does lead to their death! My dog dug one up a few years back when a mole run went thru the kennel area....I had to rescue the critter from his mouth and took it way out into the field! The next year I had more but this time the run was along the garden bed and a few plants were dying...when I pulled them up I found the roots exposed. Castor Bean in the border is supposed to work...I guess it must be a myth. Hmmm.

This thing was tiny like a little gray mouse. Maybe it is voles. Mice don't do this in flower beds, do they? I'm going to get some mouse traps today and try that, bait with peanut butter. Will voles go for peanut butter?

I also have something larger I think. The top of my bird bath was toppled over again this morning. Something occasionally does this at night, too. Squirrels jump up and drink from it with no problem, so that creature of the night is larger than a squirrel. Maybe a possum. The weather has been very dry and I guess everybody is looking for a drink of water.

Since I have been trying to go organic the past couple of years, I find very few slugs but my beds are crawling with worms. I suspect the little gray mousy things are dining on my worms at night.

Thanks for all the suggestions and feel free to keep them coming, like suggested bait for my mouse traps.

Karen

Voles do look just like mice, nothing like a mole. I'm not sure how to tell the difference, but I think the cats don't bother with them much because they are a bit more aggressive than mice. All I know for sure is that they suck those seedlings right under. They drive me nuts.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: Voles

The v-shape indentation looks almost like a deer track.
Duane

I have at least one of these creatures as well. I see his little tunnels all over and spend much time stepping them down. I don't find much 'herbage' however. He seems to check out whatever I've just planted from underneath, but rarely bothers the plants. I just have to re-firm them.

Have been working on tonight's attack. I put chicken wire flat on the ground in the lasagna bed and pulled the tiny salvia seedlings thru that. I held it down with bricks and garden staples. The little critters might fit thru the holes but I'm hoping they'll pick on and easier place instead.

In that bed I also put a mouse trap which is supposed to hold up to 4 mice at a time, and it's reusable. It's baited with peanut butter.

Also borrowed a big havahart trap which is baited with pieces of apple. That's near the bird bath in attempt to catch the larger creature. Not sure if I WANT to catch anything that big and find it alive in the morning. I'd rather have something to kill it for me! If anything I'll probably trap a bunny or squirrel in it.

Here's hoping...

Karen

There are no critters in either trap this morning. I was kind of relieved that I didn't have to face some giant rabid possum or something in that big havahart trap, but was disappointed that the mouse trap was also empty. Maybe I should have baited the mouse trap with something other than peanut butter? What attracts voles or field mice? If I don't catch any of those mousey things in the next few days I will try another bait and get another kind of mousetrap thing.

But on a positive note, there doesn't seem to be any new damage to any plants, no apparent new holes, and no plants missing or dug up.

Karen

Still no luck with any of the 3 traps, and the night monsters are still digging up my plants. The only thing I got in a trap was a squished dead cardinal. Now the 2 smaller traps are under boxes, the havahart is not.

I'll have to try poison. Will all rodents eat D-Con? I know I'm dealing with little gray mousy-looking things (voles?) and chipmunks at least. Will birds eat D-con?

Any other suggested rodent poison?

Karen

Where are you putting the trap?

Mice generally will follow along a wall (if in a house) they have poor eyesight and use whiskers to help find their way.

I place traps along the wall in my attic, the mice just happen across it find the bait and well you know the rest..

You will never get rid of them all.

I suggest a cat. I know some will disagree with me, that all cats don't kill mice.

I think the females are better mousers them the males. I had a problem with rats.. inside my home.
While sitting on the toilet the RAT came out from behind the wall I was freaked (it was a very old house 1735 and nothing was square. I have since moved )!
Next day I got Lila from the shelter, no more problems with rats.
Putting bait outside is not recommended because it will kill non target species.

Just the cat urine will deter the mice and rats from around your home.

Enjoy the journey it is half the fun!

How about those high frequency noise thingys that are supposed to keep varmin away do they work?

cherry

These things are not in my house (yet), they are in my garden. They have been digging up my plants for weeks, while 3 different kinds of traps have caught nothing but one beautiful, now dead, bird.

No cats for me, I don't like them. I have several who prowl the neighborhood, but still have these rodents like crazy.

I'm looking for rodent poison.

Karen

i had a dream last night that a squirrel bit my chestnut seedling in half, then i went and shot it like 6 times with a revolver.

voles or meadow mice will travel in tunnels along walls. THey will surface from the shallow tunnels through a hole about the size of a silver dollar or maybe just a tad smaller. In most cases they will eat the roots from the plants but they LOVE sunflowr seedlings and will nip those off at the soil surface. If you use poison, squirrels, dogs, cats, bunnies, and other critters could also get into it. The year I had a problem I put the poison right down in the holes I found and then put flower pots over the holes so that no other critters could get it. Then we bought the live traps and I caught 4 at once. One was so fat it got stuck in the entry whole and couldn't get in or out. They all died by the time we checked it.

Penny

I put 2 containers of d-con out with clear plastic domes over them, and stakes thru them to hold in place. I don't want to poison birds. As to dogs or cats, I don't want to poison them either, but they have no business digging in my garden beds. It's their owner's responsibility to contain their pets.

I hope this helps.

Karen